Chicken Wings/Drums: Do you apply a dry rub the night before?

[Rex]

Curious what this community’s experience and feedback is w chicken wings. This weekend I plan to smoke a bunch of wings then fry them in my cast iron before saucing some of them.

What I am trying to decide is if I should apply the rub the night before I throw them on. Any feedback is appreciated.

Very timely thread, as I'll be smoking wings and drums tonight for the first time and was wondering the same thing.

 

[Maverick]

Very timely thread, as I'll be smoking wings and drums tonight for the first time and was wondering the same thing.

Feel free to share the method you used and how it turned out.

 

[Maverick]

I use the dry brine technique on wings. Pat wings dry, toss in rub and refrigerate uncovered for up to 48hrs. The salt in the rub will pull moisture up and the drying of that moisture in the dry cold air creates a pellicle on the wing which will hold moisture in while smoking.

Dry brining works well on several delicate meats. Salmon, pork tenderloins, ribs.

I will try this next time. Thanks for the input.

 

[Rex]

Feel free to share the method you used and how it turned out.

Since this was first shot at wings, I went conservative. Went heavy on my own rub 30 minutes before smoking after lightly coating with olive oil. Smoked (apple) at 250; took a bit longer than I thought it would to hit an IT of 180 (2 hours 15 minutes.)

The good: tender and juicy without being overly so, the heavy rub gave the skin a decent crispiness.

The bad: My homemade rub was a tad too heavy on the paprika and cayenne; I was looking for spicy and ended up with HEAT. The family ate it all, but much water was consumed!

 

[Maverick]

Since this was first shot at wings, I went conservative. Went heavy on my own rub 30 minutes before smoking after lightly coating with olive oil. Smoked (apple) at 250; took a bit longer than I thought it would to hit an IT of 180 (2 hours 15 minutes.)

The good: tender and juicy without being overly so, the heavy rub gave the skin a decent crispiness.

The bad: My homemade rub was a tad too heavy on the paprika and cayenne; I was looking for spicy and ended up with HEAT. The family ate it all, but much water was consumed!

Little sweat at dinner time! Nice.

Yeah there are guys on this site w much more experience then me but I’m guessing it’s trial and error until you find the method that produces the end result you’re looking for and rub/sauce that hit the flavor profile you like best.

 

[aarieas]

View attachment 4200

what does the grate do? keeps the meat from sticking?

 

[JamesB]

It’s just used so that you don’t place each individual piece of chicken on the hot grill one at a time. Easier to remove them all also. I use a half sheet cooling rack for the same thing, and that’s what that rack looks like

 

[aarieas]

Ah I see. What are they called. I would like to try one.

 

[JamesB]

It’s a cooling rack
I just put these poppers on the Traeger

 

[aarieas]

It’s a cooling rack
I just put these poppers on the Traeger
View attachment 6291View attachment 6292

Ah I see how it makes it easy. Prep in the kitchen...care it out and go. I am in!

 

[Murphy's Law]

I’ll often use both a half baking sheet and the racks just for the “double ease” and to keep my pit cleaner. Here’s 2.5# of scallops I just put on the grill.

easy peasy

 

[RayClem]

I pick mine up at my local grocery store. It's also used in a marinade for Ginger Lime Chicken Skewers.

View attachment 4197

I picked up a gallon of this brand yesterday at Walmart. I use a squirt bottle to apply oil to the grill, so I can just refill it as needed. Peanut oil is high in monosaturated fats and is fairly low in polyunsaturated fats. Thus, it has a longer shelf life than some vegetable seed oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats. If an oil smells rancid, do not use it for cooking.