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Smoked Buffalo Chicken Wings

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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Calories: 1090kcal
Servings: 4 People
Metric - Imperial

Ingredients

Wings & Seasoning

  • 1.5 kg Chicken Wings Drums & Flats Separated
  • 10 g Smoked Paprika
  • 8 g Onion Powder
  • 8 g Garlic Powder
  • 6 g Baking Powder
  • Salt & Ground White Pepper

Buffalo Sauce

  • 110 g Unsalted Butter
  • 250 ml Frank's Hot Sauce

Blue Cheese Sauce

  • 60 g Mayonnaise
  • 30 g Sour Cream
  • 15 ml Buttermilk
  • 1 Garlic Clove Grated
  • 0.1 g Yellow Mustard Powder
  • 50 g Blue Cheese Crumbled
  • Salt & Pepper To Taste

Method

  • Pat the chicken wings dry with a paper towel and place them in a bowl. Add all of the seasoning, salt, and white pepper. Mix well to coat.
  • Preheat your smoker or BBQ with direct heat to 230°C (445°F), using your favourite smoking wood and lump charcoal in the centre. This also works on a gas BBQ without smoking chips.
  • Place the wings around the edge of the BBQ, not directly over the coals, and close the lid. Cook hot and fast for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 80°C (175°F) — about 10 degrees hotter than the usual chicken target, since wings benefit from the extra heat to break down connective tissue for tender, fall-off-the-bone results.
  • While the wings cook, add the butter and hot sauce to a small saucepan and heat over medium, whisking occasionally, until the butter has melted. Set aside. Alternatively, heat them in a cast iron or heat-safe pan directly on the BBQ for a smokier sauce, whisking well once the butter has melted.
  • Combine all of the blue cheese sauce ingredients in a bowl. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
  • Remove the wings from the grill and place in a bowl. Serve as-is with the dipping sauce, or toss in the buffalo sauce. Dig in.
Chef's Tips
Pat the wings completely dry before seasoning — any surface moisture steams instead of crisps, and the baking powder needs a dry surface to do its job of drawing out moisture and crisping the skin.
Keep the wings off direct heat, as written — indirect heat with the lid shut is what renders the fat slowly and gets that fall-off-the-bone texture without burning the skin before the inside catches up.
Make the blue cheese sauce first and let it sit in the fridge while the wings cook — like the herby mayo on your grilled chicken sandwich, the flavour rounds out with a bit of resting time instead of tasting freshly stirred.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate the wings for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months, in an airtight container. Keep the buffalo sauce and blue cheese sauce separate in their own containers — the buffalo sauce keeps for about a week refrigerated, and the blue cheese sauce for up to 4 days.
To reheat, use the oven or air fryer at 200°C (390°F) for 8–10 minutes to bring the skin back to crispy — a microwave will leave them soft and rubbery. Toss in fresh or reheated buffalo sauce after reheating, not before, so the skin doesn't go soggy. Thaw frozen wings in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Serving 400gCalories 1090kcalCarbohydrates 5gProtein 69gFat 73gCholesterol 285mgSodium 846mgFiber 1.1gSugar 1g