Smoked Honey Old Bay Wings are seasoned and smoked to perfection with the perfect balance of smoky, spicy, and sweet flavors in each bite.
These pellet grill Old Bay Chicken Wings are made with Old Bay Seasoning and coated in an incredible honey glaze.
If you are looking for that perfect appetizer for game night, cookouts, or a dinner with friends, this is it!
Getting ready for the 4th of July or planning a Summer cookout? Consider also making appetizers like Pepperoni Roll Tailgate Appetizer, Corned Beef Reuben Crescent Roll Appetizer, and Ground Lamb Gyro Fries!
Smoked Chicken Wings Recipe
Smoked Honey Old Bay Wings are one of my absolute flavors of Buffalo Wings.
With the perfect blend of flavors and topped with an out-of-this-world honey glaze, these wings are truly something to talk about.
Now, I might be biased, but I have to say when adding the element of smoke to your honey old bay wings it really takes this recipe to another level!
Prepping The Honey Old Bay Wings
Long before the wings hit the smoker you can do a few things to help your wings achieve that perfectly crispy skin and/or get crispier.
What you also probably learned is that moisture is the enemy of crispy skin! So, follow along, because I am going to teach you how to avoid that and get the perfect wings, every time.
If it’s possible (and you planned in advance) you want to open the package the night before and pat the wings dry. Next, I lay out some paper towels on a sheet pan or baking sheet and lay the wings on top to sit in the fridge overnight uncovered.
If you can’t do this overnight a few hours in the morning the day of is better than nothing.
The next day while your smoker is preheating you can season the wings and get them ready to smoke.
I try to season the wings about 30 minutes before it’s time to smoke them so the rub has a little time to absorb into the meat.
No matter what seasoning I’m using I always add a few teaspoons of baking soda to help crisp the skin even further.
Ingredients for Smoked Honey Old Bay Wings
Chicken Wings: Stop by your local grocery store or butcher shop and pick up 3 lbs of chicken wings.
Dry Ingredients: 2 tbsp of BBQ dry rub, 2 tbsp of Old Bay, and 2 tsp of Baking Soda.
Wet Ingredients: ½ stick of melted butter and ¼ cup of raw honey.
How to make Smoked Honey Old Bay Wings
Prep the wings. Remove wings from the packaging and set them out on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Refrigerate uncovered for a few hours or overnight to dry out the skin.
Season. Combine dry rub,1 tbsp old bay, and baking soda then generously season the wings on all sides.
Preheat and cook. Preheat smoker to 275 degrees F. Smoke for about 1 hour then turn heat up to 375 and cook over high heat until wings reach an internal temperature of 185 Degrees F. About 45 minutes depending on size.
Coat the wings. Combine melted butter, remaining old bay, and honey. Whisk to combine then toss wings with the glaze.
Serve and Enjoy! Serve with ranch dressing and a side of celery and enjoy!
What temperature is best for smoking wings?
Smoked wings can be tricky because we are searching for that perfect balance of smoky flavor and crispy skin.
The way most bbq restaurants do it is by pre-smoking the wings and then flash-frying them to order to create a super crispy skin.
If you have a tabletop fryer it’s a great method but not everyone wants to deep fry their wings in oil.
So, to achieve crispy wings without frying in oil you’re going to need high heat at some point in the cooking process.
Smoking wings at 275 Degrees F for the first hour is a high enough temperature to begin rendering the skin but low enough to impart smoke.
The trick is, after the first hour, you are going to want to spray the wings down with a light coating of avocado oil and raise the temperature to 375 degrees F.
From this point, you want to cook the wings as long as you can without burning them or burn them just a little if that’s your thing.
The size of the wings will determine how long it takes to fully cook the wings and achieve crispy skin.
How to tell when smoked wings are fully cooked
When it comes to safe consumption temperature, chicken is safe to consume at an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. However, I prefer to cook dark meat poultry at around 185 degrees F.
Because dark meat has more fat the chicken won’t dry out as breast meat will. Use a probe thermometer or a meat thermometer and check the temperature of the biggest wing you see.
Pro-Tip: When doing temp checks, I also like to test a drumette and a flat so I have a good idea of the true temperature.
The color and the texture of the skin will give you a good idea of the fondness of the wings but the temperature is going to tell you exactly how they’re cooked.
Wing Size
It’s really hard to give you an exact time and temperature to cook chicken wings because there is such a difference in size.
Jumbo party wings can be as large as 5-6 in a pound or as many as 10-12 wings in a pound. Obviously, they are not going to cook in the same amount of time.
That’s why checking the internal temperature of the wings throughout the cooking process is so important, so keep a meat thermometer close and handy at all times.
Saucing the Honey Old Bay Wings
Once you’ve got your smoking crispy wings it’s time to sauce them up!
You can’t get much easier than a 3 ingredient homemade glaze made with honey, Old Bay Seasoning, and butter.
All you need to do is heat up a ½ stick of butter with some honey seasoned with Old Bay.
Pro-Tip: When it comes to the glaze, I like to toss the wings right into the sauce rather than brush them with the glaze. It’s fast, it’s easy, and I think you get a nice coating without losing any of the sauce.
If you have extra sauce when you are done pulling them out, just pour or drizzle it over the top of the plate before serving.
Bleu Cheese Dressing or Ranch Dressing? Why Not Both!
Don’t serve these amazing wings with some cheap bleu cheese dressing and ranch dressing from the grocery store.
Come one! You took the time to make better than restaurant quality wings take the time to make the sauce!
I promise you, this will only take you 15 minutes and you will have the best, and my favorite, Five Ingredient Bleu Cheese Dressing, and my Hidden Valley Copycat Ranch Dressing to serve alongside your wings.
Slice up some celery, carrot sticks, and seedless baby cucumbers and you are ready to watch a game, celebrate the 4th of July, and more with a spread worthy of celebrating.
More Awesome Wing Recipes
- Chili Rubbed Wings w/ Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- Chesapeake Garlic Parmesan Wings
- Vietnamese Sticky Wings
- Salt and Pepper Grilled Chicken Wings
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Wings
- Jamaican Jerked Grilled Chicken Wings
- Grilled Old Bay Wings
Smoked Honey Old Bay Wings
Equipment
- Pellet Smoker
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chicken Wings
- 2 tbsp BBQ Dry Rub
- 2 tbsp Old Bay
- ½ stick Melted Butter
- ¼ cup Raw Honey
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
Instructions
- Remove wings from packaging and set out on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Refridgerate uncovered for a few hours or overnight to dry out the skin.
- Combine dry rub,1 tbsp old bay and baking soda then generously season the wings on all sides.
- Preheat smoker to 275 degrees F. Smoke for about 1 hour then turn heat up to 375 and cook over high heat until wings reach an internal temperature of 185 Degrees F. About 45 minutes depending on size.
- Combine melted butter, remaining old bay and honey. whisk to combine then toss wings with the glaze. Serve with Ranch and Celery
Bill
Great recipe
Culinary Lion
Thanks, Its one of my favorites!!
David Kester
What a great recipe.
Frank Campanella
thank you!! its one of my favorite wing recipes
Frank Campanella
Fantastic!! is one of my favorites!!