Wings on the grill or WSM?


 

Troy S

TVWBB Fan
Bought a 4lb bag of frozen wings from Wally World yesterday. I might go to Food Lion in the next evening or so and see if they have a manager special/markdown on some whole wings as well. I love wing. Another member on here posted some wings in the photo gallery, and it made me pretty darn hungry!

I was convinced I was going to grill them vortex style. I love, love, love crispy wings. I don't even care if they get a little dry (albeit I haven't dried any out in my time, some sauce mixed with butter probably overcomes that, in my opinion). But now I'm thinking about possibly doing some on my 22" WSM. I'll probably end up doing them on my grill since I'd in all likelihood use way less charcoal that way, but what do you guys and gals think? I'm asking, because I guess what I want to know is input about getting them crispy, even in a WSM. I know I'd need to shoot for 325-350 (?) on the WSM for crispness, but I've only done one cook so far, so any advice about wings both on the grill and WSM are very much welcome and appreciated!
 
I cook wings direct heat on the kettle, but I have to constantly watch/turn/move them to keep from overcooking. As with anything I cook on the grill, I toss a handful of oak twigs (my yard is full of them thanks to several big oak trees behind the house) on the coals to add a bit of smoke flavor. I have done wings on the WSM but it's easier, in my opinion, to just fire up the kettle.
 
I don't have a 22.5" kettle at the moment, but I like using the 18.5" WSM without the water pan for cooking chicken. No Minion method here - just ashed over coals.

I just did a batch of wings for Sunday dinner, and they were pretty good pre-seasoned with Slap Yo Daddy rub.

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Larry, what kind of oak twigs are you using? Water oak?
 
Larry, what kind of oak twigs are you using? Water oak?

I have several types of oak trees, mostly willow oaks and black oaks, but I don't think any are water oak (which have distinctive leaves). And I couldn't tell one from another once the twigs have hit the ground, anyway. As long as the twigs are dry and solid, and snap when you bend them, they all seem to work well. I do the same when grilling steaks or burgers. Maybe it's just my imagination but I think it adds to the flavor.
 
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I recommend putting them on the grill. If you have a vortex, then use it. If not, just setup your kettle for two zone. Go indirect FIRST, then crisp up the skin on the direct heat to finish them off.
 
I'm learning from reading around here that there are a lot of ways to get to the same, delicious products. So, here's the way that I've done them on my 22" kettle the last two times I've cooked wings. Set up the kettle for indirect heat, drip pan in the middle, charcoal on both sides. Wings: soften butter (can use ghee, too) and rub all of the wings with butter; dump in big ziploc bag; dump part of wing rub in bag and shake, repeating until the wings are covered to satisfaction. Cook: arrange the wings in the center of the grill for indirect cooking; cook to doneness (this for me has been between 30-40 minutes).

Oh, and for the rub all I do is stir up 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, a couple shakes to 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg and thyme. My wife is a heat-wimp. So, you can adjust the type or amount of chili powder to your taste. Skin was plenty crispy for me without going over direct heat at all, but you can do that if you want to really ensure crispiness.
 
I'm learning from reading around here that there are a lot of ways to get to the same, delicious products. So, here's the way that I've done them on my 22" kettle the last two times I've cooked wings. Set up the kettle for indirect heat, drip pan in the middle, charcoal on both sides. Wings: soften butter (can use ghee, too) and rub all of the wings with butter; dump in big ziploc bag; dump part of wing rub in bag and shake, repeating until the wings are covered to satisfaction. Cook: arrange the wings in the center of the grill for indirect cooking; cook to doneness (this for me has been between 30-40 minutes).

Oh, and for the rub all I do is stir up 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, a couple shakes to 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon each of nutmeg and thyme. My wife is a heat-wimp. So, you can adjust the type or amount of chili powder to your taste. Skin was plenty crispy for me without going over direct heat at all, but you can do that if you want to really ensure crispiness.

Oh, forgot to add, I did mine with some maple chips added to the coals at the start. Probably not necessary, but definitely tasted awesome!
 
I love doing wings on my 26er with the Vortex. I can easily do a family pack of wings which I split into drummets and flats (never seen the need to keep the wingtips on them).

But, when I competed, we would often have an additional wing contest and we would be given one or two of the big bags of frozen wings, I did them on my 22 WSM without the pan. They did take a while, but keep all the vents open and you'll be okay.





BD
 
I would do them on the kettle as well.
I play around with them, a bit direct, then, when they get loose of the griddle they go to indirect to cook them through and then back to direct to crisp them even more.
Or any other order that I feel works for my fire and my mood :cool:
If there are flames, I put the lid on (but then again, sometimes I don't)....
 
I accidentally left my second batch on the pan-less 14.5" WSM too long, and shoot, they were better then the first batch. Might try that again. :)
 
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Hey everybody, my wings came out phenomenal! Grilled 'em, only used salt, pepper and some baking powder (Meathead recommendation) since whatever seasoning I would've used would've been lost in the sauce.

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Vortex on the kettle for wings.

What temp is the kettle with the vortex?

I put the two charcoal baskets in the kettle and cook the wings in a ring around the outside. I then stick a chunk of apple wood on the grate above the charcoal baskets. usually runs 450f or so
 
Both are good but imo WSM is better.
I put wings in a pile, and cook at 250 degrees and rearrange and repile the wings often when you baste them..
When done I disassemble the cooker and put the grate right on top of the charcoal ring and crisp the wings slightly
 

 

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