You gotta try these Bourbon BBQ Smoked Wings! Perfectly smoked to juicy perfection, these wings are drenched in a rich bourbon-infused barbecue sauce, delivering a delightful balance of sweetness and smokiness.
There is nothing better than getting your hands sticky and messy from eat these rich and tangy Bourbon BBQ Smoked Wings.
These wings boast a perfect balance of sweetness, smokiness, and savory goodness, making it a mouthwatering meal, at any occasion.
How Do You Make Bourbon BBQ Smoked Wings?
First, you have to craft that delicious Bourbon BBQ sauce.
Then we prep the chicken wings with our dry rub and seasoning process.
And lastly, we smoke the chicken wings until they crispy & golden brown, and then toss them in the Bourbon BBQ sauce to complete this amazing recipe.
Key Elements Of This Recipe
- Quality Chicken Wings: Fresh, organic chicken wings work best
- Bourbon BBQ Sauce: Thick, rich and tangy – with a hint of bourbon
- Smoke: Use a good smoker, like the Traeger Ironwood XL Pellet Smoker
The Ingredients for Bourbon BBQ Smoked Wings
- 800g Chicken Wings (about 12-18 wings)
- Dry Rub
- 2 tablespoons Salt
- 2 tablespoon Black Pepper
- 4 tablespoons Traeger Fin and Feather Rub
- Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Wagyu Beef Tallow (or unsalted butter)
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup Woodinville Whiskey
- 3 tablespoons Woodinville Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
- 1/2 cup Tomato Paste
- 1/3 cup Black Pepper
- 5 Garlic Cloves (grated)
- 1/2 Yellow Onion (grated)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 3 tablespoons Garlic Powder
- 2 tablespoons Onion Powder
The Equipment Needed
- Traeger Ironwood Wood Pellet Grill (or any other quality smoker)
- Large Wooden Mixing Bowl
- Aluminum Baking Pan
Craft Your Bourbon BBQ Sauce
In an aluminum baking pan, grate your onion and garlic.
Add in the rest of the Bourbon BBQ Sauce ingredients and mix well.
Then place your sauce on your smoker alongside your wings and smoke for a minimum of 15 minutes at 300°F. (Keep it in longer if you’d like to infuse more smokey flavor into the sauce.)
Prepare Your Chicken Wings
The key to having amazingly crispy and flavorful chicken wings, is to season them the night before and let them sit in the fridge so the skin can dry out.
Start by lining up your wings on a drying rack and then drying them out with a paper towel.
Sprinkle your dry rub ingredients liberally onto your wings, remembering to flip them once and coat the other side.
Afterwards, place the rack in the fridge overnight, so that the dry rub can penetrate the chicken wings and the skin can dry out a bit.
Pro Tip: Using a drying rack here is key so that there is good air flow on both the top and bottom of the wings. This will help the skin dry out and tighten a bit in the fridge.
Smoking Your Chicken Wings
Fire up your smoker to 300°F.
I’m running a Traeger Ironwood XL Pellet Smoker, with hickory pellets – but any quality smoker will work here.
Place your prepped chicken wings directly onto the grill and smoke them until they reach an internal temperature of 150°F. (This should take anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending on your smoker and your environment.)
Then, raise the temperature of your smoker to 450°F – so that we can crisp up the skin of the wings as they finish cooking. Finish smoking at this heat until the internal temperature of your wings reach 175°F.
Pro Tip: Watch your wings carefully after you raise your smoker temperature to 450°F. This last step can be really quick, and you’ll want to make sure you don’t burn your wings.
Once your wings have hit 175°F internal temp, remove from the grill.
No Smoker? No Problem – Oven Method
Heat up your oven to 350°F and bake the wings on a tray – until the internal temperature of the wings reach 175°F. You won’t have the smoke flavor this way, but the wings will still be crispy & delicious.
Putting It All Together
Place your smoked chicken wings into a large mixing bowl and add in your Bourbon BBQ sauce.
Give all of the wings a thorough toss – so that every wing is coated in the sauce.
Pro Tip: It helps to toss the wings in the sauce in batches so that you can ensure even coating of the sauce on every wing. Also there is less potential for a mess that way.
Then plate your Bourbon BBQ Smoked Wings and serve immediately.
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Equipment
- 1 Traeger Ironwood Wood Pellet Grill, (or any other quality smoker)
Ingredients
- 800 grams Chicken Wings, (about 12-18 wings)
Dry Rub
- 2 tablespoons Salt
- 2 tablespoons Black Pepper
- 4 tablespoons Traeger Fin and Feather Rub
Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- 1 tablespoons Wagyu Beef Tallow, (or unsalted butter)
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup Woodinville Whiskey
- 3 tablespoons Woodinville Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoons Liquid Smoke
- 1/2 cup Tomato Paste
- 1/3 cup Black Pepper
- 5 cloves Garlic, (grated)
- 1/2 Yellow Onion, (grated)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- 3 tablespoons Garlic Powder
- 2 tablespoons Onion Powder
Instructions
Craft Your Bourbon BBQ Sauce
- In an aluminum baking pan, grate your onion and garlic.
- Add in the rest of the Bourbon BBQ Sauce ingredients and mix well.
- Then place your sauce on your smoker alongside your wings and smoke for a minimum of 15 minutes at 300°F. (Keep it in longer if you'd like to infuse more smokey flavor into the sauce.)
Prepare Your Chicken Wings
- The key to having amazingly crispy and flavorful chicken wings, is to season them the night before and let them sit in the fridge so the skin can dry out.
- Start by lining up your wings on a drying rack and then drying them out with a paper towel.
- Sprinkle your dry rub ingredients liberally onto your wings, remembering to flip them once and coat the other side.
- Afterwards, place the rack in the fridge overnight, so that the dry rub can penetrate the chicken wings and the skin can dry out a bit.
- Pro Tip: Using a drying rack here is key so that there is good air flow on both the top and bottom of the wings. This will help the skin dry out and tighten a bit in the fridge.
Smoking Your Chicken Wings
- Fire up your smoker to 300°F.
- I’m running a Traeger Ironwood XL Pellet Smoker, with hickory pellets – but any quality smoker will work here.
- Place your prepped chicken wings directly onto the grill and smoke them until they reach an internal temperature of 150°F. (This should take anywhere from 15-30 minutes depending on your smoker and your environment.)
- Then, raise the temperature of your smoker to 450°F – so that we can crisp up the skin of the wings as they finish cooking. Finish smoking at this heat until the internal temperature of your wings reach 175°F.
- Pro Tip: Watch your wings carefully after you raise your smoker temperature to 450°F. This last step can be really quick, and you’ll want to make sure you don’t burn your wings.
- Once your wings have hit 175°F internal temp, remove from the grill.
No Smoker? No Problem – Oven Method
- Heat up your oven to 350°F and bake the wings on a tray – until the internal temperature of the wings reach 175°F. You won't have the smoke flavor this way, but the wings will still be crispy & delicious.
Putting It All Together
- Place your smoked chicken wings into a large mixing bowl and add in your Bourbon BBQ sauce.
- Give all of the wings a thorough toss – so that every wing is coated in the sauce.
- Pro Tip: It helps to toss the wings in the sauce in batches so that you can ensure even coating of the sauce on every wing. Also there is less potential for a mess that way.
- Then plate your Bourbon BBQ Smoked Wings and serve immediately.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is just an estimate derived by an online calculation tool.
FAQ
Do you need to flip chicken wings on a smoker?
As long as they are directly on the smoker racks, you do not need to flip them.
How long do you smoke chicken wings?
Smoke chicken wings until they reach an internal temperature of 175°F.
How do you get extra crispy skin when smoking chicken wings?
Flash frying (after you smoke) is probably the easiest way to get crispy skin on your smoked wings. But outside of that, in this recipe, we crank up the smoker from 300°F to 450°F, for the last leg of our smoke – which helps to crisp up the skin of our wings.
