There is no appetizer quite like great chicken wings. Although there are many different variations and flavors, to me nothing beats a classic buffalo sauce. Most chicken wings from a restaurant are breaded or deep fried because its an easy way to make that extra crispy chicken wing that everyone loves, but deep fried wings cant compare to the smokey flavor you can produce at home with your pellet grill.
In this recipe I will show you how you can make bold, delicious smoky buffalo wings with extra crispy skin that are bursting with flavor. I guarantee these wings will be your new favorite and your go to for Sunday football.
How to make smoked buffalo chicken wings on a pellet grill
Prep the wings
If you bought whole wings you will need to break the wings down to separate the wing tip, drumette, and wing. Cutting up wings is incredibly easy, once you know exactly where to cut. With a little practice you can cut up a few pounds of wings its just a few minutes. I like to use a 10 inch chef knife and a large cutting board. The trick is to find and cut directly at the joint. You can use your finger to feel the ridges of the joint and that is where to push your knife through. If you feel a lot of resistance, wiggle the knife a bit until you find less resistance push the knife through. You should know have a clean cut. If may take a little practice but you will soon be able to break a chicken wing down in now time. Discard the wing tips as they have very little meat.
Preheat the smoker
Preheat your pellet grill to 250 degrees. I typically use hickory flavor pellets for smoking my chicken wings, but use your favorite flavor and don’t be afraid to experiment.
Dry the wings
The secret to making the best smoked buffalo wings, is to make sure they come off the grill with that extra crispy skin. The secret to crispy buffalo wings to do that is make sure the wings are DRY before they go on your pellet grill. This can be accomplished in a few ways, but I’ll explain my go to method method here, which is the quickest and easiest.
After the wings are broken down, use a few paper towels to pat wings dry and soak up any excess moisture
Place 1 tablespoon of corn starch in a large ziplock bag (if you are cooking a lot of wings use roughly 1 tablespoon for every 2 pounds of wings)
Add the wings to the bag and give it all a good shake until the wings are lighted coated with the cornstarch.
Take the wings out of the bag and transfer them to a baking tray to get ready for seasoning
The cornstarch helps keep the skin dry and help make those delicious crispy wings your family and friends will rave about.
If you have the time you can also use a baking tray and cooling rack to place let the wings “sweat” out their moisture in your refrigerator for few hours or over night.
Apply the Rub
Coat the chicken wings on both sides generously with a dry rub of your choice. I use my homemade chicken wing dry rub for these which add a nice kick of garlic and salt. If you like extra spice you can use dust the wings with some cayenne pepper. You can easily modify this recipe to make hot wings by coating the wings with a lot of cayenne after the primary rub has set up.
Smoke
Place the seasoned chicken wings directly onto the grates of your pellet grill and let them smoke for 45 minutes at 250 degrees. There is no need to turn or flip the wings during the smoke. After 45 minutes the wings should start to develop a nice golden brown color.
Make the Buffalo Sauce
While your wings are smoking, you will have time to mix up some delicious homemade buffalo sauce. The best buffalo wing sauce is very simple; butter and Franks Hot Sauce. Melt 1/3 cup butter in the microwave then add 2/3 cups of Franks Hot Sauce. Use a small whisk to mix the butter and hot sauce….thats it!
Crisp the skin
After the 45 minute smoke flip the wings and turn up the heat on your pellet grill to 425 degrees. Finishing the wings over high heat will produce those crispy smoked wings you are after. Let the wings cook at 425 for no more than 15 minutes and they should be done. You can use a meat thermometer to probe the wings to make sure the internal temperature is above 165 degrees. Once they are done place wings on a baking sheet to bring them inside for sauce.
Sauce the wings
Place your wings in a large bowl and pour the buffalo sauce on top. Give the bowl a few shakes to toss all the wings in your buffalo sauce. OR you can leave a few wings naked (without the sauce) if you have someone who just likes a dry rub (like my kids).
Serve and Enjoy!
Chop up some celery, pour some blue cheese dressing in a bowl and enjoy the best smoked chicken wings around!
Smoked Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
- 1 LB chicken wings
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2-3 Tbsp spice rub
Chicken Wing Spice Rub
- 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp cumin
Buffalo Wing Sauce
- 1/3 cup butter – melted
- 2/3 cup Franks Hot Sauce
Instructions
- Break down the wings into individual wings and drumettes
- Preheat your pellet grill to 250 degrees with your favorite pellets.
- Dry the wings thoroughly with a paper towel and place them in a ziplock bag.
- Add the cornstarch to the bag and shake it until the wings are coated with cornstarch. Lay the dried wings on a baking tray.
- Apply a light coating of the rub onto both sides of the wings.
- Place the wings directly onto the grates of your grill and close the lid. Let the wings smoke for 45 minutes at 250 degrees.
- Flip the wings and increase the heat to 425 degrees. Cook the wings for another 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is above 165 degrees
- Remove the wings from the grill and toss them in your homemade buffalo sauce. Enjoy!
Buffalo Sauce
- Place 1/3 cup of butter in glass bowl and melt in the microwave
- Add 2/3 cup of Franks Hot sauce to the melted butter
- Whisk the butter and hot sauce together.