First Smoke On A Big Red Thumbscrew - Wings

[MrHoss]

I had a old friend I hardly ever see drop by for a visit and decided it was the proper occasion to do my first cook on the new Aristocrat. The cooking grate had some food residue and a little rust in the centre but the outside 6 inches or so still possessed the factory oil coating. The charcoal grate was heavily rusted so this was cleaned with heavy duty steel wool. The owner told me his Dad had cooked with it 3 or 4 times and I believe it. So this cooker had seen burgers and steaks...never real bbq...till now:



I got about 7 pounds of wings and brined them in a molasses/vinegar blend spiked with some 604 rub for about 3 hours then removed them to grated baking sheets and dusted them on both sides with some more rub and a little chili powder. I had a second red to do the overflow of wings. I used a combo of pecan and oak on the wings:



Having all the extra gill space, the feel of that leviathan lid and knowing part of the history of this grill made this a special cook. I cooked them offset for about 45 minutes then cycled them over and around the coal bed to finish them off:



We had a nice sit down dinner with salad, garlic bread, Old Bay/chili powder spiked biscuits and and assortment of sauces for the wings. I let folks add what they want. These wings had a nice smokey flavor that blended well with the seasoning with a great colour from the molasses brine.My buddy tried some sauce but decided these babies tasted best plain. It was high compliment that he had four helpings of wings and was the last one eating:



I have decided to call this cooker Ophelia:

[1buckie]

Nice !!!!

That thing is soooooooo sharp, just so very sharp !!!!!

I'm really likin' the old style 26" I got awhile back too......breathin' room !!!!!

[AZ Monsoon]

Man I love wings. Love the kettle too! Nice work.

[LightningBoldtz]

Awesome cook Mike.

[jcnaz]

All good stuff!

[Craig]

I love wings and I love Aristocrats! A winning combination!

[MacEggs]

Fantastic looking wings, Hoss!

I'm thinking you need a second level fabricated from a 22" grate ... Go for some double-decker wings. Just load 'er up. 

[SixZeroFour]

Hope you had a good visit with your friend - and great looking cook-up and cooker!

Nice job Hoss!

[argentflame]

Great looking cook Hoss. The Aristocrat is looking great.

[Cuda Dan]

Nice Aristocrat start to more great items to get smoked and cooked. Man those wings looked great!

[eccj]

How is your foil set up in the kettle?  I only have a 22in but that looks like areal good setup!