Smoked Chicken Wings

It doesn’t take much for me to fire up the grill and football season is no exception. While you can order wings for delivery, most are coated in heavily salted rubs and sauces. With a few ingredients, you can #MakeItYourOwn and bring all the flavor to the tailgate.

Ingredients for the Wings:

• 2-3 lbs chicken wings; your choice of mixed, only drums/flats
• 2 tablespoons olive oil; enough to coat wings
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Ingredients for Wing Sauce:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 2/3 to 1 cup no salt hot sauce, such as Jersey Girl
• 1 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, for extra heat)
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. The day before cooking, prep the wings by drying off any extra moisture with paper towels. Place in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining dry rub ingredients and mix with a fork to combine.
3. Helpful to use gloves, toss the wings first in olive oil with enough to coat each wing. While tossing the wings, shake on the dry rub and continue until each wing is evenly coated. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
4. About an hour before cooking, take the wings out of the fridge. Set up the grill for indirect cooking at 325F degrees. Add your smoking chips of choice (I like apple) and cook for 35 to 45 minutes, turning at least once halfway. Pull when wings have an internal temperature of 165F degrees.
5. If making the wing sauce, while the wings are cooking combine all ingredients and in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk until better is melted and sauce has thickened, but do not let boil.
6. Toss wings in a large bowl with enough sauce to coat or drizzle over the wings when serving. Can also serve as a dipping sauce for the wings.

Alternative Cooking Methods:

• Preheat an air fryer to 380F degrees. Place the chicken wings in the air fryer avoiding any overlapping wings. Cook for 10 minutes, then increase the temperature to 400F degrees, and cook until crisp and golden, six to eight minutes.
• In a 350F degree preheated oven, place wings on a rack on a sheet pan in the oven. Roast about 35 to 45 minutes turning at least once. Option to finish under the broiler if looking for a crispy finish.

Salt Swaps:

• Making your own dry rub allows you to control the amount of salt while the chili powder adds a little salt.
• Similarly, making your own wing sauce with no sodium hot sauce, unsalted butter and reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce allows you to create a sauce that’s far lower in salt than traditional wing sauce.

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