Smoked Buffalo Wings

By Chef Andrew

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 40 chicken wings
  • 6 tbsp baking powder
  • 6 tbsp salt
  • Neutral oil for deep frying
  • Buffalo sauce:
    • 1 cup Frank’s Red Hot Wing Sauce
    • 6 tbsp unsalted butter
    • 1-2 scotch bonnet (or habanero) peppers, minced fine. Increase or decrease according to your spice tolerance.
    • 3 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

  • Pat wings dry.
  • Pre-heat your smoker to 200° using your favorite wood. If you don’t have a smoker, learn to improvise one here: Improvised Indoor Smoker.
  • In batches, place wings in a zip-lock bag with proportional amounts of the baking powder and salt.
  • Close the bag, and toss to coat evenly.
  • Place the wings directly on the smoker grill grates, close the lid, and smoke for 60 minutes flipping them halfway.
  • Heat oil to 350° F in deep fryer or dutch oven.*
  • Deep fry smoked wings for 4 minutes, flipping halfway.
  • Rest on paper towels to remove any excess oil.
  • Make buffalo sauce:
    • Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.
    • Stir in hot sauce.
    • Add the brown sugar and minced hot peppers.
    • Bring to a boil then simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring periodically, until slightly reduced and thickened, about 6–8 minutes.
  • Coat the wings in the buffalo sauce.
  • Serve with bleu cheese dressing, celery and carrot sticks

Chef’s Notes

  • *If you prefer not to deep fry, baste the smoked wings with the buffalo sauce and increase the heat in your smoker to 425° F. Smoke for an additional 15 minutes until sauce is crispy and the the internal temperature of the wings reads 175°F.  Remove the wings from the smoker, re-sauce and serve. 

Suggested Pairings

Pilsner. Riesling, Gewürztraminer, or Sparkling wine.