Smoked Wings - having problems with rubbery skin

Mudkap

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Lancaster Pa
Grill
Pro 780
Hello everyone,
Had my grill just under a year and having trouble getting my Smoked wings just right. Tried my recipe 2X and both times great flavor but rubbery skin. I marinade in Italian dress overnight, pat dry, add rub and smoke at 225* to 160 degrees. I then Sauce, return to grill and sear both sides at 375* for 3-5 min. Both times rubbery skin - any suggestions?? Trying again tonight. Thanks
 
Maybe hotter and faster, smoke at 180F for 30min, then pull, heat to 450-480F, then return and grill until 165F internal.

I cook a lot to chicken, but never wings, so I defer to the experts.
 
I usually have to cook mine at 350-375 for at least 20-30 mins to get crispy skin. I usually smoke for about 30 mins at 180-200, crank up the temp, sauce them after they start to sizzle, and then let them finish.

Something like this makes them a lot easier to flip or sauce. That way you don't have to leave the lid open for so long. Works great for pork belly burnt ends as well.
Last 2 batches:
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2.jpg
 
Adding some corn starch (about 2 Tbs) with your rub can help get a nice crispy skin. When it comes to chicken I’ve found that cooking at a temp above 350 the whole time really helps prevent that rubbery skin and still gives you some smoke flavor. I usually take my wings to an IT between 180-190 which I believe creates the perfect wing.

personally I prefer to use my Weber kettle with the vortex attachment when it comes to wings if we’re being honest though
 
My 850 has a bottom and also a 2" level for the lower grate. Oddly I get better chicken results at the 2" level. I use the middle grate for smoking brisket etc.
 
Just curious too...do you recommend putting the grate on the very lower level or the center position?

Center position on the Pro & Ironwood. The only time I've ever lowered it is to sear steaks. But I've been doing most of that on my propane grill. Way less of a mess. I try not to do anything over 400 on my Traeger. Some people swear by the GrillGrates. I returned mine.
 
Thanks...going to try some wings soon. RE the GrillGrates...I have a couple of them on one side of my Lynx gas grill that's built into my summer kitchen. I do like them for steaks and chops on that grill. Never tried them on charcoal or other application though.
 
I always leave at least 90 minutes to do wings. First an hour around 225 with supersmoke, then I bump it to 375 to crisp them up. The first hour helps to render the fat in the skin. Then it's just a matter of checking them every 10 minutes or so to move around for hot spots and then pull when they are crisp enough to you liking. Letting them rest for 5-10 minutes helps in crispy wings too. The skin will tighten up when it cools, but they will still be hot to touch.

Wings 2.jpeg
 
I really dislike slimy wings and much prefer them to be on the crispy side. A caterer friend of mine shared a trick with me that she always uses to get beautiful, crispy wings in the oven. She parboils the wings first for about 20 minutes to boil some of the fat out. I've been using this trick to get crispier wings in the oven for years now. I used to have difficulty getting crispy wings on my Traeger but this hack works really well.

Tip: Let the wings dry for about 5 minutes on a paper towel after boiling. At this point, the skin will be pretty tacky and your favourite rub will adhere nicely. (Holy Voodoo is my current favourite)

IMG_3534.JPG
 
I really dislike slimy wings and much prefer them to be on the crispy side. A caterer friend of mine shared a trick with me that she always uses to get beautiful, crispy wings in the oven. She parboils the wings first for about 20 minutes to boil some of the fat out. I've been using this trick to get crispier wings in the oven for years now. I used to have difficulty getting crispy wings on my Traeger but this hack works really well.

Tip: Let the wings dry for about 5 minutes on a paper towel after boiling. At this point, the skin will be pretty tacky and your favourite rub will adhere nicely. (Holy Voodoo is my current favourite)

View attachment 2766

Excellent tip! It reminded me how I used to do wings pre-Traeger. (Wow, that seems like a long time ago.)
Following an Alton Brown baked wing recipe, the first step was to steam the wings in a steamer for about 10 minutes, Pat them dry, then put in the refer on a cooling rack for about an hour before oven-ing. I’m going to take those first steam/dry/rack steps on my next batch of Traeger’d wings.
 
The Anova Precision Cooker (sous vide) is also a great way to get wings ready to go before you smoke them. I prefer it to parboiling because you can do it with rub on the wings. If I buy wings in bulk, I usually rub, vacuum seal, and freeze them. The Anova makes it easy to get them cooking without them tasting like frozen wings.

My favorite rub for wings has been the beer can chicken rub from Cabela's/Bass Pro. It's a good base for either a BBQ or Buffalo sauce.
 
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