Seasoned chicken wings and whole celery smoked over applewood logs then tossed in a hot sauce garlic butter and old bay blend.
I love smoking chicken wings! The crispy skin they develop over time in the smoker and how much juice they retain is something everyone enjoys. I always toss in a pack of chicken wings when I’m smoking stuff like brisket or pork shoulder so everyone has something to snack on. It just helps everyone make it to the end of the 12 hour smoke sessions. That doesn’t mean I just throw them in. I always have some sort of game plan for when they come out.
For this recipe, I decided to make a Cajun hot butter to coat the wings in. Taking the classic hot wings staples, butter and hot sauce and jazzing it up with the help of old bay and file. The old bay is a classic seafood staple. It’s a blend of cayenne, celery seed, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. The file which is typically marketed as gumbo file, is just dried up sassafras leaves that have a similar flavor to root beer and sort of a earthy bitterness like a lemon peel. The combination is amazing. The hot butter would even be amazing brushed on fish and steamed veggies. Check out my tips and tricks below for the best smoked hot butter old bay wings. Try this recipe out and let me know what you think.
TIPS & TRICKS FOR THE BEST SMOKED HOT BUTTER OLD BAY WINGS:
smoke your celery: smoked celery has a whole lot of flavor. i like to put my celery in during the smoking part of my cook not the actual elevated heat cooking. that way the smoke penetrates the celery but doesn’t break it down too much. the smoked celery reinforces the flavors of the old bay and celery seed.
finish the wings in the oven: when you smoke chicken properly it has what it called a “smoke ring” its a pinkish- red that runs through the outer band of any meat you smoke. often times that can be off putting and for novices you make not think they are done. so for me i always finish my wings 15 minutes in the oven that way after i segment my chicken it can make sure everything presents nicely.
smoke them whole: i smoke my chicken wings whole. that reduces the risk of the chicken drying out. the whole chicken wings can take the smoke and heat for a couple of hours. when they are separated that cuts their cooking time in half. you want them smokier leave them whole . plus its a lot easier to cut them after the smoker since the knife glides right through the joints.
thin the sauce: a hot butter is different from your typical buffalo sauce. it doesn’t have any kind of thickener in it like a corn starch slurry or flour. you don’t even reduce the sauce and the butter to make it. to make a proper hot butter sauce all you need to do is melt the butter and the hot sauce. season it with the spices and cut the heat. the hot butter sauce is thin so make sure you make enough of it.
SIMILAR INGREDIENTS TO:
ENJOY THIS RECIPE WITH:
- JALAPENO CHEDDAR HASSLEBACK POTATOES
- HOT PEPPER TAPENADE
- HOMEMADE CHIPS W/ CREAMY BORGONZOLA FONDUE.
INGREDIENTS
- 3LB Chicken Wings, segmented
- Salt
- Pepper
- 4 Celery Ribs
HOT BUTTER OLD BAY
- 1/2c Hot Sauce
- 1/4c Butter
- 2Tb Old Bay Seasoning
- 3Tb Garlic, minced
- 1tsp Celery Seed
- 1tsp Garlic Powder
- 1tsp Gumbo File
DIRECTIONS
- SEASON WINGS: Season the wings with salt and pepper. Place an even layer of wings in the smoker for 3 hours at 225F. Add in celery and remove the celery after 30 minutes.
- REMOVE: After three hours remove the wings from the smoker. Let the rest long enough to handle and separate the wings however you want to enjoy.
- MAKE BUTTER: To make the butter combine all the ingredients listed together oven medium heat on the stove. Once butter has melted and sauce starts to steam remove it from the heat.
- TOSS: Toss together all the wings, sauce and smoked celery.
- BAKE AND SERVE: This step is optional. Bake the wings coated in sauce for 15 minutes at 350 F. Serve hot.
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