Smoked Turkey Wings

These smoked turkey wings are liberally dusted with a boldly flavored BBQ dry rub and infused with mesquite smoke. This barbeque turkey recipe is great for anyone sick of eating the same ol' boring turkey.

Plus these are relatively quick to cook, for a smoker at least. These gigantic wings are like the dinosaur version of smoked chicken wings. However, these pterodactyl-sized wings don't take much longer to cook than their smaller chicken cousin.

Ingredients Needed

• Turkey wings - You can substitute any other cut of turkey, including the drumsticks, or breast meat.
• Brown sugar
• Kosher salt
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Ground pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Dry ground mustard

What woodchips are best for smoking turkey?

I like to use mesquite woodchips for smoking my turkey wings. Mesquite blends perfectly with the flavors of the BBQ dry rub. However, you can use your favorite wood instead.

How to smoke them

Begin by preheating your smoker to 250 degrees. You don't want to use a high heat because it will cook too fast, not only making the wings tougher, but it will limit how much smoke flavor soaks in.

While the smoker is heating up mix together all of the seasonings for your dry rub in a small bowl. Then liberally dust each side of the turkey wings until they are fully coated.

Once the smoker is pre-heated add the wood chips and place turkey wings directly on the grates. Close the smoker and let smoke for two hours, or until the turkey meat reaches 165 degrees.

Tip: Your meat will cook better if you use a probe thermometer. Not only can you keep an eye on the temperature as it cooks, but you also won't be having to open the smoker and let heat out each time you check for doneness.

Can you get crispy skin on the wings?

Smoking meats doesn't typically result in crispy skin because of the low temperature. However, there is a trick I used with my smoked chicken legs recipe where I smoked the meat, then refrigerated it to cool it down before heating it back up under the broiler. The high heat from the broiler will crisp the skin nicely.

Smoking Turkey Breasts and Legs

This recipe was written for smoking turkey wings, but the same dry rub and smoke flavor would also taste incredible on a turkey breast or leg. Expect the breast to take 3-4 hours to smoke, while a fullsized drumstick will take around 3 hours.

What goes well with smoked turkey?

Any of your favorite classic picnic side dishes that you would serve with barbeque would also pair perfectly with this recipe. Give one of these a try!