Wings. Several. THANK YOU BBcue-Z, mike.stavlund

[addicted-to-smoke]

This thread is woefully shy of pix; I can't get into that much during Fall/Winter with the weak light outdoors.

Inspiration: I brined
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/hot-sauce-brined-wings/

Rub:
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/other-recipes/wings-recipe/msg111810/#msg111810

G$ I will try your sauce next time; tonight I used only grocery-store BBQ sauce and come "Carolina" (yellow) sauce. Needless to say it wasn't anything like "restaurant" wings, for good or ill.

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/chile-cilantro-lime-wings/msg60223/#msg60223






(How To" summary)
1) Full chimney of leftover hardwood briq, lump, Kingsford Hickory briq
2) coals put into one end, two firebricks as barrier; two small Weber drip pans filled with water
3) 22.5" kettle -- you can buy these in stores, craigslist or eBay
4) fresh wings, some sold as drums, some sold and drums/flats cut up / brined overnight / rub left in 'fridge for a few hours

I screwed up because I should have done the 'fridge / drying out process BEFORE putting on the rub but was pressed for time and so, skin wasn't crispy.

I covered 2/3 or 4/5 of the grate with wings, indirect. I added a "vintage" Weber warming rack (same thing as new M/T come with) for another 10 or so that wouldn't fit. YES they cooked faster.

Grate temps began high, about 450, and I spent a good 30 mins or more adding water to drip pans, completely shutting down the grill and so on trying to lessen the temperature. Next time I'll drag another grill over and just REMOVE some coals ... I just do NOT yet have a "feel" for how many coals to do a given cook.

Cooked chicken at about 230-290 for about an hour; I added some lump after about 30 mins when temps were slowly lowering even with all vents open and coals always burning/firing brightly. Temps began to rise ... but time ran out ... I turned the chicken but couldn't really move them around much.

I had a plan to rotate / "sear" the wings at the end but something happened, I looked at them in the very dim light and thought, "I bet they are done." Grabbed a flat from the middle and bit into it, Done. A friend asked for a big drum; same thing. Done. Actually, the "something happened" I think was the Maverick probe got jostled and went from reading the grate to reading a wing's outside temp .. and as I saw it go from 155 to 160 I said, "close enough."

Learned later that some were more done (warming rack) and some were sorta-done but really were showing pink near the bone. Shit!

All were delicious but here's what I'd do differently next time:

1) start grill before 4pm for a "6pm" dinner (I never learn ... between lighting and dicking around with temps I used up an hour.)
2) for this many 40+? wings use the 22 and the 18 ?
3) use less rub somehow / it clumped

[Winz]

Great post with some good "lessons learned".  I can't do wings for shit but SO want to copy the "desert heat" wings at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Nice and crispy with a great dry rub.  I think the secret is "'fridge / drying out process BEFORE putting on the rub"

40+ wings = great excuse to buy a Ranch

Winz

[Bob BQ]

Thanks for the post! They look f'ing phenomenal...

[iCARRY]

I love cooking wings. Usually do 12 wings and drums still attached with tips removed. Brine the night before, dry out in fridge for 3-4 hours, then put the rub on. I go pretty high on the temp. 3/4 full chimney with some cherry and apple wood for smoke. Turn after 20 minutes, 15 minutes later I put them right over the coals and crisp them up. Here are some I did recently

[addicted-to-smoke]

*40+ wings = great excuse to buy a Ranch*

I doubt in my lifetime I'd be able to justify such a machine even though tonight's cook was 4 adults, two little kids and only SIX leftover wings. Truth be told, it was a great "excuse" to use the warming rack (thanks again, Ed R. ... ) although it did necessitate removing it in order to get to the ones below it for turning once. No biggie overall.

I was whining to my friend how I'm learning by fits and starts, never seeming to grok some basic concepts despite my successes last year. He mentioned that despite recipes frequently calling for some standard temps, there's actually a fairly broad range for many  cooks, so maybe I need to unclench a bit more, and work harder at planing.

Maybe I need to light the coals sooner, or maybe just use the "right amount" to begin with and be in a position to light a few extra as needed later. I dunno. I grill at least once a week or more and want my learning curve to increase a little faster.

The Maverick was an eye-opener--first time I used it, only for grate temp. When it said 450 the POS dome said 300. When the Maverick said 250 at the grate the dome was about 300. Worthless, as I kinda suspected. I have another, new replacement '90s style lid thermo on the way, just because I'm a completist.

[addicted-to-smoke]

Thanks Bob BQ. My kitchen has a strong fluorescent light I keep forgetting to color-correct for. They looked better in real life.

iCARRY I'm a little on the fence about the brine! On the one hand, it was easy. On the other, I don't really know what it did, and it used up stuff I just gotta replenish ... that said, your description sounds easy, about as I might have tried. Picture looks great.

It should be noted that the impetus for doing this was mcgolden and his awesome-looking wings here: http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/smoked-wings-on-my-sam-adams/ A perfect setup for about 20 wings or about 2 people.

[iCARRY]

The brine I use is really simple and cheap. Water, brown sugar, kosher salt, and lots crushed garlic cloves. I feel like it works. I have cooked without brining with great success as well though.

[1buckie]

All those cookups look pretty good from here !!!!

This:
     3) 22.5" kettle -- you can buy these in stores, craigslist or eBay

.....looks tailor-made for a signature line......


Try it without water pans for a drier environment.....might come out more crispy?

The dry time in the fridge helps for sure, but then maybe adding moisture, by way of steam, back in defeats some of that?

Not sure, but it might be worth a try......


Me, I'd probably get pissed off & deep fry them at the end...............

[BBcue-Z]

Thanks addicted-to-smoke
I agree with 1buckie, the water pan puts too much moisture and causes the skin to steam. There is no need for extra moisture, since they were brined and had plenty. The drying in the fridge is important, but you can also lightly dust the wings with a mixture of 80% cornstarch and 20% baking soda. This is not breading and will not change the texture of the skin. The cornstarch dust would disappear after cooking and no one will know it was there. It will however keep the skin dryer and result in crispier wings.

[addicted-to-smoke]

I'm on the fence about wanting crispy wings. Crispy other bird pieces, OK. And really, the water was a reaction from wanting to cool the kettle some but like I said above the better way would have been to just remove some coals that that point. I don't know ... two days ago is a distant memory. The next afternoon I cleaned it all out and the two drip pans were still completely filled mostly with water.

That said, I never do anything twice the same way, which is why I could never make a living feeding people. So yeah, with brine, no water in the pan. Got it.

80% cornstarch and 20% baking soda
Thanks, I'll keep that mind hopefully if I forget to dry them before rubbing. Speaking of which, the rub was tasty but too thickly applied and clumpy. Had to make it 3 times to cover all the chicken. Guess I should have used a shaker and not rolled them in it!! The initial 5 pieces would be OK and then the rub got wet and just clumped.

Me, I'd probably get pissed off & deep fry them at the end......
No you wouldn't. I've seen your posts--you've done more complicated stuff than friggin' chik wings, trust me. If anything, in my limited experience doing wings (twice now/different setups/circumstances) they are more forgiving that normal sized chicken parts.

I'm now itching to squeeze the warming rack into the 18.5 for some kinda other hot/less hot cooking setup. Meat up top, veggies below, getting some drippings perhaps.

[BBcue-Z]

Warming rack totally works, and it double your space if you're cooking indirect.

Try BGE warming rack for the 18.5 kettle.

[OGlenn]

I quit frying wings once I used the vortex setup. My "vortex" is an upside down stok chimney and I bet the real vortex is even better.

The taste of grilled wings and hot sauce after the cook is just perfect. Crispy wings are guaranteed and my only prep is butchering them buffalo-style. Once done cooking, I sauce them up as much or as little as folks can handle, then watch them disappear. I don't put them back on the grill after saucing, just like I wouldn't reheat the fried version, but whatever works for you. I do these almost every weekend, cheap and easy.

[THUNDERDOME]

I quit frying wings once I used the vortex setup. My "vortex" is an upside down stok chimney and I bet the real vortex is even better.

The taste of grilled wings and hot sauce after the cook is just perfect. Crispy wings are guaranteed and my only prep is butchering them buffalo-style. Once done cooking, I sauce them up as much or as little as folks can handle, then watch them disappear. I don't put them back on the grill after saucing, just like I wouldn't reheat the fried version, but whatever works for you. I do these almost every weekend, cheap and easy.

Agree here