Mild smoky pellet-grill wings

Pellet-grilled chicken wings with a mild smoky flavor, crisped in two stages for rendered skin and juicy meat. The dry brine rub seasons the wings throughout and helps them brown well during the hot finishing cook.

Total time: 17 h 41 min • Active: 1 h 31 min • Inactive: 16 h 10 min

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Cook Notes Summary

These wings were consistently a hit and would be made again, especially with a spicy dip or ranch on the side. The seasoning was well liked, but when eaten plain they could use a bit more spice while keeping the salt level the same. Omitting baking powder still produced good wings, though they were less crispy, so it seems worth keeping for texture if tolerated. A future batch should scale the rub carefully for about 2 pounds of wings and can lean on garlic, paprika, pepper, a little sugar, and a small amount of MSG for balance.

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Ingredients

3 lb chicken wings
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp black pepper

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Mild smoky pellet-grill wings

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Mix the kosher salt, baking powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and black pepper into a dry brine rub. This representation uses the main Diamond Crystal amount and omits the optional thyme, optional mustard powder, and Morton salt alternative.

Pat the chicken wings very dry with paper towels.

Toss the dried wings with the dry brine rub until evenly coated.

Arrange the coated wings on a wire rack set over a sheet pan and refrigerate them uncovered for 8 to 24 hours.

Set the pellet grill to a smoke temperature in the 107°C to 121°C range.

Smoke the dry-brined wings on the grill until they reach about 66°C to 71°C internal temperature.

Raise the pellet grill temperature to a high-heat finishing range of 204°C to 232°C.

Cook the smoked wings at high heat, flipping once or twice, until browned, rendered, and at least 79°C internal, preferably in the 79°C to 85°C range.

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Mild smoky pellet-grill wings

Cook Notes Summary

Ingredients

Timeline

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