Barbecuing Chicken Wings made Skins tough

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mrmarblz

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 1, 2017
21
10
Hey guys,

So I have grilled whole chicken wings many times, and I've gotten really good at making them delicious.  But a few weeks ago I tried slow cooking them to add that great smokey taste.  However, when I did that the skins turned out super tough.  Is there a way to prevent this?  I have read you want to finish them directly on the grill after barbecuing them to get the skin nice and crispy.  But my question is, if they are already super tough by then will doing this even fix my issue?

Any advice or thoughts will be appreciated.  Thanks!
 
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I agree with noboubdaries- every time I choooed chicken in a smoker the skin was tough even when I grilled it afterwards. It was better but not where I would want it to be at. But if you smoke at a higher temp you can get the skin to be edible too crispy.
 
I've had very minimal experience adding olive oil to the skins before trying to crisp them, but by the time you get to the crisping phase, you've already drenched them in sauces and rubs. Best thing to do is to smoke for just a little bit, and then try to sear them on something that can give some crazy high heat. Other than that, you're going to need to get them crisp during the cooking process with some higher temps. As mentioned earlier, chicken skin disagrees with slow cooking for some reason.
 
High temp is your friend when smoking chicken wings. 325 minimum. Dry skin will also help. Air dried uncovered in the fridge for 8 hours.

I add more wood than normal which gives the wings a nice Smokey flavor even though they are only smokes for a short period of time.
 
Just throwing this in ,,, I been putting baking powder on the skin . I do  mine indirect on a weber kettle  at  about 300 .  Then wing sauce at table . 

Not sure how that works for what you are lookin for .  Good crisp skin . 
 
Weber kettle with a vortex is the way to go, IMHO!

Other than that, smoke at 225 for about an hour & a half & finish them on a screaming hot grill for just a couple of minutes on each side.

Al
 
Thank you all so much for the tips!  When I used to grill them I used a weber kettle, they were great.  I moved in November and didn't take my weber kettle (actually it was an off-brand that replaced my weber and I didn't really care for it).  After the move I got an offset and made quite a few mods, including an expanded metal basket that i place in my firebox that works well.

Now I'm just wondering about the logistics coming up this Sunday when I plan on smoking a rack of ribs and the wings at the same time.  I'm probably going to start with the ribs, and for the last hour throw the wings in the offset on the firebox side and raise the heat.  Then when I think they're ready, take out the expanded metal basket with my welding gloves, dump the charcoal in the firebox and place my firebox grating in there, and then move the wings into the firebox for direct heat.  The firebox grating doesn't fit with the basket in there, and although I don't like dumping it I have done it before.  I'll probably have to empty the ash trap too.
 
High temps is the only way to go.  I have a backwoods party and always place the wings on the upper racks where the heat rolls down the hottest.  I can get them grill-worthy crispy as long as I keep that part over 300 degrees!!

I do not grill mine dry, I marinade them in Italian dressing and then season.  They would most likely burn too far if I did grilled them dry.

For chicken legs/quarters I usually just let them go as I would any normal smoked meat (maybe higher temps- 275-300) the thicker size allows the skin to crisp on its own better than a wing.  Never hurts to grill them off though.
 
 
Weber kettle with a vortex is the way to go, IMHO!

Other than that, smoke at 225 for about an hour & a half & finish them on a screaming hot grill for just a couple of minutes on each side.

Al
Agreed  100%.  I use a indirect heat setup similar to the vortex.   Low 200's for a couple hours then right on top of the coals for a few seconds after basting.  Need to be ready to pull the wings off quickly for they will burn big time.
 
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