Raichlen makes crispy wings on a WSM using water?


 

Bob Correll

R.I.P. 3/31/2022
edit to add a link to the episode, wings off the smoker at about 8:45
http://video.mpt.tv/video/2365802824/

Caught part of a Project Smoke episode.
Steven put marinaded drumettes on a 22" WSM, used lump charcoal, 2 chunks of wood, and put water, lemons and beer in the water pan.
He said the cooker temp was about 300, and that they would be done in about an hour. All vents wide open. No turning of the wings, skin side up throughout.

They were dark brown, cooked black in places. He said they were crisp, and they looked like they were.
Does this seem possible with the water pan in place and liquid added?
 
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I highly doubt it, Bob. I have watched his shows quite a bit and there are so many times when the food pics appear to be edited. Can't say for sure, but it sure seems so. That said, I do enjoy watching his shows.
 
Caught part of a Project Smoke episode.
Steven put marinaded drumettes on a 22" WSM, used lump charcoal, 2 chunks of wood, and put water, lemons and beer in the water pan.
He said the cooker temp was about 300, and that they would be done in about an hour. All vents wide open. No turning of the wings, skin side up throughout.

They were dark brown, cooked black in places. He said they were crisp, and they looked like they were.
Does this seem possible with the water pan in place and liquid added?


The salt in the marinade might have done the trick. Next time you grill wings, try seasoning with salt & pepper instead of just naked. no need to wait long before putting them on the grill. I switched it up like that & was pleasantly surprised.

Black (indirect, cooked on the WSM) would also seem to indicate sugar in the brine or rub. The low temp indicated could be from the thermometer placement - if it's a dome thermometer & placed above a big mass of meat it could read lower than usual, or if it was above the water near grate level, Im not sure how much I'd trust that either.



I highly doubt it, Bob. I have watched his shows quite a bit and there are so many times when the food pics appear to be edited. Can't say for sure, but it sure seems so. That said, I do enjoy watching his shows.

Doesn't seem smart for a guy who's giving up his recipes showing people how to cook, to give false/bad methods. It'd wreck his name. I've watched very little of his program so I don't know how detailed his instructions are so..
 
It may be a difference between the 18" and the 22", but with water in the pan I have a very difficult time getting my 18" above 275F. I go dry pan most of the time but absolutely would go dry if shooting for anything over 250F.
 
Clint,
These were not grilled wings, they were wings cooked top grate on a 22" WSM using water and beer.
I highly doubt salt will crisp the skin, folks have tried many things to achieve this, even when grilling them.
There's been many posts here about rubbery skin on chicken when using the WSM as a water smoker.

This is the recipe, except here he calls for grilling them:
https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/lemon-sesame-chicken-wings/
 
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Clint,
These were not grilled wings, they were wings cooked top grate on a 22" WSM using water and beer.
I highly doubt salt will crisp the skin, folks have tried many things to achieve this, even when grilling them.
There's been many posts here about rubbery skin on chicken when using the WSM as a water smoker.

This is the recipe, except here he calls for grilling them:
https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/lemon-sesame-chicken-wings/

That looks delicious!

The smoke adds a ton of color, don't forget that. I got my 18" wsm back in ~2006, the kettle came 2 years later. I still remember my first WSM wings I saved to take over so my friends could taste them.

It's easier for me to get better wings on the gasser, but the kettle is a close second, I only cooked wings on my WSM 2-3 times this year, iirc.

Next thing to do is try the recipe yourself. I'll have to try wings on my WSM again soon (have to scrub mine out---it has mold inside) - the one thing it has going for it is it has more surface area, and more even cooking over the entire cooking grate.
 
Clint my friend, I think you're still missing my point.
Getting crisp skin on chicken using water is damn near impossible, as far as I know.
Smoke color yes, crispy skin, no way even at 300°
Clean out the mold and prove me wrong. :)
 
Clint my friend, I think you're still missing my point.
Getting crisp skin on chicken using water is damn near impossible, as far as I know.
Smoke color yes, crispy skin, no way even at 300°
Clean out the mold and prove me wrong. :)

I WILL!

You try lightly salting (& peppering) your next batch of wings though, and tell me if you notice a difference.

I've never (never?) used citrus in a chicken marinade, but I've used it for beef & shrimp, that might help break down the fat in the skin, and the marinade has a little oil in it, maybe not enough, but it seems to help crisp things like chicken skins & veggies.

He says to marinate the wings for 4 hours, which would seem to be a fairly long time especially with the citrus. People advise about marinating too long in Wishbone Italian Dressing because they say the vinegar can break down the meat...... (((I like wings that have been marinated in Soy Vey Veri Terriaki for 1 day)))

I need to find another bottle of toasted sesame oil, this last bottle of mine has very little flavor.

Pretty sure I even have a couple of his books! He's gained more cred with me - one of the recipes I saw after clicking on your link had sliver-rings of jalapenos on it :)

https://barbecuebible.com/recipes/

Only one way to find out on this is to try it. My gasser is my foolproof way to get crispy skin on wings but I'd like to try this.

I almost always run a dry pan, so that's one thing I'll do differently (I could be persuaded, but since we're going for crisp wings this is one extra thing we can do). I'd also be tempted to run the WSM with the fire on the lower grate, or no pan at all, but that can be done for round 2 (if I like round 1).
 
I think I get crispy skin when I do wings via the Vortex. Granted, it's a thin layer because it isn't breaded but it is what I believe to be crisp.
 
Crispy skin on the grill is hard enough let alone a smoker. Even on the BBQ competitions, the pro’s even struggle to achieve this and I’m sure we’ve all seen the tricks, remove skin, scrape off all fat and remove from the rest of the bird part. I have watched a few of his shows and a family member bought me a few of his cook books. I have never even cracked one open. I found out Mr Raichlen is from Maryland My Maryland but think he is from a part of the state where let’s say.....the likes of me would be run off by the gated security in my ole Ford pick up which I affectionately call “white lightnin” So I enjoy this forum and a few shows that I’m sure you all know of.
 
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Yep, unless its deep fried. I think its a competition thing, if judges want crispy skin, then let them go to KFC and get it. I smoke or grill chicken to eat, not for show.

2 Thumbs Up on the KFC. Only because I have to drive 30 miles to the closest one so it's kind of a treat.
 
In all seriousness, I've gotten very close but never that consistently no matter what temp I cook at. The vortex does pretty well as far as wings but on some pieces the fat is over rendered and the skin becomes papery. The key for me is to really preheat the grill and cook the wing to 200 internal.
 
Well first that's a waste of Lemons and Beer. Water boils at 212 so if he got 300 the water,beer had to boil away.
And I agree with ED. Watched a few of his shows and it sure looks like they use some artistic editing for the finished pics.

Tim
 
I just now watched this episode. I'm not picking on him but it sure appears those wings may have been resting somewhere else for a while and there was no resistance as he pulled them from the grate, lol. But I'm no expert.
 
Thanks for adding that Bob.
Yea, that cooking grate is as clean as when he started LOL.

Tim
 
LOL,I don't think that smoker has ever been used. He opens the lid,and there's no sign of heat or smoke. The lid,and door look like they just came out of the box.
Any chicken I ever smoked over a water pan,the skin was pretty good as long as you ate it AS SOON as it was cool enough to eat. After that it immediately turned to rubber.
I say BS :rolleyes:
 
Did you hear the crunch when he took the bite?

I need a clone to make those for me....right now.
 

 

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