The best method for Smoked Chicken Wings (Buffalo Style) with crispy skin is to dehydrate the wings in the fridge, smoke, then sear.
Learn the tips and tricks for getting crispy skin when cooking smoked chicken wings low and slow. Check out some of our other favorite Buffalo flavor inspirations like this smoked chicken dip or these stuffed chicken breasts.
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The Best Smoked Chicken Wings, Buffalo Style
My husband is from Rochester, NY, and I’m pretty sure that means it is required by upstate NY law a baby’s first food must be Buffalo Chicken Wings.
Buffalo Chicken Wings are an upstate NY original and an American pub staple. And by “Buffalo” I’m not referring to the animal, but instead Buffalo, NY, the city where these indulgent treats originated at Anchor Bar.
Fun fact, Anchor Bar was the first place we ate after getting married. True Story.
We’ve been making Buffalo style wings for years, and found the very best way to emulate the same signature style, while maintaining crispy skin, while cooking on the smoker.
Crispy skin is hard to achieve while cooking low and slow. You need heat to get that crispness. Well we have the answer and the secrets to getting smoked chicken wings with crispy skin while cooking low and slow.
How to Smoke Chicken Wings
Follow these steps for the most incredible smoked chicken wings WITH crispy skin.
- First dehydrate the wings in the refrigerator. This allows for the skin to be fairly dry before you even start the smoking process. Pat dry your wings, then place them on a baking sheet in the refrigerator for up to 3 hours.
- Next, smoke your wings at a low temperature to get that delicious smoke infusion.
- Then, right towards the end, increase the heat to at least 375 degrees (or higher) to finish them off.
- Alternatively (and not mentioned in the recipe or video) you can transfer them to a hot grill to finish them off, or place them under the broiler for a couple minutes.
How long to Smoke Chicken Wings?
It takes roughly 90 minutes for smoked chicken wings with crispy skin on the smoker. Smoke the wings at 225 degrees for one hour. Then increase the temperature to at least 350 for an additional 30 minutes. Conditions will effect the exact time. The key is to not pull the wings until you feel that crispy skin on the exterior. You can tell by touch!
What is the Best Wood For Smoked Wings?
Fruit wood, and specifically apple or cherry is ideal for smoked chicken wings. The wood burns sweet and give a touch of smoke flavor. Mesquite or oak will have more intense smoke flavor if you want to really go big.
More Buffalo Chicken Inspired Recipes
- Smoked Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Smoked Buffalo Turkey Dip
- Grilled Buffalo Chicken Salad
- Smoked Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Poppers
- Smoked Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Wine Pairing for Buffalo Chicken Wings
In the wine and food pairing world, they say “what grows together goes together.” Well my two favorite things from Upstate New York (besides my husband!) are the chicken wings, and the wine. And yes, they actually do go quite well together.
Look for semi-dry Rieslings from the Finger Lakes Region of New York State for smoked chicken wings. They have lovely crisp juicy apple, peach, and apricot aromas, lively acidity, and a cooling sweetness that will refresh and cool your palate from these wings.
People are always recommending sweeter wines (like sweet Rieslings and Gewürztraminer) with Thai food. And while, yes, that works, the whole idea is that they pair well with spicy food in general (not just Thai), I say also pair them with Buffalo Wings. Try it!
Why is this so?
Because these wines have a small amount of residual sugar in them, leaving a slightly sweet and refreshing feeling that cools the palate. When your mouth is hot from spicy food, what do you want? Something to cool it. It’s the same thing that happens when you take a sip of an ice-cold beer after a bite of something spicy, which is why beer is the typical drink of choice for most wing enthusiasts.
Alternatively, these wings work fantastic with a fruity rosé!
*This recipe was originally published in October, 2013, and updated in January, 2020, with new photos. The original recipe remains the same.
If you like this recipe we’d truly appreciate it if you would give this recipe a star review! And if you share any of your pics on Instagram use the hashtag #vindulge. We LOVE to see it when you cook our recipes.
Smoked Buffalo Chicken Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 16-20 Chicken Wings, or "Party Wings" as you'll sometimes find them labeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
Sauce:
- 1 cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken wings with a paper towel.
- Place a drying rack over a cookie sheet and place wings on top.
- Place into a refrigerator, uncovered, for 1-3 hours to dehydrate (3 hours being optimal). This is crucial to the end texture of the chicken. This process will prevent the wings steaming when you cook it, which creates a rubbery texture. We’re going for crispy here, trying to emulate the texture of fried wings.
- When ready to cook, preheat smoker to 225 degrees, and remove wings from fridge.
- In a large bowl, toss the wings with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Place wings on the smoker for one hour.
- Next, increase heat to 350 and let wings cook another 30 minutes. Conditions can change which can lead to more time. The key is to not pull the wings off until you get that crispy outside. You can tell by touch.
- Remove from smoker and toss immediately with hot sauce mix.
- Serve with your favorite ranch or blue cheese dip.
For the Sauce (prep sauce just before the wings come off the smoker):
- Bring butter and sauce to simmer (not boil!!) and remove from heat. Place into a large bowl to toss the wings in. *see notes
Mike Norton says
This is an incredible recipe! Easy to follow and the result was a hit. A few suggestions: leave the chicken in the fridge longer to minimize rubbery skin; research removing tendon on drumstick- it’s easy and eliminates that chewy part. The sauce was easy as well – tasty and not overly hot.
Leo says
Awesome article! Well done and easy to understand. Im definitely going to try this technique this weekend and I am very excited.
One quick question, are you able to marinate them before the drying process? Im thinking put them in some marinade overnight, then take them out of the marinade, pat them down and start the drying process from there? Would that make the drying for crispy skin not work or try it anyway and see?
Sean Martin says
Leo – great question. If you marinate the wings, I strongly suggest you marinate, then dry off in the fridge, then smoke. If you marinate and they are still wet, it will lead to rubbery skin. You can also use the corn starch technique with your dry rub if you want to add more of the fried chicken texture. Just go to our “Grilled Wings” recipe and you’ll see how that works.
Steve Kardian says
Today will be my 4 weekend in a row that I have used your recipe and the wings have been as good (but certainly healthier) as my favorite wings place in Westchester County, NY. You were spot on with everything. I’m using the BGE for the smoking and grilling!
Mary says
Yessss!! Thank you so much for the feedback!
Todd says
This was by far the best recipe for wings ever! We smoked them for an hour with Cherry wood, and then transferred them to the grill for the last 30 minutes (may have been too long, but they were crispy).
Sean Martin says
Thanks so much for the feedback Todd!!!
tom mendicino says
Ha!!! I meant 350 degrees not 450 degrees on last post. Tom
tom mendicino says
My smoker doesn’t reach 450 degrees. What do you recommend? I thought of the oven for this step. Thoughts?
Sean Martin says
Tom, saw both comments! I would say you can finish in your oven for the higher temps and to get crispy. At the lower temp your options are limited. Baking powder allegedly helps, but we have not used that method. So I would just finish them in the oven at the temp recommended.
Joe says
Awesome wings! I’ve used this method several times now with impressive results and always crispy skin. I’ve used different rubs and not used the baking soda–but you have to dry the wings in the fridge! I have friends that smoke their wings and then fry them for crispiness–this method is just so much better. Thanks so much for posting. Also I really appreciate the tip on melting the butter at lower temp. I got in a hurry once and the wing sauce separated–had no idea why–now I know! Every time I make these wings, I remember you folks and appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
Sean Martin says
Joe thank you so much for sharing your feedback! And yes, we learned the hard way on the butter separating 🙂
Tom says
Great recipe and good instruction. Only thing I’ve found to help get extra crispy skin is to add ~2 Tsp of baking powder per # wings and rub thoroughly after drying. I smoke at 225 flipping once for about 80 minutes then sear over super high heat turning constantly. Sauce after, or none with a nice dry rub when doing the baking powder.
Norm Haslauer says
Been using this recipe for a few years now. It’s the only way we will cook Chicken wings! I am also from upstate NY, so finding a good recipe is a must!!!
Mary says
Awesome!!
Jarrod says
It’s fine to place wings directly on Traeger, correct? I think you used a grilling here.
Sean Martin says
Yes absolutely, you can place right on the grates.
Brian Hughes says
I use an electric smoker that only goes up to 275 how do I compensate not being able to up the temp to 350?
Sean Martin says
Brian, I might suggest after smoking, that you use the oven. You can broil them off since they will be cooked to temp. Another option is to grill them over direct heat to crisp them up.
Stephen Griffin says
Does the skin come out like smoked chicken legs (bite through, but not rubbery)? Or are they crispy consistent with frying?
Sean Martin says
Stephen, they are not exactly like frying, that is its own texture, but they will come out crispy like roasting in the oven. The wings will take on the smoke and can handle going up in internal temp until the skin is the texture you like. Even with an internal temperature of 180 degrees they will still be juicy and crispy.
Joe S says
Was struggling to get skin crispy on the smoker, but drying them out in fridge did the trick! I found your cooking times pretty much spot on too–thanks a lot!!!
Steph says
We have made these numerous times and they are always perfect! Everyone comes over for wings and they just love them and say theirs never turn out the same… I keep telling them to just follow this recipe to the T. I have skipped out on the drying every wing to save time and drying them is better 😉 thank you for this recipe and all the details. We live in Michigan and I got my husband the smoker for Christmas last year and he is in love with it! The picture of your husband smoking in the snow reminds me of my husband.
Eric Meeks says
We make this several times a year. We also own a deep fryer, and in the past we used it to make buffalo wings the traditional way, but we haven’t looked back since discovering this recipe. The whole family loves this, it’s less messy than the deep fryer, and also seems a little more healthy.
Sean Martin says
AWESOME!!! Thank you so much for sharing your feedback. We are such a wing family too!
Yobo says
Ive used this recipe multiple times and it is an absolute family favorite. Unfortunately its been a little while since i’ve made the wings and now ive got one question about the recipe. I thought i remember there being a step of olive oil, salt and pepper after the 3 hrs in the fridge. Did you remove this from the instructions or was i drinking too much beer the last time i made these?!
Jason says
We are from buffalo but have been living in the south for over ten years now and we’ve found that brushing the wings with olive oil before the last half hour works great to get crispy smoked wings. My first time smoking wings I tried just increasing the heat for the last half hour but that definitely didn’t do it for us.
Cherry and hickory wood mix for smoke is excellent.
Oh and any good wing sauce will also have onion and garlic powder added to the mix. It’s much easier to get a good wing sauce right if you add the wings to a bowl, poor melted butter over them, Franks, and then seasonings. Cover and shake.
Good luck guy!
Dave Ferris says
So, I am from Oswego New York – and I grew up on the best wings in the world.. My family and I have spent 10 years in the Philippines as missionaries and now I pastor Skagit Valley Baptist Church in Mount Vernon’s, Washington.
I have had good wings through all of my travels, however I have never had anything as good as what I grew up with in upstate New York.
We have tried wings in different places and they have been OK but not just like home. My kids have become connoisseur of wings even though I have not tasted the best of the best!
That was until, last night! I was wondering yesterday morning if I could make wings on my Traeger – and then I found your recipe!
I can’t even describe the joy and the happiness on my three kids faces as they devoured these wings!
Not because I made them – but they are the best wings that I have had since leaving the homeland nearly 25 years ago!
I followed your recipe exactly – it did not disappoint!
Thank you for putting this together -from a fellow New Yorker -you have made my day!
Best regards,
Dave Ferris
Sean Martin says
Dave, thank you so much for the awesome feedback!! So glad you had a chance to connect with our Western and Upstate New York obsession. There is just something about that flavor that other parts of the country don’t nail. And thank you Anchor Bar for coming up with such a national treasure too! 🙂
Brooks Orpington says
Here’s a trick I use to guarantee crispy skin… Coat the wings with Baking Powder before drying them in the refrigerator. It leaves no taste and makes the skin cracklin’ good.
charles walter says
zzzzjust did the smoked buffalo chicken wings. only change was to the sauce. i added worchester, brown sugar and vinegar. Just as they got crisp I put wings in a aluminum pan, poured over with sauce and cooked for anover 10 minutes. Absoutely great.
Marco says
Hi,
I’m only asking because I already have a bag of them, but do you think frozen wings can be used for this recipe if thawed out?
The recipe looks great and can’t wait to try it!
Mary says
I can’t see why not! I’d let them thaw, and then continue to do the dehydrating step in the fridge. Let us know how they come out!!
John Critelli says
Just a great recipe and something I had to try out on our new Traeger Grill. My wife and I are both from Rochester and now live in Dallas where the wings are just not the same! I did put a slight twist on the recipe and used Sal’s Birdland seasoning…another Rochester favorite! Once the wings absorb the seasoning I brushed them with a little olive oil for the crispy effect and it worked great! You can order all of the Sal’s seasoning and sauces from NYstyledeli.com (Calabresella Imports) in Rochester along with your Zweigle Hotdogs! My dad had a sign business in Rochester NY for almost 40 years including putting up all of the Sal’s Birdland signs and the sign for Calabresells’s so we got to know all of the great places! Really enjoyed your article…thank you!
Mary says
This is Sean (the pitmaster), and John I love meeting a fellow Rochestarian!!! I love the Sal’s birdland, and now you made me want to go order some and the Zweigle Hotdogs, no one gets the White Hot!!!!! Now I need to find a way to make a smoked garbage plate. Get on a plane and you can taste test a Nic Tahoe classic. Thanks for reaching out!!!
Sharon says
Made these for NY Eve and you can bet we will be making them again and again! The guest asked to take home the leftovers.
Jim Matthews says
Just wanted to say “Thank you”!! Just did my first batch on a Camp Chef pellet smoker with hickory pellets. They came out perfect! The only change I made was to add some Weber chicken grill seasoning. Can’t wait to serve these at the SuperBowl party
Mary says
That is so awesome!!!
BBQ On Main says
Hey Mary, this was another recipe we had to feature as part of our 101 favorite smoker recipes! You can check it out here – https://bbqonmain.com/101-smoker-recipes/
Thanks for sharing =] (And thanks to your hubby for braving the snow to make them!)
Andrew says
What type of wood chips did you use in the smoking process?
Mary says
Andrew generally we use apple and cherry, it is readily available here in the Pacific Northwest. We save hickory for beef. For long cooks I also add a mix of oak to our fruit wood as we like the sweeter flavor that fruit woods.
Eric says
Well, smoked some wings on the ole Weber and made about 18 rubber coated wings. In a desperate search for chicken skin truth, I found your recipe/technique. I absolutely put my wings on the grill wet and dripping. Your drying technique sounds like the remedy…thank you. Back to the grill soon to redeem my pride!
Mary says
Eric, thank you! We get a lot of good feedback on the technique, let us know how they turn out!
J R P says
I assume this recipe starts with thawed, not frozen, wings, correct? I’m excited to try these out!
J R P says
Just made these on my Traeger and hickory pellets. THESE WERE BY FAR THE BEST WINGS I’VE EVER MADE, they even rival the wings at my favorite local wing specialty restaurant. These will definitely become a staple for all football games, parties…or even just every Wednesday night!!
Mary says
Wow! That’s so awesome to hear!! We’re so glad you loved them 🙂 We agree about them becoming a staple! We do them often here!
Mary says
Yes! These are for thawed wings, not frozen.
Reed says
Excellent instructions. I just bought a Louisiana Smoker Grill LG800 Elite. This was my first cook on it. They turned out excellent. My only change was that I used Texas Pete’s buffalo wing sauce instead of Franks. They came out crispy like you said. Thanks for the post!
Brown Smith says
Mmmmm! Would love to have a smoker. This sounds delicious.
Mary says
We started all this on a Weber Kettle. The upside, price and simplicity, the downside, space. You should check out smoking on that as it’s a $100.00 investment and you set it up for smoke using an indirect heat. We have had so many people ask about this that we’ll do a post on the basics of smoking on a kettle grill.
Edith says
We just got back from Miami and had the best smoked buffalo wings at Bristol’s Burgers. I’m from Rochester too and live in Seattle now. I’m hoping this recipe replicates what I had in Miami. I’d hate to say it, but these are MUCH better than non-smoked Buffalo wings. I don’t have a smoker, but this could justify that purchase. In the meantime, I need to figure out a way to so this without a smoker. We’ll have to try FOTM when we’re in Portland next, sounds awesome!
Mary says
Haha, good luck getting a smoker! My advice? Just do it!!! So worth it. And I totally agree, these are much better than deep fried or oven baked. The smoke adds so much more flavor! Side note: I am a total sucker for FOTM! The only place in town I’ll happily go for wings (aside from Pok Pok, but those are a totally different style and flavor).
Jen says
Trying these today. So do you not use liquid in the smoker?
Mary says
We do not use liquid when making these wings. Specifically I’m assuming you’re referring to a water bath (or water pan) that is??
The wings do not need that extra moisture and will prevent the skins from getting crispy.
The key is to get that smoke in low, then crank up the heat near the end to get the crispy skin.
Hope they turn out well for you!
Cheers,Mary
Kim Olson says
I made these tonight for dinner. I am originally from upstate NY and my husband is a very picky wing eater. BEST WINGS EVER! My husband came back for thirds. I used hickory pellets–awesome flavor. I did change the sauce a little–I added 2 T w-sauce.
Mary says
Hooray! So happy to hear this! As you may know, Sean (my hubs) is also from upstate (Rochester), so it was his mission to work on these over and over until we perfected them. Cheers 🙂
mike says
Looks delicious! How do you get your buffalo sauce to thicken up like that?
Mary says
Hi Mike, The key first is to use Franks Redhot 🙂 and not let the Franks come to a boil. The butter will help as the binder as it cools.
Next, be sure to apply the sauce as soon as the wings are off the cooker. I place wings in a large bowl and then pour warm sauce in. Then I flip the wings around to coat and plate. There will be extra sauce so either include in the plating or reserve in a ramekin.
As the wings and sauce cool it thickens up some. Hope that helps. (And literally I use just Franks and butter for the sauce.)
Adam says
Room temperature butter and Frank’s hot sauce in a large mixing bowl and toss wing heat of wings melts the butter that’s the original way
Tom says
AWESOME!!!
A couple of small differences from your method because my electric smoker won’t go to 325F. So I pulled them and put them in the oven for the last part.
The resting in the refrigerator to dehydrate for a while makes a HUGE difference! The skin on the chicken was amazingly crispy and not rubbery at all. If there is anything I hate more than terrorists and cancer, it is rubbery chicken skin! So thank you for that!
I used a light bit of oak for the smoke. It’s good, but I wish I’d have gone a tad lighter.
Mary, to answer your question, no, I am not from the North East. I live in Missouri. I just happen to have a pretty good collection of wood chips, chunks and pellets.
This is an awesome method for making smoked wings! I highly recommend it. Thank you Mary! 🙂
Tom
Mary says
Awesome 🙂 So glad it worked out well for you!! And I’ll definitely try that oven method next time the skin isn’t getting crispy. And now I want to try to get our hands on some sugar maple wood!
Cheers,
Mary
Tom says
This looks like an awesome method for smoking wings! I am trying it tomorrow. Is there a particular wood smoke you recommend?
My initial thoughts are oak or sugar maple, but would like to replicate your method as much as possible.
Hope to hear from you!
Thanks,
Tom
Mary says
Tom,
It is fun. Oak wood be a great wood. I used hickory pellets in a Traeger for this recipe, but when I do them on my offset stickburner, similar style. I bump up the heat with charcoal to get it to crisp up for the second hour. During the heat up period, keep an eye on them, it can get overcooked quickly. I have never used sugar maple myself, are you in the Northeast? I would love to hear what you do with that wood! And most importantly let us know how it goes!
Bill Nada says
Looks good! A way to get rid of rubbery skin is to throw them under a broiler for a few minutes.
Mary says
Thanks Bill. Good call on the broiler. I’ll try that next time the skins come out rubbery!
Chris says
Glad I found this recipe! Going to smoke these today for the 4th of July and using an east-meets-west buffalo sauce. I smoke a lot of stuff but for some reason have never done wings. Also, drying out the wings in the fridge is key to forming the “pellicle” which is important so the smoke adheres to the whatever meat you may be smoking. I usually let a boston butt dry for 24 hours in the fridge, you can definitely tell the difference!
Mary says
Hi Chris, I’d love to hear how your wings turned out. They can be tricky!! And we’ve never let a Boston butt dry for 24 hours before. We’ll try it next time and let you know how it goes! Cheers
Diane Miller says
I’m originally from Buffalo, NY, drying the wings in the fridge is definitely key. I can’t wait to get a smoker and try these. In the meantime I have to make do with my oven. Cheers!
Mary says
Diane, it’s so true! Such an important step. And until you get your smoker you can always try them on the grill. I can’t give you exact cooking times off the top of my head, but they taste great grilled. And if you want the smoked flavor you can just add wood chips to your charcoal grill, then cook the wings on an indirect heat. Cheers!
Matt says
Great post. Excited to try. I was wondering if we put in fridge to dehydrate for 12 or more hours be too long?
Mary says
Matt, no I don’t think that would be too long, but also check where you get them from. For example at Whole Foods at the butcher counter they are already air chilled, but I don’t think you can over “dehydrate”. Great question!
Lynnette Hoffman says
I clicked through to your post from Darren Rouse’s facebook page, and was happily surprised to see the references to Rochester, The Finger Lakes and upstate NY wings (Buffalo gets too much credit for them, haha!) I live in Australia, but grew up in Rochester:) It seems that the Finger Lakes rieslings are finally getting noticed, which makes me smile. They were mentioned positively on America’s Test Kitchen’s podcast the other day as well. Anyway, looks like your persistence with the recipe paid off, yum:)
Mary says
Hi Lynnette, So glad you found the post! From Rochester to Australia, wow, what a change! Yes, I agree, happy to see Finger Lakes wines getting more (well deserved) attention.
Cheers
Thomas says
I am also from Rochester and I must say I am excited to try this recipe in my smoker tomorrow.
Absolutely LOVE the intro you gave as well. So much that I had to read it to my wife who was laughing because of the similarities your husband and I share!!! Love, love, love bltrue buffalo wings, love the upstate wines, and cannot get enough of the rich Rochester history and foods!
Thank you for the inspiring recipe. My taste buds are hopping with excitement!
Mary says
Thomas thanks so much, my husband is yelling across the room asking if we should experiment with smoked garbage plates and if you love Pontillo’s pizza as much as him…lol….you probably know what he is talking about 🙂
Courtney Luick says
My mouth is watering! I must try this recipe, and I’m a big fan of Finger Lakes’ Rieslings, so looking forward to it. Cheers for the post!
Mary says
Thank you!
Diane Letulle says
Delicious post, Mary! I’m tempted to book my next trip for your next batch!
Mary says
Diane, you are ALWAYS welcome here 🙂
Jameson Fink says
The photo of your husband on New Year’s Day manning the smoker in the snow is awesome. Would not have guessed FLX Riesling as your wine pick. Along those lines of some sweet to meet the heat, some Bugey-Cerdon would probably be nice, no?
Mary says
Good call on the Bugey Cerdon! Really, several wines would work. The idea is to keep it slightly sweet and refreshing to cool off any heat from the wings. I wouldn’t have really put much thought into the FLX Rieslings if not for having them all open the very day we made that batch of wings. They worked!
Plus it’s a nice homage to hubby’s upstate NY upbringing.