Smoked & Charred “Rally Wings”
I call these “Rally Wings” because there’s nothing that goes better than wings and football!
“I don’t mind hot and spicy. Actually, I find that appealing in a man … and CHICKEN WINGS!”
Smoked & Charred “Rally Wings” Recipe
Ingredients (Makes 6+ servings)
18 bone-in whole chicken wings
8-10 cups cold ice water
6 Tbsp. sea salt (divided)
3 Tbsp. sugar
3 Tbsp. fresh cracked black pepper
¾ c. margarine (melted and slightly cooled)
1 ½ c. Red’s Hot Sauce
Directions
Step 1: Rinse and quality check your whole, raw wings. (Often times processors miss some of the pin feathers on wings, so remove if present.)
The blue circles show pin feathers not removed during the wings’ processing. Simply pluck them out with your fingers or use tweezers. No one wants to eat feathers!
Step 2: Dissolve sugar and 4 Tbsp. salt in cold water. Submerge the wings in the water and add ice allowing wings to brine, covered in the refrigerator, for at least an hour.
Step 3: Preheat smoker to 225 degrees. Drain the wings and pat as dry as possible with paper towels. (You want them dry so the seasoning adheres and you get a nice, crisp skin in the smoker.) Season and toss wings with 2 Tbsp. salt and the cracked pepper.
Step 4: Smoke wings for approx. 2-3 hours until wings reach an internal temperature of 175 degrees. (Because wings are mostly bone, temp by sliding your thermometer in horizontally, to the thickest part of the meat possible, to get correct meat temp.)
Step 5: Remove cooked wings from smoker and set aside. Preheat grill to high. Whisk melted butter and hot sauce together (you want the melted butter cool – not hot – so that when it coats the wings, the sauce adheres better.) Pour over the cooked wings and toss to completely coat.
Step 6: Place the wings on OILED grates (as to not stick), and char each side to caramelize the sugars in the sauce, to the desired color. (You are not cooking the meat so this process can go rather quickly.)
Step 7: Serve with whichever dipping sauces and veggies you like!
OPTIONAL: If you’re not a fan of traditional “buffalo style” you can use whatever sauce you like – BBQ, Asian Zing, Kung Pao, etc.