Tasty Licks Wings

Fred, of Fred’s Music & BBQ Supply, was kind enough to send me some of his Tasty Licks rubs for me to try out. Since I was dying for wings (when am I not dying for wings?) I decided to try a batch with his Original Rub.

I usually cook wings in the medium-high range (350°F or so) without any added wood smoke, but this time I decided to slow smoke them for a couple of hours over apple wood before cranking the heat up to crisp the skin.

6 fresh chicken wings
Olive oil
1-2 tablespoons Tasty Licks BBQ Company “Original” All Purpose BBQ Rub and Seasoning

In  medium bowl, lightly coat wings with olive oil. Dust the wings with some of the rub and give them a toss. Dust and toss again, making sure that all of the wings are covered with the rub.

Set a cooling rack on a cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. Lay wings out on a rack and let them sit uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours, and preferably overnight.

Set the grill up for an indirect cook at 250°. Once the grill is up to temperature, add your smoking wood and arrange the wings on the grate top side up. Close the lid and smoke for an hour. Flip the wings and smoke for another hour. Now bump the heat up to 350°F and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the wings and cook for another 15, or until they are brown and crispy.

Serve them hot off the grill with some Horseradish Mustard Sauce for dipping.

The Verdict: ★★★★★
This is a great rub! I tasted it right out of the bottle and it was a lovely blend of heat and sweetness. You could really taste the chili powder, but it wasn’t overwhelming – kind of a nice, long, low burn. The sugar and salt hit you right up front and really helped balance the spice in the rub.

The wings were very tasty done low and slow. The skin stayed crisp while the meat was melty and tender.  I loved the smoky flavor and the rub really complemented that. You could call them barbecue wings, but not in that just-slap-a-sauce-on-them kind of way. They had that true barbecue taste that you can only get from the blending of spices and smoke over low heat.

Thanks for sharing, Fred!

4 thoughts on “Tasty Licks Wings”

  1. Wow, those wings really picked up some color! Fruit woods do a good job of that but do you think some of it also had to do with the rub?

    I like your technique of drying them out in the fridge for 2 hours before cooking, that helps get them crispier.

    I shouldn’t have read this so late tonight, now I’m craving wings!

    You going to the Eggtoberfest this weekend?

  2. No Eggtoberfest for Dave :(. I’m stuck working around the house and maybe (hopefully) doing some scallops on Sunday. Are you going? If so, have a blast!

    I think it was both the smoke and the rub that added the color. They looked great and were very crisp. Great, now I’m hungry for wings.

    1. Thanks! My folks have been growing horseradish for years and still crank out dozens of old baby food jars full of it a couple times a year.

      For wing dipping sauce, I’ve also had good luck adding a tablespoon or so of horseradish and some hot sauce to store-bought ranch dressing. It really lights it up.

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: