First of all, Meathead's book is awesome. I've learned a ton from it and the recipes have an incredibly high "hit" rate for me, meaning deliciousness has been the outcome more times than not.
However, my first attempt at the "Blasphemy Buffalo Chicken Wings on the Grill" did not turn out like I had hoped. The wings below were done on my 22" kettle with half a cup of apple wood chips added during each stage of the indirect cooking (1. 325 degrees, indirect, 10 minutes per side; 2. Add a bunch more coals and finish with a good sear over direct heat).
The chicken turned out delicious but with two problems:
1. I just can't get crispy chicken skin and smoke to play nicely together. I can get crispy chicken skin without smoke, but every experiment with smoke and poultry has ended up rubbery. Am I missing something blindingly obvious? Temperature too low? Possibly too much smoke? Or is that just the trade-off for smokey chicken meat?
2. The buffalo sauce didn't adhere well to the wings. Maybe it was too thin? A bit of googling has shown me that various sites suggest different proportions of Frank's to butter and maybe the version in Meathead's book is skewed too far toward the butter? Or maybe I cooked it too hot or too far in advance of saucing the wings? No idea, but I'm willing to bet many of you have cracked this so any advice on this front will be gratefully appreciated.
All in all, I'm thrilled to have found the site and this community. Thanks for reading and any ideas / suggestions!
However, my first attempt at the "Blasphemy Buffalo Chicken Wings on the Grill" did not turn out like I had hoped. The wings below were done on my 22" kettle with half a cup of apple wood chips added during each stage of the indirect cooking (1. 325 degrees, indirect, 10 minutes per side; 2. Add a bunch more coals and finish with a good sear over direct heat).
The chicken turned out delicious but with two problems:
1. I just can't get crispy chicken skin and smoke to play nicely together. I can get crispy chicken skin without smoke, but every experiment with smoke and poultry has ended up rubbery. Am I missing something blindingly obvious? Temperature too low? Possibly too much smoke? Or is that just the trade-off for smokey chicken meat?
2. The buffalo sauce didn't adhere well to the wings. Maybe it was too thin? A bit of googling has shown me that various sites suggest different proportions of Frank's to butter and maybe the version in Meathead's book is skewed too far toward the butter? Or maybe I cooked it too hot or too far in advance of saucing the wings? No idea, but I'm willing to bet many of you have cracked this so any advice on this front will be gratefully appreciated.
All in all, I'm thrilled to have found the site and this community. Thanks for reading and any ideas / suggestions!
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