Wonderfully smoky, tender meat with a lightly crispy skin, these smoked and then fried chicken wings were a thing of beauty. These are one of most dangerous things you could ever put in front of me. I don’t even need any sauce to toss or dunk them in, either. Just give me a big basket of them and get out of the way!
First You Smoke ‘Em
The process is simple. Season your wings, and place them onto your smoker. No messing around with them either. Just smoke for 2 hours.
Then You Fry Them
When the wings are done you toss them into a deep fryer for a minute or so, until golden brown and lightly crispy. You can also make a big huge batch and freeze the smoked wings (before frying). All you have to do is thaw them and deep fry them when you’re ready to serve them at a later time. I was worried that making them from the frozen smoked wings would result in over-cooked, tough wings, but oh no, they were fantastic!
There’s a brewpub by our house that makes crazy-good chicken wings. They smoke them first over a mix of mesquite and cherry woods, then flash fry them. They sauce them then place them over a hot flame to finish them off. My approach is similar, but I don’t always put them onto the grill at the end. They are fantastic either way, but grilling them real quick does help set the sauce.
Got an air fryer too? Also try some air fryer wings.
Check out my always-growing list of over 200 favorite store-bought wing sauces and seasonings!
Smoked and Fried Wings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds chicken wings flats and drumettes separated, tips saved to make stock
- Your favorite wing seasoning
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Fire up your smoker for 225 F. Use any wood you like. I used Jack Daniel’s whiskey barrel chunks because I wanted a good, noticeable smoke flavor. Use a lighter wood if you want your wings to be a little less smoky.
- Toss the wings with plenty of the wing seasoning.
- Place the wings onto the smoker and smoke for 2 hours. No need to rotate or flip them.
- When done, remove from the smoker. You can deep fry them immediately or freeze them for thawing and frying later.
- To fry, heat canola oil to 350 F.
- Working in batches, add the wings and fry for 1-2 minutes or until they are the desired color.
- Let cool slightly. Serve tossed with your favorite sauce and your favorite dipping sauce on the side. Click here for our guide on how to sauce your wings.
- Optional: Toss the wings onto a hot grill for 1 minute after saucing them to set the sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate and will not include any store-bought wing sauce or seasoning nutritional values.
