It’s time I broke out the smoker for the blog.  For years I avoided smoking food.  I have been in some kitchens where there has just been too much smoke and the dish just tasted like eating an ashtray.  Nobody wants that.  My thought simply was that smoking food was too unpredictable and very difficult to fix if it didn’t come out correctly.  The good news is that after smoking various foods successfully for the past year my attitude and opinion of smoking proteins has changed significantly.

With the right wood chips and the judicious use of smoke, the possibilities are endless.  From a light smoke (like what we are going to do to this smoked wings recipe) to a longer smoke, you can add layers of flavor to your food which are hard to attain otherwise.  In addition, smoking leaves food just so juicy and tender due to the low temps.

For this smoked wings recipe we are going to use applewood chips which add in a really delicate smoked flavor.  To prepare the chips, use a large bowl and add in about a cup of chips and HOT water.  Try to put the chips in at least an hour before you are going to start smoking so they get a good soak.

As you can see below, I’m using a Masterbuilt smoker.  The max temp for this unit is 275 degrees.  I rarely go past 200, but for this wing recipe you will want to take it to about 275 to start.  The air damper is also at full throttle, allowing the smoke to really pass over the food.  After an hour, we’re going to drop the temp down to 195 for an additional hour.  The final step is to crank the oven to 500 degrees and get the skin nice and crisp.  It’s going to be so delicious.