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A platter of smoked turkey wings.
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Juicy Smoked Turkey Wings

Get ready for some finger-licking, fall-off-the-bone deliciousness with these juicy smoked turkey wings!
Perfectly brined for maximum flavor, seasoned with just the right kick, and smoked low and slow to tender perfection, these wings are everything you crave in comfort food.
Course Thanksgiving Recipes
Cuisine Barbecue
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Additional Time 12 hours
Total Time 14 hours 10 minutes
Servings 4 wings
Calories 684kcal
Author Sarah Penrod

Ingredients

  • 4 turkey wings see notes about packaging
  • Wood Chips or Wood Pellets

Turkey Paint (or use any seasoning rub you like)

  • 1/3 cup Squeeze Butter such as I Can't Believe It's Not Butter
  • 2 teaspoons fresh garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs such as thyme, sage, rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Simple and Easy Turkey Wing Brine

  • 2 quarts water
  • 1/2 cup salt

Cranberry Glaze (or glaze with barbecue sauce)

  • 1/2 can cranberry sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar

Instructions

Brining The Turkey Wings

  • Dissolve the salt: In a large pot, over high heat, combine the water and salt. Stir until the salt is completely dissolved. Cool the brine fully. (We encourage placing it in the refrigerator which is a great way to keep the wings cold and out of the temperature danger zone).
  • Place turkey wings into the brine and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24-48 hours. Even a short brine of 4 hours can help produce juicy meat. A true liquid brine (not a dry brine) makes a huge difference in how much moisture is in the final wings, which results in succulent meat. 

Preparing the Turkey Paint: 

  • ​In a small bowl combine the squeeze butter, minced garlic, chopped herbs, salt, poultry seasoning, thyme, pepper, and paprika. Stir well with a silicone brush until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Seasoning The Turkey Wings

  • Remove the turkey wings from the brine and pat dry. It's important the wings are dry so that the turkey skin can bind to any kind of bbq rub or seasoning, but especially the turkey paint. Paint the turkey paint on (or sprinkle on any alternative seasoning you have chosen). Refrigerate until you are ready to head out to the smoker. 

Smoking The Turkey Wings

  • Prep your smoker according to your usual practice. This usually means, cleaning the grates, adding pellets to a pellet grill, or firing up the smoke box. Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees, which provides a rich smoky flavor without making the meat stringy. When the smoker is ready to go, place the wings on the grates.
  • Place a small water pan inside the chamber, and close it up. I do not spritz wings made with turkey paint because of the relatively short cooking time. Spritzing causes the turkey paint to move. If you are using an ordinary barbecue rub you can spritz after 1 hour for flavor purposes. 
  • The wings are pulled when they reach 165° F. This took about 2 hours, give or take 30 minutes as all wings are different weights and cooking times can vary by how many times the chamber is opened.

Glazing The Turkey Wings

  • Combine the cranberry sauce, water, sugar, and red wine vinegar in a small pot and heat gently on the stove until smooth. Begin glazing the turkey wings the last 15-20 minutes of cooking. Alternatively, you may glaze with your favorite bbq sauce. 

Serving The Turkey Wings

  • We prefer to remove the wings from the smoker and let them rest until just warm. Then using gloved hands, pull the meat off the bones and place it on a platter. Serve with gravy or passed cranberry sauce. You may also enjoy them whole and eat them straight from the bone.

Notes

1 turkey wing (wing and drumette) weighs over 1 pound. In the Jenny O brand, there were always 2 wings per package.
Other brands had more inconsistent packaging and were packaged with 1 or 2 wings concealed behind non-translucent wrapping. It isn't easy to guess whether the package contains one or two wings.
Much of a turkey wing is the bone that makes up much of its weight. From smoking 4 turkey wings we got about 3 pounds of meat and attached skin.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 684kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 21g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 191mg | Sodium: 14755mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g