Perfect Smoked Buffalo Wings

Buffalo Wings are a fantastic treat, smoked meats are even better, this summer I decided to combine them for the 4th and for our weekly gathering: "Meat & Great: A Carnivore Carnival" where I fire up the smoker, the gas grill, and the charcoal grill for BYOB/BYOMeat Friends, Food, and Fun.

A quick parboil before smoking gives a crispy skin, great flavor, and when combined with using clarified butter for the buffalo sauce a deliciously non-greasy wing.

Step 1: Step 1: Homemade Buffalo Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 C Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter (or 1 1/3rd C Pre-Made Clarified Butter)
• 2 C Frank's Red Hot

Tools:

• Small Sauce Pan
• Spoon
• Cheese Cloth
• Funnel
• 2 1 pt. Mason Jars
• Measuring Cups

Part 1 - Make Clarified Butter (Skip this step if you buy Clarified Butter)

1. Cut butter into cubes, put in sauce pan over low-medium heat to melt
2. Bring melted butter to a simmer for about 20 minutes until it separates, skimming the foam off the top with a spoon
3. When butter goes from bright yellow to a deep golden strain through cheesecloth in funnel in 1 Mason Jar

Part 2 - Make Buffalo Sauce

1. Pour 3 Parts Frank's Red Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce (or similar) into 1 Mason Jar
2. Pour 2 Parts Clarified Butter into same Mason Jar
3. Shake well and keep warm until ready to add to wings

Step 2: Prep the Wings and the Smoker

Ingredients and Consumables:

• 15-30 Frozen Wings
• 2 Gallons of Water
• Wood Chips or Chunks for Smoking (I used Hickory, but Fruit Woods would work well too)
• Newspaper
• Propane
• Hardwood Lump Charcoal (Or Briquettes)

Equipment and Tools:

• Large Saucepan or Stew Pot
• Bowl to Soak Wood Chunks
• Smoker (I use and ECB-El Cheapo Brinkman with many of the Meatbot Upgrades)
• Propane Torch
• Starter Chimney

Countdown to Smoke Time:

1. 1 Hour Before Smoking - Soak Wood Chips or Chunks in bowl of Water
2. 30 Minutes Before Smoking - Bring 2 Gallons of Water to Boil and add Wings, Return to Boil for 10 minutes
3. 20 Minutes Before Smoking - Using Chimney Starter, newspaper, and Propane Torch light the charcoal
4. 10 Minutes Before Smoking - Drain and Pat Dry Each Wing
5. 5 Minutes Before Smoking - Fill smoker water bowl
6. 2 Minutes Before Smoking - Pour Ashed-Over Coals into coal bowl
7. 1 Minutes Before Smoking - Add liberal amounts of pre-soaked wood to coal bowl

Step 3: Smoked and Sauced

Consumables:

• More Wood
• More Water

Tools:

• Thermometer
• Container with lid

1. Maintain Smoker Temperature 225-250 Degrees Fahrenheit
2. Add more smoke wood every 15 minutes (or when smoke dies down)
3. When Chicken Internal Temp reaches 140 Degrees Fahrenheit (about 2:30-3:00 hours) remove from smoker
4. Put Wings and Sauce in container with lid, shake well
5. Serve with Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing and Sliced Celery (although, these are so good, most people skip it)
6. SHARE & ENJOY!!

Comments

[nabaridrift]

These sound pretty damned good...Frank's hot sauce is my personal favorite and I found that adding some Italian dressing--particularly the dry pack to the mix really brings the Buffalo wing sauce to life but don't take my word for it...try it out and you'll be surprised (^_^)!

[XaqFixx]

Thanks! I'll give it a shot.

[Nexus of Crisis]

The recipe for the sauce is identical to Wings "N" Things and I use it ALL THE TIME. Best wing sauce in the world and super easy to make.

I'm WAY too lazy to smoke them though. I just toss em in the fry daddy.

Dammit!.. Now I'm hungry.

[XaqFixx]

Yeah - The recipe for the sauce is from the bottle of Frank's - but I wanted to include instructions on how to make clarified butter as their receipe assumes you already have it on hand.

[LAKER24]

Thanks keep those recipes Coming I just got into smokable Wood Instead of Mesquite

[XaqFixx]

I LOVE Mesquite for beef - when I lived in SC someone actually recognized I was from TX/OK when they heard me expressing frustration because they grocery store only had Hickory and Apple and asking a clerk is they had Mesquite - but use fruitwood or hickory for milder flavored meats like Pork and Chicken.
I've heard great things about scrub and blackjack oak too, but the are harder to find this side of the Mississippi.

[muddog15]

Must modify propane grill!

[XaqFixx]

I use a cast iron smoker box on my gas grill occasionally with mixed results. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

[jessyratfink]

These sound amazing! I really need to get a smoker. :D

[XaqFixx]

I traded for a beat up one on CL, they are about $50 new, but you can often find them used cheap - thus there are some much nicer ones you can build.
I have a massive one planned using a 275G oil tank - I'll post an ible for that when it happens ;-)

[Danger is my middle name]

Yum, these do look perfectly smoked!

[XaqFixx]

Thanks! It's all about maintaining the temp and remebering to add more smokeable wood.