# MES 30 Wings With Crispy Skin?



## andycaree (Jun 1, 2021)

Hello everyone. I smoke alot of wings in my MES 30. Typically toss in a dry rub, smoke at 225 for about 1.5 hrs, then toss in sauce and transfer to a grill for a quick darkening up. My problem is the skin is still rubbery. How do I get it crispy if I dont want to fry them?


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## mcokevin (Jun 1, 2021)

I usually throw them on a screaming hot gas grill for a few minutes after smoking.  This helps crisp the skin.  I sauce and then grill, but if you are using a sauce that has a lot of sugar you might want to sauce after grilling, as sugar burns easily.


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## kilo charlie (Jun 1, 2021)

andycaree said:


> Hello everyone. I smoke alot of wings in my MES 30. Typically toss in a dry rub, smoke at 225 for about 1.5 hrs, then toss in sauce and transfer to a grill for a quick darkening up. My problem is the skin is still rubbery. How do I get it crispy if I dont want to fry them?



Hundreds if not thousands of chicken wings under my belt and I am telling you right here and now the best way is to soak the wings in Sake for at least 30 minutes (preferably longer) and then pat them dry with some paper towels, then salt and pepper them and go a little bit higher on temp.. 300 to 350 (if you can) .. you'll have the crispiest wings ever.


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## JLeonard (Jun 1, 2021)

Agree with above. 
Jim


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## Wurstmeister (Jun 1, 2021)

Never tried that Kilo Charlie.  Will have to go buy another bottle of Vodka and check the wings out.  Thanks!
John


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## andycaree (Jun 1, 2021)

Pretty sure my smoker doesnt go higher than 275


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## smokeymose (Jun 1, 2021)

I let them dry in the fridge for a long while before cooking, but then again I gave up doing them in the smoker. I only do them now on the kettle with a vortex.
A higher temp would help. You're just making the skin tougher with low temps.
Moving them to a grill like you've been doing is your best bet if you can't do high temps.
Then again Kilo's alcohol soak might help. Alcohol tends to make me crispy....


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## andycaree (Jun 1, 2021)

What about smoking them for less time than I normally do and then transfer them inside to the oven at something like 450 or s for a bit longer? Baking soda or corn starch in the dry rub? Boiling for 5 minutes prior to smoking to render down the fat?


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## kilo charlie (Jun 1, 2021)

Wurstmeister said:


> Never tried that Kilo Charlie.  Will have to go buy another bottle of Vodka and check the wings out.  Thanks!
> John


Do NOT use Vodka.. trust me.. I've played with all the alcohols.. Sake is the best for this


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## SmokinAl (Jun 1, 2021)

I smoke mine for about 1 hour 20 minutes, or until you can pull them apart easily, then onto a 700 degree grill for 1 or 2 minutes on each side. Then sauce them with a combo of melted butter & Frank’s Buffalo wing sauce.
Al


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## kilo charlie (Jun 1, 2021)

Seriously... click on the link I posted or the one in my signature to see how crispy the Sake Wings get

Nevermind here's a photo...


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## smokeymose (Jun 1, 2021)

andycaree said:


> What about smoking them for less time than I normally do and then transfer them inside to the oven at something like 450 or s for a bit longer? Baking soda or corn starch in the dry rub? Boiling for 5 minutes prior to smoking to render down the fat?


Don't boil them. High heat is what renders the fat.


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## andycaree (Jun 1, 2021)

kilo charlie said:


> Seriously... click on the link I posted or the one in my signature to see how crispy the Sake Wings get
> 
> Nevermind here's a photo...
> 
> ...


OK, so after the soak and the pat dry, could I just use my usual dry rub at that point? (vs. just the salt and peper you mentioned). Also, is all the alcohol from the sake cooked out? I typically dont like to keep alcohol around the house. My smoker only goes to around 275. How long do you usually smoke them when your smoker is at 300-350?


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## kilo charlie (Jun 1, 2021)

andycaree said:


> OK, so after the soak and the pat dry, could I just use my usual dry rub at that point? (vs. just the salt and peper you mentioned). Also, is all the alcohol from the sake cooked out? I typically dont like to keep alcohol around the house. My smoker only goes to around 275. How long do you usually smoke them when your smoker is at 300-350?



Yea.. you can use any rub you like but it's going to get muted when the skin crisps up. They usually take about 20 minutes.. whether it's smoked, grilled, air fried, or broiled (not boiled) - At 275 it may take a bit longer.


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## andycaree (Jun 1, 2021)

kilo charlie said:


> Yea.. you can use any rub you like but it's going to get muted when the skin crisps up. They usually take about 20 minutes.. whether it's smoked, grilled, air fried, or broiled (not boiled) - At 275 it may take a bit longer.


Does the alcohol get cooked out?


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## smokerjim (Jun 1, 2021)

i usually smoke them for an hour or so around 200, then crank heat up to 350-400 until done, usually whole cooking time is 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, i know your mes only goes to 275 so i would smoke them for an hour around 200 then put in your oven around 400. i don't soak mine just a little salt and pepper then some wing sauce when done.


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## kilo charlie (Jun 1, 2021)

andycaree said:


> Does the alcohol get cooked out?



Oh sorry for not answering that part.. yes.. you won't taste the alcohol


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## Bearcarver (Jun 1, 2021)

I always had good luck with Chicken Skin, when I ran my MES above 265° for the last Hour. This was with Drums & Thighs.

Bear


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## andycaree (Jun 2, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> I always had good luck with Chicken Skin, when I ran my MES above 265° for the last Hour. This was with Drums & Thighs.
> 
> Bear


Whats your total cook time? Whats your starting temp?


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## Bearcarver (Jun 2, 2021)

andycaree said:


> Whats your total cook time? Whats your starting temp?




This "Step by Step" tells everything, including Times & Temps:
Chicken Thighs (Hickory Smoked)

Bear


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## tallbm (Jun 2, 2021)

andycaree said:


> Hello everyone. I smoke alot of wings in my MES 30. Typically toss in a dry rub, smoke at 225 for about 1.5 hrs, then toss in sauce and transfer to a grill for a quick darkening up. My problem is the skin is still rubbery. How do I get it crispy if I dont want to fry them?



Just to explain the problem, poultry skin want's to be rubbery unless cooked at a high enough heat.
You are getting lots of suggestions and such to assist you but I figured you may want to know the reason why it's happening and that it's actually just a natural behavior of poultry skin.

Since you have an MES you might have better results at 275F... but SINCE you have ran MES chances are your smoker doesn't actually hit 275F so you may still be stuck hahaha.

If you have a gas/propane grill then you can smoke your wings at 225F until you feel they have great smoke flavor and are not too coked then finish them on a very hot grill. Heat works, so this works.

All other methods may vary for you and you just have to try them out with your MES. I battled this with my MES that wouldn't go over 260F and after drying, baking soda, torches, etc. etc. etc. the hot grill approach worked more often and more consistently for me and using my MES than any other approach.

Try it all. Learn what works best for ya and be sure to report back :)


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## LanceR (Jun 4, 2021)

My wife and I both grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo in the '60s and early '70s so we're pretty particular about wings.  Chicken wings were inexpensive and were often sold for pennies a pound to cover the cost of the tray and wrapping they came on.  And they were made in so many varieties by so many folks for so many years before the Anchor Bar supposedly invented them that I don't for one second believe the claim that somehow they magically appeared at the Anchor Bar.

With that said, raising the pH of foods encourages browning so tossing each 20 wing segments with 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and not using sauce until after cooking will set you up for crispy skin.  Most smokers will have trouble getting to a hot and dry enough environment to really crisp skin, especially cabinet smokers as they trend to higher moisture levels.

Sooooo.....  toss the wings with the baking powder and salt, season with any dry seasonings and smoke them until you're ready to finish them on a grill or in an oven at 425* .  Save any sauce for after they are done or you'll have a very tough time getting them cripsy.  The goal is to remove moisture, not to add moisture!

A search for "crispy baked chicken wings" will return dozens of hits where you can get enough info to make your own recipe.   As a further note, letting the finished wings sit for about three minutes before saucing them allows the last bit of moisture that will come to the surface in "carry over cooking" to flash off and will keep the skin crispier for longer than if you sauce right away.

If you don't want to make you own sauce Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo wing sauce is pretty good and is easy to heat up some by adding your choice of hot sauce if desired.

Best regards to all and go make some crisp wings this weekend!


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## Bearcarver (Jun 4, 2021)

LanceR said:


> My wife and I both grew up in the suburbs of Buffalo in the '60s and early '70s so we're pretty particular about wings.  Chicken wings were inexpensive and were often sold for pennies a pound to cover the cost of the tray and wrapping they came on.  And they were made in so many varieties by so many folks for so many years before the Anchor Bar supposedly invented them that I don't for one second believe the claim that somehow they magically appeared at the Anchor Bar.
> 
> With that said, raising the pH of foods encourages browning so tossing each 20 wing segments with 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and not using sauce until after cooking will set you up for crispy skin.  Most smokers will have trouble getting to a hot and dry enough environment to really crisp skin, especially cabinet smokers as they trend to higher moisture levels.
> 
> ...




Great Info Lance!!!
I heard Bad Things About that Buffalo Area & Chicken Wings.
I used to watch the Sit-Com "Coach", and I remember the episode where the Minnesota Team traveled to Buffalo for a Big Football game. Luther (Assistant Coach) was all excited because they were going to be able to get some of the World's most Famous Wings, from a place in Buffalo (I forget the name). So they get there & Luther Takes the whole team there for Wings. Then the next Day (Game Day) the whole team gets sick, and they get blown out by a Huge margin in the game.
Then they find out that the people at the place they got the Wings were Huge Fans of the Buffalo Home Team.  Coach was NOT HAPPY !!!  Especially with Luther (Jerry Van Dyke). Very Funny Program!!!

Bear


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