Smoked Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings

This weekend I decided to smoke some chicken wings for the football games that were coming on. This was my 2^nd time smoking chicken wings and I think I’m getting a little better at it. With all things, practice makes perfect.

The key thing I’m learning is that you need to crispen the outside skin some kind of way, otherwise it’s extremely rubbery after smoking the wings. I use the hot coals on the bottom of my smoker. I put the cooking grate with the wings on top of the coals for about 5 minutes to crispen the skin. This left the wings with what looks like a slightly burnt texture in the pictures, but I’ll tell you what they were still amazing to me. Next time I’ll try to pull them off the coals slightly quicker to minimize the burning.

If you have any questions that aren't answered on here feel free to ask me in the store any time, or you can reach us on the phone while we are open at 757-547-2161. I will do my best to answer any questions you have. 

I don't claim to be an expert smoker. I've only had a smoker for about 4 months now and am doing a lot of learning myself. I figured I will start to post these blogs/recipes onto our website to share my journey with everyone. My mistakes, what I figured out works for me, what doesn't work. Thanks for reading. My ingredients, preparation, and cook process are below. If you are planning on cooking some wings, I wish you luck and hope they turn out amazing.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. of Chicken Party Wings
• 1 Bottle of Walkerswood Mild Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
• Chigger Creek Hickory Chunks or Chips (I used chunks)
• Charcoal

Preparation:

1. Get a plate and spoon. Open up the Walkers wood Jamaican Jerk and take some scoops and put it onto the plate.
2. Take a few chicken wings and put them onto the plate.
3. Coat the chicken wings with the seasoning. The more jerk seasoning you put onto the wings, the hotter it’s going to be. I apply a lot to my wings because I like them to be spicy. You don’t need to cover the entire wing though, just make sure the liquid of the jerk coats the wings.
4. I have a picture at the bottom with them on the smoker beforehand so you can see how much I applied.
5. Let them rest in the fridge as you prepare the smoker, grill, or oven.

Cooking Method:

1. Prepare your Smoker or whatever cooking device you are using. I use the Weber Smokey mountain 22” smoker. It uses charcoal for fuel and wood chunks/chips can be added to the charcoal. I used Chigger Creek Hickory Wood Chunks for the chicken wings.
2. I smoked the chicken wings at around 250 degrees F thru the entire process. I smoked the chicken wings for around 2½ hours. I turned the wings after about 1 hour into the smoke.
3. After the wings reached about 165-170 F I took them off the top of my smoker and put them directly over the hot charcoals to sear them. This process doesn’t take long, I left the wings over top the charcoals for all of 5 minutes, if that. You need to be careful because it can get away from you in a hurry and you will end up with burnt wings. As you can see in my pictures, some of mine are a little burnt because I left them on for seconds to long. That’s ok for me because I like them to be a little burnt on the outside. It’s a tricky process, but very rewarding if done correctly.

I have found that this helps get the outer skin crisper and not make it such a rubbery texture that you can get from smoking chicken. You could also probably broil them in the oven or use a regular grill if you have one. The skin really needs some direct heat applied to get it nice and crispy.

        4. Let the wings rest for a few minutes to cool off and then dig in and enjoy.

Pictures:

Recipe by Andrew Edmondson Backyard Smoker Enthusiast from Central Meats

Ingredients: 
6ea                    Chicken Fryer Leg Quarters
1/2 Bottle         Goya Mojo Marinade
                           Goya Adobo Seasoning

Procedure:
Place the Chicken Leg quarters in a large zip top bag (Spread between two bags if they will not fit into one), and add the  marinade. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal the bag. Marinade in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (24 hours is preferable) rotating occasionally to expose all surfaces of the meat to the marinade.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and sprinkle both sides lightly with Adobo Seasoning.

Prepare a Charcoal or Gas* grill to medium high heat. Grill the chicken on both sides until it is cooked through or an instant read thermometer reads 180 degrees at the center of the thickest part of the meat. Remove from the heat and allow to rest on a platter, loosely covered with foil for 5-8 minutes before serving to allow juices to redistribute.
 
Serve the chicken with tortillas and your favorite Mexican condiments (Cheese, sour cream, salsa, pico de gallo, onions, cilantro, etc). 
 
Serves 4 


Recipe By: Nelson Colwell, Pitmaster of Old Dominion Smokehouse Championship BBQ Team

Ingredients:
3lbs         Jumbo Fryer Chicken Wings
4 TB         Lysanders Bourbon Rub  (Available at Central Meats)
2-3 TB     Vegetable Oil
                Historic Lynchburg Swineapple Glaze (Available at Central Meats)         


Procedure:
Cut the wings into wing sections, discarding wing tips or saving for chicken stock. Combine wing pieces with oil  in a one gallon zip top bag.  Add Lysanders Bourbon Rub, seal bag, being careful to squeeze out as much air as possible and toss wings through the bag to completely coat in seasoning. Refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours (overnight is best).

Heat vegetable oil in fryer to 350-375 degrees. Fry wings in small batches until dark brown and cooked through (approx 13 minutes). Serve dry with swineapple glaze on the side, or optionally toss in a small amount of glaze to coat.

Serves 3-4 

Recipe By: Nelson Colwell, Pitmaster of Old Dominion Smokehouse Championship BBQ Team

Ingredients:
1 LB       Chicken Breast Tenders
1 Cup     All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp     Black Pepper
2 Tsp     Seasoned Salt
              Black Pepper & Seasoned Salt (for seasoning chicken)
1/2 Cup  Cream, Half & Half or Milk
               Hot Sauce (to taste)

Procedure:
In a shallow bowl, combine flour, pepper and seasoned salt. In a seperate bowl, combine the cream and hot sauce.

Season the Chicken Tenders with seasoned salt and pepper. Dredge a chicken tender in the flour mixture, then shake to allow excess to fall away. Quickly dip in cream mixture, then back into flour mixture, again shaking to remove excess. Repeat cream/flour process one more time, then drop into hot oil. Repeat until the fryer is full, but be careful not to overcrowd fryer, do these in batches. Allow to fry until golden brown approx 8-12 minutes and internal temperature of chicken reaches at least 165 degrees. Remove from oil and sprinkle immediately with salt. Serve with Honey Mustard Sauce.

Serves 3-4 

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 C      Mayonnaise
1/4 C      Prepared Yellow Mustard
1/4 C     Honey
Dash     Hot Sauce
1/4 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Poppy Seeds (opt).

Procedure:
Combine all ingredients well and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Recipe By: Nelson Colwell, Pitmaster of Old Dominion Smokehouse Championship BBQ Team

Ingredients:
4                Large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 C            Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (or Italian Cheese Blend)
8 oz           Sliced Pepperoni
1 1/2C      Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs
1 C            Mayonnaise

Procedure:
Lay a chicken breast out on a cutting board and cover with a layer of plastic wrap. Using meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet, gently pound the chicken breast until its about 3/8" thickness. Season both sides with salt and pepper, and cover with 1/4C of cheese and a quarter of the pepperoni. Carefully roll the chicken breast with the cheese and pepperoni inside, and secure the roll with toothpicks. Repeat for the remaining 3 chicken breasts.

Generously coat each chicken breast with mayonnaise and roll in the seasoned breadcrumbs. Place on greased baking dish and bake at 350* until internal temperature reaches at least 165* and juices run clear (approx 30-45 minutes). Serve with marinara sauce.
Serves 4

Recipe By: Nelson Colwell, Pitmaster of Old Dominion Smokehouse Championship BBQ Team

Ingredients

3.5-4 lbs                 Jumbo Party Wings (Approx 24 pcs)
1 bottle                  Italian Salad Dressing (Approx 12 oz)

2 TB                        Butter
1/2 Cup                  KC Style BBQ Sauce (Such as Sweet Baby Ray's or KC Masterpiece)
1/2 Cup                  Honey
1/4 tsp                   Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp                   Cayenne Pepper *
1 tsp                       Soy Sauce
2 tsp                       Vinegar
1/2                          tsp Salt

Combine the Wings and Salad Dressing in a 1 gallon zip-top bag, and refrigerate at least 4 hours to marinade (overnight is best).

Combine sauce ingredients in small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat to combine all ingredients. Stir well to incorporate the butter into the sauce. Reduce heat to low.

Preheat grill to a medium heat (avoid high heat to prevent flare-ups and scorching). Evenly distribute wings (drained from marinade) onto the grill. Grill approximately 15-20 minutes, turning and flipping every few minutes until wings are well done or internal temperature reaches at least 180¢ª

Transfer grilled wings to large mixing bowl, and top with warmed sauce, tossing to coat wings well. Serve with celery and ranch dressing for dipping.

* The quantity of cayenne pepper creates a medium heat sauce. Adjust the cayenne pepper according to your preferences. 

Recipe By: Nelson Colwell, Pitmaster of Old Dominion Smokehouse Championship BBQ Team