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Traeger Chicken Wings Recipe

This Traeger Chicken Wings Recipe is smoky and delicious, and the perfect match for your favorite bbq or buffalo sauce – or just add your favorite dry rub and eat them on their own!

Traeger Chicken Wings Recipe

Listen. You guys know me by now. I’m not afraid to make a meal out of chicken wings, and we do it regularly around here. Appetizers for dinner are the best treat you can give me. All the munchies, all the time, please.

I didn’t really think wings got any better than our spicy grilled chicken wings. They are made on our gas grill, pre-pellet-grill times around here.

Then, Jeremiah threw wings on the Traeger, put some smoke on them, and STOP THE PRESSES.

Wings just got better.

Way better.

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Traeger Chicken Wings

Traeger Chicken Wings shopping list

Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here’s the list of items you’ll need to make this recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post for specific amounts.

  • chicken wings
  • dry rub
  • sauce of your choice

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How to make perfect Traeger Chicken Wings

This is just the overview so you can see what you’re getting into here. When you are cooking, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

1

Preheat

Preheat your pellet grill to 350°F.

2

Dry & Season

Pat your wings dry with paper towels. Toss with a little oil and then coat liberally with the dry rub of your choice.

3

Grill

Lay out the wings right on the grill. Cook for 20 minutes and then flip and rearrange (if necessary) to account for hot spots. Grill for another 20-25 minutes.

4

Enjoy

Remove from the grill, take care of any post-grilling crisping you might want to do (totally optional, by the way! Most of the time we eat them right here at this point and skip that part), and enjoy!

More Easy Traeger Chicken Recipes here!

Do you love your pellet grill too?

See my entire Traeger Recipe Collection if you are a pellet griller too!

If you need specific suggestions, I highly recommend our Traeger Smoked Salmon, Traeger Walleye with Lemon Cream Sauce, and this Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. Oh yeah. We went there.

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Traeger Chicken Wings

To sauce or not to sauce?

These Traeger Chicken Wings don’t even NEED sauce; they are so great. Our famous, all-purpose BBQ Rub puts a huge kick of flavor directly onto the wings, but if you wanted a little extra kick, I’d recommend a good barbecue, teriyaki, or a classic Buffalo sauce.

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How many wings do you need to feed a hungry crowd?

Side note.

Do you know how many wings you need to feed a crowd of hungry teenage boys?

You probably don’t want to.

It is a shocking number, and I’ve never had leftovers, so I don’t have an answer yet. I imagine it’ll increase exponentially as they get into their teens and have friends here with them, right? 

If you are trying to cook Smoked Wings for a crowd, I’d figure on about 6 per person, unless you are trying to make a meal out of them. Then a dozen is a pretty safe bet if you have sides to go with it. 

If your crowd consists of teenage boys, I’d just have about 15 pounds of wings on hand and ready to go. 😉 

Get all my favorite Spice Guy Rubs here!

Traeger Chicken Wings

Can you get crispy skin on pellet grilled chicken wings?

Kind of. 

But it takes some work, and a caveat. If you are looking for “crispy” as in the same kind of cripsy you get with deep-fried wings, you will be disappointed and should skip right to the Smoked and Fried method.

Baking Powder/Cornstarch Method

Some people swear by a dry-skin method which involves dusting the wings with baking powder and/or cornstarch and then laying them out, uncovered, on a pan in the fridge overnight. 

This lets the skin dry out, the fat renders more quickly, and the skin crisps faster so you don’t overcook the wings in the quest for crispy chicken skin. 

You want to mix roughly two parts of your rub with one part of baking powder for this to work correctly. 

Air Fryer Method

For this method, you skip the prep work and just toss the wings in the dry rub and put them on the grill, but after they come off the grill, give them a spritz of oil and toss them in the air fryer. 

This will crisp up the skin without drying out the meat and is pretty foolproof. 

The downside is that most air fryers don’t have large amounts of food at once, which means you’ll have to do them in batches. 

Oil Fried Method

This one is by far my favorite method, and the most reliable way to get that crisp skin without losing the smoked flavor you need. 

Just heat an inch or two of oil in a cast iron pan, and give your wings a 2-3 minute fry post smoke. You’ll have the best of all the worlds with these wings, which are by FAR the best tasting. You can read about my experience with smoked and fried wings here.

More Chicken Wings & Sauce Recipes

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Yield: 8 servings

Traeger Grilled Chicken Wings Recipe

Traeger Chicken Wings

This Traeger Grilled Chicken Wings recipe is our favorite way to make wings! Customize with your favorite rub and sauce, and get smoking!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 48 chicken wing segments*
  • 4 tablespoons BBQ Rub
  • 1/3 cup canola oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat your pellet grill according to factory instructions to 350°F.
  2. Starting with DRY chicken wings, combine the oil and seasonings in a large bowl and toss in chicken wing segments. Stir to evenly coat with oil and seasonings.
  3. Place the wings on the grill, evenly spaced. Close the lid and cook for approximately 45 minutes, or until they are cooked through and the skin is crispy. Turn the wings over halfway through.
  4. Remove from heat and toss with your favorite barbecue or buffalo sauce. Serve hot!

Notes

How many chicken wings you get is really up to you. We're figuring about 6 wings per person for this recipe.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 619Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 30gCholesterol: 134mgSodium: 683mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 28g

Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate.

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Nicole Johnson

Nicole Johnson, a self-taught expert in grilling and outdoor cooking, launched Or Whatever You Do in 2010. Her blog, renowned for its comprehensive and creative outdoor cooking recipes, has garnered a vast audience of millions. Nicole's hands-on experience and passion for grilling shine through her work. Her husband, Jeremiah Johnson, also plays a pivotal role in recipe development, adding his culinary flair to the mix. Together, they form a dynamic duo, offering a rich and varied outdoor cooking experience to their followers.

Joseph

Friday 26th of May 2023

Don’t use canola oil .use olive oil much healthier.also if you want a crispy wing sprinkle some baking powder . Cook as directed check internal temp 165deg.

Nicole Johnson

Friday 26th of May 2023

I'm not a big fan of the baking powder method, but to each their own! ;)

Bobby

Thursday 11th of May 2023

How long do you pop em in the air fryer?

Nicole Johnson

Friday 12th of May 2023

5-10 minutes usually does the trick! It depends on how dry they were before they were smoked and a lot of different factors.

Deb

Saturday 4th of July 2020

What rub did you use... bbg rub is very generic

Deb

Saturday 4th of July 2020

@Nicole Johnson, thank you

Nicole Johnson

Saturday 4th of July 2020

Hey Deb! It is generic on purpose. I use a variety of Spiceology rubs or my own homemade BBQ rub, depending on who is eating them and how much spice they can handle. Everyone's tastes are really different so using your favorite rub is generally the best advice for a recipe like this. If you want something more particular, try out my Spicy Miso wings!

Brian Ewart

Saturday 13th of July 2019

How often do you flip everything for this recipe? Top or bottom rack?

Nicole Johnson

Saturday 13th of July 2019

We cook everything on the bottom rack, and flip approximately every 5 minutes. Some spots are a little hotter than others, so make sure and shift things around as needed.

Lynn F Dixon

Sunday 16th of June 2019

Canola oil is bad for our health. It was genetically engineered as an alternative fuel for canada. They didnt use it so they sold it to us as a "healthy" oil. I will try with coconut oil, It can be used with high heat.

Nicole Johnson

Sunday 16th of June 2019

Avocado oil is also a great alternative if you aren't into canola oil. Happy grilling!

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