Smoked Grilled Dry Rub Wings

Smoked Grilled Dry Rub Wings

Smoked grilled chicken wings are by far the best tasting wings you can make in your back yard. When you combine smoke flavor along with the fire of your grill it’s truly heaven. People that hate grilled wings have eaten these and love them. If you have a pellet smoker and a grill, give this recipe a try and you might never go back to plain old grilled wings again!

Ingredients

  • 8 pounds chicken wings
  • 1 qt apple juice
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon sage powder
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon Lawry’s Lemon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Goya Adobo
  • 1 tablespoon Killer Hogs AP Rub
  • 1 tablespoon Plowboys Yardbird
  • 1 tablespoon JCS Caribbean chicken
  • 1 tablespoon JCS Boston dry jerk
  • 1 tablespoon Everglades Heat
  • 1 tablespoon Badia sazon caliente

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Directions

First thing to do is to separate the flats from the drums. If you need to save space on the smoker or the grill, go ahead and remove the wing tips from the flats. The next thing to do is to brine the chicken wings at least 8 hours or overnight so that they stay moist during the smoking process. So to keep things simple, add the chicken to a 1 gallon zip seal bag (1 bag per 4 pounds of chicken). For the brine we are going to use apple juice as the base liquid, and this will add a nice background flavor to the chicken meat. Start by pouring roughly 2 cups (more if needed) of apple juice into each bag. Next add 1 -2 tablespoons of kosher salt, then optionally 1/2 teaspoon of powdered sage, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon of rosemary. The herbs are optional but they also add a nice background flavor directly into the chicken meat.


When the brine is complete and it is time to cook, you should wash off the herbs from the wings. The next thing to do is to lay out the wings on cooling racks for seasoning and cooking. If you are not familiar with cooling racks, they are an inexpensive way to move your food from the kitchen to the smoker and back again. And when you are dealing with a bunch of chicken wings their usefulness becomes obvious. So the next thing to do is to apply a coating of dry rub on all sides of each wing. Here are 4 recipes that we recommend you to try.

Flavor ~ Lemon pepper
Lawry’s lemon pepper
Goya adobo

Flavor ~ BBQ
Plowboys yardbird
Killer Hogs AP rub

Flavor ~ Carribean
JCS Caribbean chicken seasoning
JCS Boston dry jerk

Flavor ~ Miami Heat
Everglades Heat
Badia sazon caliente


After the wings are seasoned, fire up the smoker at 175 with hickory or pecan pellets. You can also use a pellet tube with hickory or pecan pellets to add more smoke flavor. When the smoker reaches temp, place the cooling racks of wings into the smoker. Smoke for 1 hour then remove the racks and flip the wings. Place the racks back in the smoker in different positions so that wings in a hot zone move to a cooler zone. This step is not required but it can enhance your cooking process. Continue to smoke the wings for 1 more hour then check the temperature of several flats and drums. Because we will finish these wings on the grill, the target temp will come in about 15 degrees less than 165F. So shoot for 150F as your done temp on the smoker. When the wings are getting close to 150F, fire up the grill and get it preheated on low 300 – 350F. When the wings reach the target temperature, transfer them to the grill and cook them roughly 5 minutes per side. Pull the wings when they reach at least 165F. If you have made several flavors you can wrap each flavor in a sheet of foil to keep them seperate and warm.

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Grilled Creole Chipotle Chicken

Grilled Creole Chipotle Chicken

It’s grilling season and we have a simple but very tasty chicken recipe for you to try. If you like a some heat but not too much, then this recipe is perfect for you. It doesn’t matter if you are a charcoal or propane grill fan you just might add this to your chicken recipe list!

Ingredients

  • 3 – 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
  • 2 teaspoon chipotle powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

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Directions

This recipe will use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. If you have not tried this seasoning before, it contains heat from cayenne pepper. If cayenne is too much heat for you, then check out our Grilled Chicken Breast Pollo Asado recipe.


First, remove the chicken from the packaging and dry them off with a paper towel. Next coat all sides of the chicken with olive oil. Next season as heavily as you like with Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Next apply chipotle powder and finally sprinkle on the dried thyme.


Preheat your grill to 400 degrees and then turn down all burners to low temp.


This recipe works best with some pecan wood smoke flavor. It is not required but if you have been on the fence about trying out wood chips or pellets, this is the time! It’s a very small investment with a big flavor return. So load up your smoke box with pecan chips or load up your pellet tube with pecan pellets and get them started on the grill.


When your grill is preheated, and your smoke box or tube is smoking, place the chicken above the smoke on an upper shelf. If you do not have an upper shelf, or smoke box / tube, just grill the chicken on the bottom grate. Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes, then flip once and cook for another 10 minutes. At this point check the temperature at the thickest point. You should reach 165 F internal temp. If you do not yet have a food thermometer you will need to slice into the thickest part and check for red or pink colors. Continue to cook until the pink becomes white. The downside of slicing the chicken for doneness checks is that you will drain the juices out of the chicken and that makes people sad. So buy a food thermometer!


Once the chicken is done and pulled from the grill, allow it to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Chicken Carcass Soup

Chicken Carcass Soup

Cold and flu season is here yay! No need to worry we’ve got your back with a chicken soup recipe. This recipe uses the leftover carcass of a chicken to create a flavorful broth and a hearty soup. Once you make this soup you will never throw away an unused chicken carcass again!

Ingredients

  • 1 – 2 whole chicken carcass
  • 6 celery sticks
  • 6 carrots
  • 1 white onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 6 sprigs thyme
  • 4 sprigs rosemary
  • 4 sprigs sage
  • 12 cups water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 can navy beans
  • 1/4 cup white rice

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Directions

The first step is to make a broth. You can do this days in advance and store the broth in a refrigerated or a frozen jar. Or you can take a nice lazy weekend and create the broth and soup at the same time. If you choose this path we recommend that you chop all the vegetables for the broth and soup at the same time.


For the broth, rough chop 3 celery sticks, 3 carrots, 1/2 white onion, and 1 garlic clove. You can add the tops of celery with the leaves to the broth. Add 2 whole sprigs of rosemary, thyme and sage. For the soup, finely chop 3 celery sticks, 3 carrots, 1 yellow onion, and 2 garlic cloves. Chop 2 sprigs of rosemary, thyme and 2 sprigs of sage.


Feel free to experiment and add more celery, carrots and onion to both the broth and soup mixtures.


Next, add the broth veggies and the chicken carcass to a large pot or dutch oven. Include any giblets, neck, and backbone that you may have from the chicken. As a side note, it’s worth saving and freezing the backbones, necks and giblets from any whole chickens that you spatchcock and cook. No need to throw that stuff away, turn it into soup! Next submerge the chicken and veggies in water (approximately 12 cups of water). Set the burner heat on high until the contents starts to boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours stirring occasionally. Then turn off the heat and allow the broth to cool down. Using a slotted spoon, remove all chicken from the soup and place on a cutting board to cool off. Pour the liquid contents through a sieve into another pot to filter out all the vegetables from the broth liquid. Next pull the chicken meat off the bones and add it to the filtered broth liquid. Next add your soup veggies and herbs to the meat and broth mixture. Place the soup pot back on the stove and cook for 1 hour on medium low. Add the rice and navy beans and cook for another hour.

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Roasted Butter Herb Chicken

Roasted Butter Herb Chicken

Ready to step up your basic roasted chicken dinner? Try this super easy butter herb roasted chicken recipe the next time you make a chicken dinner. This is guaranteed to become a new favorite of yours and your family. You’re welcome!

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken (5 lb)
  • 2 sticks butter (16 tablespoons)
  • 3 sprigs rosemary (2 teaspoons)
  • 8 sprigs thyme (2 teaspoons)
  • 8 leaves of sage (2 teaspoons)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 lemon

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Directions

First, remove the chicken backbone, with a chef knife or kitchen scissors. Next, fold the chicken along the breast and snap the breastbone. Trim any excess fat and then wash the chicken. Pat the skin dry, then salt the skin with kosher salt. Place in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Bring 2 sticks of butter up to room temperature. Mince the herbs and garlic, then add this to a mixing bowl. Add the butter and half of the salt and half of the pepper to the mixing bowl. Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon into the bowl and mix the ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken on a cooling rack, then place the rack on a foil covered cookie sheet. This will keep the chicken elevated and allow it to cook on all sides. Starting from the top of the breasts, slide your fingers under the chicken skin to start loosening it from the meat. Load a spoon full of herbed butter and slide it under the skin. Use your fingers on top of the skin to hold the butter in place and slice out the spoon. Use your fingers to spread the butter around evenly under the skin. Repeat these steps for the thighs. When finished, rub the outer skin with the remaining butter, then add salt, pepper and any remaining herbs. Squeeze more lemon juice over the outer skin. Place the chicken in the oven when heated and cook for at least 1 hour. Be sure to check the chicken temperatures and cook to at least 165F. Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to rest 5 minutes. Carve and enjoy!

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