Wings: good, skin: bad

[Polarbear777]

Skin on chicken single stage indirect cooking temperature should be inversely proportional to thickness, since you want the skin to dry out and crisp at the same time that enough heat reaches the center to cook them through:

whole birds: 325-350F
spatchcocked or quarters: 375-425F
wings:450-550F

of course you can split and reverse sear/fry slow first then blast the skin in the fryer etc. Deeps frying is the most reliable for finishing wings, but not the only way.

[mrteddyprincess]

325 F in the PK followed by direct heat over the coals for me. Makes for wonderful wings and would be the PK equivalent to the Vortex on a Weber.

[Mosca]

Birds take on smoke quickly. Just grill them with wood chips.

[JeffJ]

Put them in the freezer for 20-30 minutes before putting on the grill. It will take longer for them to come up to temp which will give the skin more time to crisp up.

[surfdog]

The Vortex is a wing cookin’ machine. One of the best accessories ever. It’s SOOOO easy to recommend.
I use that and it makes ‘em fast & tasty. Even my mother, a self proclaimed wing hater, loves them. Prior to making them that way, I’ve never actually seen her eat a wing. O_o

[RonB]

Wings are small and can take just about as much heat as you can get. I just try to keep the temp below 500 F using a Vortex in my Kettle. Breasts and thighs get a lower temp - maybe 400 F. They take longer to cook and the lower temp will still crisp the skin. Some here go 350 - 375 and get crisp skin too.
Figure what works with your setup and let her rip.

[Jared49]

Everything they said about the vortex!! I also put the wings on a wire rack uncovered in the fridge overnight, the fridge dehydrates the skin. Nice and crispy from the vortex.

[jfmorris]

Wings and chicken in general for me are hot and fast cooks - 350 or higher if using indirect. That's the only way to render the skin and have it decently crispy. I tend to use the SNS or the Vortex in a kettle, full to the top with blazing coals. Or just grill direct on a set of Grillgrates I have, on my gasser. Smoked chicken, unless smoked at 325 or higher, always has rubbery skin, and I don't think a quick finish on direct is enough to take care of it.

[smokyYank]

OUTSTANDING! Thank you all. Can't wait for my next run. Drooling already...

[smokyYank]

BTW, what internal temp should I shoot for? The FDA 160 with 5 degree carryover or 190-ish for more tenderness (but hopefully not dried out)?

[ecowper]

My wife cooks our wings. She never worries about temp, just how crispy the skin is. We've never had undercooked wings.

[RonB]

Safe to eat chicken is a function of two variables - time and temp. Breasts can't take much more than 160* without drying out. Everything else can take higher temps.

All the nasties are killed instantly around 165*, but breasts are normally dry at that point. I cook to 158*, and it takes less than 30 seconds to kill everything bad at that temp, and the meat will still be moist.

Some people here cook to lower temps, but hold it there longer. The texture of the meat is unpleasant for me if much lower than 158*. YMMV

At 190*, it will be like eating cotton because it will be so dry it will suck all the moisture out of your tongue.

[smokyYank]

Thanks RonB, I was thinking like pork, higher temps melt the connective tissue, so while it's safe to eat at 145, it's much more tender around 200. Not so with chicken, huh?

[RonB]

smokyYank - correctamundo!

[Red Man]

smokyYank Wings should not be taken to 158. Wings cooked hot and fast will be much better around 180 IT. Even 190 is fine if cooked really hot and fast. RonB was talking about temps for chicken breast.

[smokyYank]

EGADS! I'm so confused! Some of the comments above say to use baking SODA, others say POWDER. I googled the difference (vis-a-vis chicken skin) and STILL get confusing and conflicting results.

Can we take a vote, please????

Meathead??? Professor Blonder??? Buehler???

[mnavarre]

Either one will work, some people get a soapy flavor from baking soda, some people get a metallic flavor from baking powder, some people can't tell at all. I honestly feel that if you can taste either you've probably used too much.

[Sweaty Paul]

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-buffalo-wings-oven-fried-wings-recipe

Lots of good stuff here.

[Sweaty Paul]

I’m a believer in Hot-n-fast for wings. I don’t have a vortex, however, I get the Yoder cranked up to cook outside. I use J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best...d-wings-recipe. Love this recipe.

When I cook a whole chicken I will spatchcock it and sprinkle salt on it and let it dry brine uncovered in the fridge for several hours. I then cook on the Yoder or PK at 350-400 until it’s done. I’ve found this really crisps up the skin and this has become my wife’s favorite way to have chicken cooked. Just a nice simple roasted chicken.

[MarkN]

This will probably be of little use, but I have tried a variety of ways of making wings (hot oil only, bake in the oven, Weber grill, gas grill, PBC, etc. [but no Vortex]) but the single best results I've gotten were from the "Sous Vide Buffalo Chicken Wings Recipe" from Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer). No smoky flavor but it checks all the other boxes.

1) Set the Immersion Circulator to 160-165 degrees. Season wings with salt, bag 'em and cook for 1 hour (if at 165) or 2 hours (if at 160).
2) Remove from bags and arrange on wire rack and place in fridge for 8 hours up to 2 days (to dry the skins).
3) When getting ready to serve, heat oil in Dutch oven or Wok to 375-400 and cook each batch for about 3 minutes.
4) Drench in sauce or eat nekked (the wings I mean).

If results are the priority over cooking method, this is the best method I've found.

[Potkettleblack]

Add a smoked element in the sauce...

[Sweaty Paul]

Interesting! Will need to try. Thanks for sharing. Have you ever tried crisping over a hot charcoal grill fire?

[MarkN]

Sweaty Paul yes I have. but I see I cannot post pictures in this Comment section. I'll try posting at the end.

[Jfrosty27]

I did a batch of wings last night for dinner. Cold and windy outside so I did them in the kitchen oven. They were whole wings but I clipped off the tips.

I dried them off as best I could with paper towel. Then a light spray of Pam cooking spray followed by my favorite wing rub. Placed on a foil lined sheet pan with a cooling rack in it. Then in the oven at 425 for about an hour. Pulled at about 195 IT. Skin was crispy, very moist and tender inside. Very tasty.

Sorry no pics. I forgot. 🤦ðŸ¤·â€â™‚️

[JeffJ]

Wings are very forgiving. All sorts of different cooking. Methods produce good results.

[efincoop]

Similar to Polarbear777 I have smoked them before and finished them in an air fryer, rather than a wok or deep fryer with very good results. That said, the last time a similar thread came up I was convinced enough to buy this Vortex knock off on Amazon. I have not tried it yet.