Chicken wings are one of my family's favorite foods! They can be cooked so many ways, but my favorite way to enjoy wings is by smoking them! These delicious and easy smoked chicken wings take very little effort or skill to make, and they are a healthier way to enjoy crispy chicken wings without frying them! You can finish them off with your favorite buffalo sauce or BBQ sauce, but they are so flavorful it really isn't needed.
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When I say that our family LOVES wings, it's a vast understatement. We each have our favorite flavors, measures of doneness (I like mine extra, extra crispy), and some of us are even particular about whether we want wing flats or drummies (Matt and Cam). With restaurants recently closing for over two months here in KY, I had to figure out a way to cook our own wings, so I decided to try some on our smoker. HOLY MOLY! Smoked wings are seriously our new favorite! They definitely take a little longer to cook, but when they come off of the smoker, they are juicy on the inside and crispy (just the way I like them) on the outside! You can take them off of the smoker and eat them as is, because they have soooo much flavor, or you can toss or dip them in your favorite wing sauce. Either way, they are freaking amazing!
What do you need to make smoked chicken wings?
- 2 pounds of chicken wings
- homemade dry rub for chicken or salt and pepper
- smoker ( Here is a link to the Traeger smoker we have ) I'll also list some less expensive alternatives below!
- wing sauce of your choice ( optional, but here is a link to my favorite sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings )
How do you smoke chicken wings?
- Preheat smoker to 180 ° F
- Pat wings dry and season with salt and pepper or your favorite dry rub ( THIS is my homemade rub recipe )
- Place wings on the smoker grate and cook for 1 hour.
- Turn the heat up to 400° to 450° and sear wings on both sides (about 3-5 minutes on each side)
- Remove from smoker and eat as is or toss/dip in your favorite wing sauce!
Smoker Recommendations
We've had a couple of different smokers, but we LOVE our Traeger Grill the most. It's a pellet grill, and is powered by electricity. It's super easy to use, which we love, and the heat is so easy to regulate...the smoker regulates itself. If you are looking for a high end smoker, definitely check out Traeger Grills...THIS is the Traeger we have and love! Check out my Amazon Store HERE if you are looking for this grill and all of the accessories we have and use!
For a mid-range smoker, I love this Weber Charcoal Smoker. There is no electricity needed to use this smoker, and it's a lot less expensive.
If you are looking for an electric smoker and want to stay super budget friendly, this Cuisinart Electric Smoker is a great option!
More Smoker Recipes
If you love your smoker as much as we do, you'll love these easy smoker recipes...
- How to Smoke Ribs Using the 2-2-1 Method
- How to Smoke a Pork Shoulder (Pulled Pork)
- How to Smoke a Turkey
- How to Smoke a Spatchcock Chicken
- How to Reverse Sear a Tri-Tip Steak
Delicious and Easy Smoked Chicken Wings
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Chicken wings are one of my family's favorite foods! They can be cooked so many ways, but my favorite way to enjoy wings is by smoking them! These delicious and easy smoked chicken wings take very little effort or skill to make, and they are a healthier way to enjoy crispy chicken wings without frying them! You can finish them off with your favorite buffalo sauce or BBQ sauce, but they are so flavorful it really isn't needed.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of chicken wings
- homemade dry rub for chicken or salt and pepper
- smoker ( Here is a link to the Traeger smoker we have ) I'll also list some less expensive alternatives below!
- wing sauce of your choice ( optional, but here is a link to my favorite sauces from Buffalo Wild Wings )
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 180 ° F
- Pat wings dry and season with salt and pepper or your favorite dry rub ( THIS is my homemade rub recipe )
- Place wings on the smoker grate and cook for 1 hour.
- Turn the heat up to 400° to 450° and sear wings on both sides (about 3-5 minutes on each side)
- Remove from smoker and eat as is or toss/dip in your favorite wing sauce!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Keywords: chicken, wings, chicken wings, smoked, smoker, smoked wings
Kathy says
Hi, Jessica :) I was wondering if this can be made in the oven? I don't have a smoker & these wings look awesome!Love your recipes here in Kentucky! :)
Jessica says
I don't see why not! Just use your broiler to crisp them up at the end maybe!
Justin says
Do you allow the temp to get up to 400-450 and then start searing them?
Using the Smoking option for wings for the first time on my traeger and wanted to give your way of cooking them a shot! I also read that a little bit corn starch mixed in with the rub makes them crispier...we will see.
Justin says
To my question above: what I meant was you don’t take them off when the grill is being heated up to 400-450, correct? I normally do when I’m cooking steak this way but haven’t seen if anyone does for wings. Thanks again!
Jessica says
I don't take them off while heating...they start to crisp up as the smoker gets up to temp. Hope this helps!
Amy says
Thanks for sharing this recipe! First thing I cooked on my new Taeger. They turned out perfectly.
★★★★★
Jessica says
I'm so glad you liked them! We just made them again this past Sunday :)