For those who remember, last week I used my Vortex for the first time to smoke wings in my Weber Kettle with not so overwhelming results in the texture of the skin. The wings tasted great, but the rubbery skin was a disappointment. This is how I had prepared those wings:
1. Seasoned the wings with Jeff's Rub
2. Fired up a full chimney of Royal Oak Lump Charcoal
3. Loaded the Vortex with the Royal Oak Lump Charcoal
4. Placed the wings on the perimeter of the cooking grate and placed a chunk of apple wood over the coals.
5, Rotated the lid 120˚ every 10 minutes and flipped the wings after 20 minutes.
6. At the 35 minute mark I checked the temperature of the wings with an instant read thermometer and found the internal temp to be 170˚
7. They looked great and tasted great, but my disappointment was with the texture of the skin--a bit rubbery and not crisp as I expected!
When I asked for advice,
Brokenhandle
BrianGSDTexoma
bregent
pc farmer
M
mike guy
6GRILLZNTN
sawhorseray
smokin peachey
y
Motorboat40
and
SmokingUPnorth
came through and educated me to the fact that THE WINGS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DRIED BEFORE SMOKING. Two techniques were offered:
(1) Drying the wings in the refrigerator over night OR
(2) Dusting the wings with baking powder before refrigerating for 2 hours.
I decided to try both and see which produced the crispier skin. I also decided to cook longer than 35 minutes by increasing the cooking time to 45 minutes.
I thank each and every one of you because you contributed to the following results.
Here are the results of my experiment:
TRAY (1): Wings dried in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
TRAY (2): Wings coated in baking powder and refrigerated for two hours.
Decided to use three different seasonings for variety.
The sauce for coating after cooking is a basic which I really like:
1/4 cup Franks Wing Sauce
1/4 stick butter
1T minced garlic.
black pepper to taste
Full chimney of Kingsford Standard Briquettes. The chunks of apple and maple are just hanging out. The rain wasn't going to stop me!
Vortex cranking out some intense heat
OK, everyone in the pool! My son was supposed to join me but he bailed at the last minute so I just used half of the wings for this smoke. I skewered the wings with the baking powder so I wouldn't lose track of them.
After 45 minutes: Sauced, plated, and ready for the verdict!
As it turns out, I honestly could not tell the difference! It all boils down to making sure the wings are dried before smoking regardless of whether you are using the refrigerator method or the baking powder method. A lesson learned with the help of some great folks here on SMF.
pc farmer
used olive oil, which gives him crispy skin. Since I am Greek, I definitely will be trying his meathod with the other half of the wings--my mother would be disappointed if I didn't!
Thanks again all and thanks for viewing,
John
1. Seasoned the wings with Jeff's Rub
2. Fired up a full chimney of Royal Oak Lump Charcoal
3. Loaded the Vortex with the Royal Oak Lump Charcoal
4. Placed the wings on the perimeter of the cooking grate and placed a chunk of apple wood over the coals.
5, Rotated the lid 120˚ every 10 minutes and flipped the wings after 20 minutes.
6. At the 35 minute mark I checked the temperature of the wings with an instant read thermometer and found the internal temp to be 170˚
7. They looked great and tasted great, but my disappointment was with the texture of the skin--a bit rubbery and not crisp as I expected!
When I asked for advice,
Brokenhandle
BrianGSDTexoma
bregent
pc farmer
M
mike guy
6GRILLZNTN
sawhorseray
smokin peachey
y
Motorboat40
and
SmokingUPnorth
came through and educated me to the fact that THE WINGS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DRIED BEFORE SMOKING. Two techniques were offered:(1) Drying the wings in the refrigerator over night OR
(2) Dusting the wings with baking powder before refrigerating for 2 hours.
I decided to try both and see which produced the crispier skin. I also decided to cook longer than 35 minutes by increasing the cooking time to 45 minutes.
I thank each and every one of you because you contributed to the following results.
Here are the results of my experiment:
TRAY (1): Wings dried in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
TRAY (2): Wings coated in baking powder and refrigerated for two hours.
Decided to use three different seasonings for variety.
The sauce for coating after cooking is a basic which I really like:
1/4 cup Franks Wing Sauce
1/4 stick butter
1T minced garlic.
black pepper to taste
Full chimney of Kingsford Standard Briquettes. The chunks of apple and maple are just hanging out. The rain wasn't going to stop me!
Vortex cranking out some intense heat
OK, everyone in the pool! My son was supposed to join me but he bailed at the last minute so I just used half of the wings for this smoke. I skewered the wings with the baking powder so I wouldn't lose track of them.
After 45 minutes: Sauced, plated, and ready for the verdict!
As it turns out, I honestly could not tell the difference! It all boils down to making sure the wings are dried before smoking regardless of whether you are using the refrigerator method or the baking powder method. A lesson learned with the help of some great folks here on SMF.
pc farmer
used olive oil, which gives him crispy skin. Since I am Greek, I definitely will be trying his meathod with the other half of the wings--my mother would be disappointed if I didn't!Thanks again all and thanks for viewing,
John
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