These smoked chicken wings are coated in a sweet and savory spice rub then smoked until tender. Add a coating of barbecue sauce and you’ve got an amazing appetizer or meal option with very little effort.
I used my electric smoker to make these chicken wings for a party, and everyone devoured them! These wings couldn’t be any easier to make – all it takes is about 5 minutes of prep time, then the smoker does the rest of the work. Serve your wings with other appetizer recipes such as spinach artichoke dip and crab stuffed mushrooms.
We’ve been using our new smoker every week, and this time we made some smoked chicken wings. These wings are full of rich, smoky flavor! I’m definitely serving these chicken wings at our next game day party.
Table of Contents
Smoked Chicken Wings Ingredients
This recipe made with chicken wings and my BBQ rub and BBQ sauce. The rub is full of savory flavors such as black pepper, garlic powder, brown sugar, kosher salt, onion powder and paprika. It really is worth the extra effort to make these yourself rather than using store bought condiments. If you’re short on time and can’t make your own condiments, the wings will still come out great. Check to make sure your rub contains salt if you’re going with a store bought version.
How Do You Make Smoked Chicken Wings?
This is a simple yet satisfying recipe. Heat your smoker and load it with wood chips or pellets. Add spice rub to your wings, and toss well to coat them. Place the wings in the smoker, and smoke for 2 hours or until chicken is done. Brush on some BBQ sauce and you’ll be ready to eat. If you prefer a crispy skin, you can broil the wings for a few minutes on a baking sheet in the oven.
Tips For Smoked Chicken Wings
- Be sure to buy the party style chicken wings, which come pre-cut into segments. If you can’t find party wings, you can buy whole chicken wings and cut them into pieces yourself.
- Generally speaking, smoked chicken does not have crispy skin. This is because the wings cook at such a low temperature. I prefer crispy skin, so I place my pan of chicken wings under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the skin.
- No time to wait for the smoker to do its magic? Try my baked chicken wings instead!
- I think these smoked chicken wings are fabulous as-is, but if you want to serve them with a dip, free free! Homemade ranch dressing would be a great choice.
Quick Tip
Leftovers will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can reheat leftover wings in the oven at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until crispy and warm.
Recipe FAQs
I typically use apple wood for my smoked chicken. It’s readily available and adds a bit of sweetness to the meat. Other great choices are hickory, cherry wood or maple wood.
It takes approximately 2 hours to smoke chicken wings at 250 degrees F. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature of your chicken to see when it will be done. Chicken is done when a thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees F.
I smoke my chicken wings at 250 degrees F in an electric smoker. You can also try smoking your wings at 225 degrees F, but be aware the cook time will likely change.
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Flavor Variations
While these wings are fabulous as-is, you can switch up the flavors to customize the recipe to your taste.
- Seasonings: Instead of BBQ dry rub try coating your wings in Cajun or Jerk seasoning for a different take on this dish.
- Sauces: Instead of BBQ sauce, you can brush your wings with a wing sauce such as buffalo sauce or even an Asian style sauce.
- Dips: While a bowl of ranch dip is commonly served with wings, other great options include honey mustard sauce, blue cheese dressing or even a chipotle mayo.
Whether you’re a seasoned smoker cook or just starting out, these smoked wings are a great choice. They’re low on prep time, but huge on flavor!
More Chicken Wings Recipes
Baked Buffalo Wings
1 hr 5 mins
Slow Cooker Chicken Wings
5 hrs 15 mins
Garlic Parmesan Wings
1 hr 5 mins
Grilled Chicken Wings
1 hr 30 mins
Lemon Pepper Wings
35 mins
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Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Smoked Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wings party style
- 3 tablespoons homemade BBQ spice rub or your favorite store bought rub
- 1 cup homemade BBQ sauce or your favorite store bought BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees F. Load the smoker with apple wood, cherry wood or hickory chips.
- Coat the chicken wings with the spice rub and place in the smoker.
- Cook for 2 hours, refilling wood as needed, or until the internal temperature of the chicken wings registers 165 degrees F with a thermometer.
- Transfer the chicken wings to a sheet pan.
- Optional: Preheat the broiler. Place the sheet pan of wings under the broiler and cook for 3-4 minutes or until skin is crispy.
- Brush the wings with the BBQ sauce and serve.
Notes
- Be sure to buy the party style chicken wings, which are already cut into segments. If you can’t find party wings, you can buy full sized wings and cut them into pieces yourself.
- I think these smoked chicken wings are fabulous as-is, but if you want to serve them with a dip, free free! Ranch would be a great choice.
Oh this is happening for the big game this weekend! Thank you so much for the awesome suggestion!
Drooling over these chicken wings. Perfect for super bowl party.
The flavor of these wings is just fabulous! I do like crispy wings and putting them under the broiler as you suggest worked well. Thanks for such an easy recipe!
Did you thaw the wings before placing in smoker or were the wings frozen?
This recipe is meant to be used with thawed wings!
Great recipe. The rub is perfect. We make these smoked wings often at home. Thank you for sharing.
OMG did this recipe come out delicious! Thank you
Great recipe. Kids loved them and have made them several times since. Thanks for sharing.
Tried this recipe for the first time in hickory. They were amazing. They were just the right amount of spice. Nice heat to them with the cayenne. Drizzled store bought bbq sauce over them. I literally couldn’t stop eating them They were that good. I will be making this recipe again and highly recommend it.
So great, thanks for this. Made a ton to feed in-laws and extended family and delivered tonight. Everyone loved them. Did on electric smoker with cherry wood and my own rub, but similar to what was linked.
This was such a great appetizer! Served them with ranch dressing and tons of napkins!
These chicken wings are so good!! We love making them in the smoker!
What a fun appetizer! Your BBQ Spice Rub recipe sounds delicious; I am excited to try it this weekend!
Delicious. There are no other words to describe these wings 🙂
These wings look incredible, I hope to make them this weekend!
I love cajun on EVERYTHING so I know these will be a win for me!
I made these for dinner last night and OMG they were amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!
So flavorful, I love that it’s getting warmer and all these good smoker and grilling recipes are everywhere! These wings are seriously so good!
I love trying new chicken dishes! Cannot wait to try it!
Yes! It’s great! These wings look AMAZING! I cant wait to try them! Great article!
im not usually a fan of chicken wings. but my family had been begging me to make some. so i tried this recipe. and im so glad i did! delicious! 5 stars!
These look so delicious! I can’t wait to taste these.
These wings are delicious5 Stars!! Just one sore point though. Being from Buffalo it important that everyone knows chicken wings AKA (Buffalo Wings) are dipped in blue cheese dressing not ranch. Theyre sooo much netter in Blue Cheese too!
FYI, these are not buffalo wings.