Chicken Wings, Smoked

Ingredients

Brine

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup table salt, or 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 6 cups cold water
• 2 tablespoons white pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
• Dry rub:
• Any dry rub recipe… with baking powder???

Wings

• 5 pounds chicken wings (flats and drumettes)
• 2 1/2 Tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Make the Brine:
2. Combine vinegar and pepper flakes.

Thoroughly dissolve the salt and sugar in water.

1. Add the vinegar mixture, white pepper, and black pepper.
2. Stir to mix, cover, and store in the refrigerator overnight.

Brine the wings

1. Place chicken wings in a large nonmetal container (I use a large zip top bag).
2. Pour the brine mixture over the wings, making sure they are completely covered.
3. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Allow the wings to brine for 2 to 4 hours.
4. Dry Rub Wings:
5. At this point, you can add a dry rub.

Smoke the wings

1. Remove wings from brine and rinse well. Discard any remaining brine.
2. Dry your chicken wings thoroughly on all sides with a paper towel. Place them in a zip top bag.
3. Add the baking powder and salt to the wings, close the bag, and toss to coat evenly.
4. Set smoker to 250 degrees F using your favorite wood (I like hickory to get a good smoke).

Place the wings directly on the grill grates.

1. When smoker gets to temp, smoke for 30 minutes (while smoking, preheat oven to 425).
2. Remove wings from smoker and place on grate above sheet pan in oven and cook until the internal temperature of the wing reads 175 degrees F (about ??? minutes using convection).
3. You can also finish these off on the grill. Rotate or flip the wings as needed to maintain even cooking and avoid any hot spots on the grill.
4. Remove the wing from the grill or oven and serve. You can serve plain, toss in your favorite BBQ seasoning, or hot sauce.