Crispy, smoky chicken wings finished with a sticky apple and Irish whiskey glaze. The wings are gently smoked before Charlie is turned up to crisp the skin and caramelise the sauce.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: Around 1½–1¾ hours
Serves: 4–6
Oven set-up
Light around half a football’s worth of good-quality lumpwood charcoal.
Bring Charlie to 120°C (250°F) for smoking. You will increase the temperature to 220°C (430°F) to crisp the wings.
Ingredients
For the chicken wings
- 1.5 kg chicken wings, split into drumettes and flats
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- One handful of dry apple or oak wood chips
For the apple and Irish whiskey BBQ sauce
- 250 ml cloudy apple juice
- 60 ml Irish whiskey
- 200 g tomato ketchup
- 50 g soft dark brown sugar
- 40 ml apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- ½ tsp onion granules
- ½ tsp sea salt
- A good grind of black pepper
Method
Make the BBQ sauce
Add the apple juice and whiskey to a saucepan. Simmer for 8–10 minutes, until reduced by about half.
Add the remaining sauce ingredients and stir well. Simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly, until the sauce is thick, glossy and sticky.
Taste and add a little more vinegar if it is too sweet, or a little more sugar if you would like it sweeter. The recipe makes around 400 ml, giving you plenty for glazing and serving.
Set aside around one-third of the sauce for the table.
Season the wings
Pat the chicken wings thoroughly dry. This will help the skin become crisp.
Add them to a large bowl with the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic granules. Toss until evenly coated.
Smoke the wings
Once Charlie is holding steady at 120°C (250°F), add the dry wood chips directly to the charcoal.
Arrange the wings on a cooking rack with a little space between them so the smoke and heat can move around each one. Place the rack in the upper half of the oven and smoke for 45–60 minutes.
Crisp the wings
Open the vents and increase Charlie’s temperature to 220°C (430°F).
Leave the wings in the upper half of the oven while the temperature rises. Continue cooking until the skin is golden and crisp, moving them to a middle shelf if they need more colour.
The thickest part of the wings should reach 80–85°C (176–185°F). This is above the safe minimum temperature and gives more tender meat around the joints.
Glaze and finish
Toss the hot wings with enough Apple and Irish Whiskey BBQ Sauce to coat them well.
Return them to a middle or upper shelf for 5–10 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling, sticky and beginning to caramelise. Watch them closely because the sugar in the glaze can catch quickly.
Serve straight away with the reserved sauce on the side.