# Buttermilk brined Chicken wings w-Qview



## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

Wasnt planning on doing any smoking this weekend, I have just given back the WSM I was loaned for the past 6 weeks,  and I havent pulled my offset out of the garage, or bought a new probe(broke mine somehow).  So I am going to use my Weber kettle, and set it up as a smoker, and I am going to do some chicken wings, even though I went on a fried chicken crawl last night hitting 3 of the areas better fried chicken spots.

The brine was is water, brown sugar, kosher salt, Shark Sririacha, some rub, crushed garlic, chopped green onions, and buttermilk.  Going to brine for about 5 hours, then throw them on the Weber.  Also doing some Italain sausage for some sandwiches, and finally some local(Newark, IL.), sweet corn.  The first of the year.  I am also going to do a creamy cusumber salad using some loal grown cukes from a new friend.

pics of the prep as soon as I solve an issue with my camera


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

got the prep pics downloaded.

brine ingredients:



untrimmed wings:


trimmed wings:


drummy in brine:


wing in brine:


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## rivet (Jul 19, 2009)

Chisox~ that's some fine looking bird you have going on! Keep up the pics, man. Buttermilk coated chicken is definitely some serious eating


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## beer-b-q (Jul 19, 2009)

Looks good so far, what is the recipe for the brine?


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## bigsteve (Jul 19, 2009)

Sounds great.

So how did you like the WSM over-all?  How does it compare to your offset?


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

The reicpe for the brine is one I adapted and adjusted to my tastes from a recipe in gary Wiviott's Low and Slow.

1/4 cup warm water(to disolve the rub, salt, and brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup bown sugar
1/4 cup rub
1/4 cup hot sauce
4 cloves smashed garlic
6 sliced green onion tops
1/2 gallon buttermilk


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## beer-b-q (Jul 19, 2009)

Thanks chisoxjim, gotta try it out, it looks so good.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

loved the WSM, and for a light it and forget about is smoking it was awesome,  I only used my probe for one cook, and when I saw the temp didnt budge from about 240 degrees for about 6 hours without fiddling with the vents I was convinced it was solid smoker.  Tuned out some of the better ribs, and other items I have done due to the consistant temps without peaks and valleys.  

A couple things I saw as a disadvantage,  the large water pan makes for a really "damp" smoke.  Tough to get bacon crisp on ABT's.  Also the capacity could be a problem if serving more than a family of 4.  I didnt like using the lower cooking grate for anything other than beans, spam augratin, etc.  I didnt want to fiddle with rearanging meat from top to bottom durting a smoke.  

I like my cheapo offset(chargriller) as a beginner/learning smoker(if you can turn out good bbq on one like mine you can turn out good bbq on anyhting I think), but I have not used it in 6 weeks.  I will bring it back out next week, but I am now investigating purchasing a Brinkman propane cabinet smoker as my main smoking devise(as soon as my wife/CFO lets me buy it).  However,  if I had $300+ spare dollars I would buy a WSM in a minute .


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

sorry I didnt post it first off, I was a hurry to try and get out on the deck and get some sun..  clouds have ruined that..







I tried some thighs done in the brine and they were really good.  I think the wings will be good as well.


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## beer-b-q (Jul 19, 2009)

One more question, how long do you leave them in the brine or do you just coat them with it?


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

I am doing 5-6 hours.   

then taking it out of the brine, and rinsing the wings before  putting some rub on the wings before going on the smoker.  I am also going to put some whole jalapenos arranged among the wings for some flavor as they cook.


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## beer-b-q (Jul 19, 2009)

I can hardly wait to see the finished product.  

Thanks again for the recipe.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

glad I could help.

I cant wait either.  still got about 4 hours til dinner.


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## rivet (Jul 19, 2009)

Chisox, my kids and I were looking through the forum this morning and your pics made them want BBQ chicken for dinner! Good post, bud. They didn't think the buttermilk part was so hot, they just wanted chicken on the grill 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





No worries! What they don't know won't hurt 'em. Ever since they were babies, the fried chicken I made for them has been marinated in buttermilk and then coated in crushed cornflakes with a bit o cornmeal in it!

They think my fried chicken is the best on earth! Waaaa-haaa-haaa! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Excellent post of yours. And- great idea on the fried chicken crawl! Points for originality!!


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## alx (Jul 19, 2009)

chisoxjim;334030 said:
			
		

> .
> 
> A couple things I saw as a disadvantage, the large water pan makes for a really "damp" smoke. Tough to get bacon crisp on ABT's.
> 
> ...


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

Out west of Chicago where I live fried chicken is the dish of choice, so It was easy to convince some Chicago folks, and one New Yorker to come out and try it. 

like you said, "what they dont know wont hurt them", the buttermilk brine is so subtle they wont know what hit em.

slainte...


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

ALX;334127 said:
			
		

> thanks,  if I could afford a WSM I would buy one.  darn adult responsibilitues..


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## chisoxjim (Jul 19, 2009)

the wings, sausage, cucumber salad, and sweet corn turned out great,  the finally ready local sweet corn was my favorite.  Not that the wings, etc weren't very good, but I have been waiting since last September or so for some fresh, picked that day, sweet corn.

Ill post the pics tomorrow from work(I am downloading them to photobucket right now).., as the beer has effected my typing at this point on a Sunday evening.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 20, 2009)

weber lump set up for smoking:


brined wings with rub added:


Q-view:




finished wings:






sausage:








my plate:


cucumber salad:


thanks for looking.  wings had a bit of kick, and heat.  overall a good dinner.


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## meatball (Jul 20, 2009)

Looks like a great meal! What was the sauce on the sausage? The sausage has a real nice ring!


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## chisoxjim (Jul 20, 2009)

for  Johnsonville mild Italian sausage, and only being on the smoker for about 50 minutes it was very good.

The sauce on the sausage sandwich was a tweaked store bought marinara.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I sauteed some crushed garlic, onions, and green pepper,  then deglazed the pan with some red wine, then dumped in the jar of marinara, and let is simmer on low for about an hour and a half.


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## beer-b-q (Jul 20, 2009)

Very good.  I'll have a plate just like yours.


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## chisoxjim (Jul 20, 2009)

you bet..

not pictured was the 4 ears of fresh, local sweet corn I ate as well.


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## the dude abides (Jul 20, 2009)

Wow, when it comes to making wings, you've certainly given me a new bar to shoot for.  How hot were these?  When I do wings I tend to make them pretty mild then serve a side sauce for those that like them hotter. 

Welcome back to the Kettle.  What'd you think?  It was tough to tell from your picts.  But it looked like you did a round of unrubbed wings too?  True?  What did you think?

Also, about that cucumber salad...recipie?


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## chisoxjim (Jul 20, 2009)

the kettle worked great, and used very little fuel.

the wings were pretty hot,  the brine had 1/4 cup of sriracha sauce in it as well as a pretty spicy rub.  I rinsed the brine but loaded on the rub before going on the smoker.  I didnt break out a bottle of hot sauce which is rare for wings and me.  I was happy with the results overall.  

The other wings were just brined in buttermilk, no spice for my 2.5 year old daughter..she loves chicken wings but not "spicy" ones.   
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





my bad about not posting the recipe for the cucumber salad.  It was great, reminded me of the cucumber sauce for gyros.  Nice compliment to the wings and sausage.  Also a nice tang from the cider, and some sweetness from the sugar.

Cucumber salad:

wet ingredients:
4 cloves of garlic - minced
7 pieces of dill taken off the stem, and chopped
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
black pepper & kosher salt to taste
1 cup sour cream
6 tbsp Kraft mayo

mixed this, and set it aside

sliced 3 cucumbers thin(picked at a local farm Saturday)
sliced 2 small onions thin(picked at a local farm Saturday)
sliced the green tops of the onions(picked at a local farm Saturday)

combined the above with the wet, and refrigerated for a few hours.


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## fired up (Jul 20, 2009)

Nice looking wings!


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## chisoxjim (Jul 20, 2009)

thanks,

thats whats for dinner tonight, well that and another Italian sausage sandwich...


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## fire it up (Jul 20, 2009)

Wings looked really good.
Had heard of people letting chicken sit in buttermilk when frying but that sure made of r a gorgeous smoked wing.


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## bigtrain74 (Jul 24, 2009)

Great work, I think this is how im going to do the wings this weekend...


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## chisoxjim (Jul 24, 2009)

thanks, 

I was happy with the results.  Next time I will brine them longer.  this time was only about 5 hours.


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## mkedda (Jul 28, 2009)

What was the contents of the rub in the brine? and added to the chicken

Looks great!


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## chisoxjim (Jul 28, 2009)

the rub was the basic McCormick pork rub tweaked with more garlic powder, yellow curry powder, more paprika, and weber cajun spice.


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## kevin13 (Jul 29, 2009)

How long did you smoke the wings for?  Typical 1.5 hours?


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## chisoxjim (Jul 29, 2009)

yes,  about 90 minutes, and they were good to go.  

sorry I didnt post the smoke time anywhere upthread,  its always good to have the time as a measuring stick.


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## kevin13 (Jul 29, 2009)

Thanks but forgot to ask at what temp. 275?


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## chisoxjim (Jul 29, 2009)

I wasnt using anything to gauge temp(broke my probe, and havent replaced it).  I was using my Weber kettle set up as a smoker.  Relying on the book I got the recipe from for how long to smoke them, and a test pull of a wing when they were  close to being done & based on appearance, texture, and time they had been on.   If I was to guess a temp I was probably around 250 - 260.


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## tntxajun (Jul 29, 2009)

I have used a milk brine for smoking my game meats ( deer, antelope, bear, and javalina, etc.) for many years. It helps remove the gamey taste and acts as a tenderizer. 
I have never considered it for poultry because it does not need tenderizing.
What is the primary purpose of the buttermilk, in your opinion, flavor or what?
You have my curiosity as to the benefit objective. TIA.

Jack~


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## chisoxjim (Jul 29, 2009)

gives the chicken meat a tang, I think much like when some folks soak chicken in buttermilk before breading/battering & then deep frying.


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