How to Smoke Chicken Wings with Crispy Skin

Grab a couple pounds of split wings, flats and drums, and pat them dry with paper towels. Dry skin is what crisps up on the smoker, so don't skip this. If you have time, leave them uncovered in the fridge for an hour first to dry the surface even more.

Lay the wings out in a foil pan skin side down. Darren does this so the meaty top side is facing up and ready to take the first coat of seasoning. Getting them all turned the same way makes the seasoning step go fast.

Start with a light base coat of a savory BBQ party rub across the top of the wings. Darren uses Tailgaters Party Rub here. Think of this layer as your salt and background flavor, so keep it even but not heavy.

Come back over the top with a medium coat of honey chipotle rub. That second layer brings the sweet heat that makes these wings pop. Two rubs stacked like this give you more depth than one rub could on its own, savory underneath and sweet-spicy on top.

Turn each wing over and repeat the same two rubs on the skin side. Light party rub first, then a medium coat of honey chipotle. You want seasoning on every surface so no bite tastes plain.

Once they're all coated, let the wings sit for about five minutes. The rub starts to draw moisture to the surface and dissolve into the skin, which is exactly what you want. Use this window to go fire up the grill.

Get your pellet grill running and set it to 325 degrees. That's hotter than a lot of people smoke at, and it's the whole trick here. A higher temperature renders the fat in the skin and crisps it instead of leaving it soft, while the pellets still throw plenty of smoke.

Let the grill come all the way up to temp and hold steady before you put anything on. Darren cooks on a pellet grill here, but any smoker that holds 325 will work. Check that your pellet hopper is topped off so it doesn't stall partway through.

Lay the wings onto the grate skin side down and give them room to breathe. That first pass with the skin against the heat starts the initial crisping, which you build on with the flips that follow.

Close the lid and let them go for 15 minutes without touching them. Opening the grill early drops the temperature and slows the crisp, so leave it shut and let the heat do the work.

After the first 15 minutes, flip every wing with tongs. You'll already see good color and crisp starting on the down side. Keep flipping every 15 minutes through the rest of the cook so both sides render and brown evenly.

Over about 45 minutes total you'll flip two or three times. Each turn exposes the fatty skin back to the heat, which is how you get that all-over crackle instead of one crisp side and one soft side.

The wings look done well before they actually are. Slide an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of a drum and cook them to 190 to 200 degrees. That's higher than the 165 safe minimum on purpose.

Taking wings up to 190 to 200 breaks down the connective tissue and leaves the meat extremely tender while still juicy. Don't be scared of that number. At this point the skin should be a deep, crispy brown and the wings are ready to sauce.

Move the hot wings into a metal bowl and hit them with a wild wing sauce. Give the bowl a good shake to coat every wing. Darren keeps it light on purpose so the sauce adds flavor without drowning the crisp you just built.

Send the saucy wings back onto the grill for about five more minutes. This sets the sauce so it clings instead of running, and it keeps the skin from going soggy. Pull them, let them cool a minute, and serve. You'll still hear that crunch when you bite in.