This recipe is my favorite way to get crispy wings that still have the smoky flavor we all love. These Chesapeake Garlic Parmesan Wings are based on an award winning recipe from a popular Irish Pub in Baltimore known for their amazing Smoked Wings
The Story of The “Wings of Destiny”
Back in the day I was the Chef that created menus and recipes for different restaurant concepts. Years ago I was tasked with creating a menu for an Irish Pub that specializes in Smoked Wings. We came up with a variety of sauces to serve on the wings but one sauce definitely stood out as the crowd favorite. The sauce started of like many others with a base of hot sauce and butter but the addition of brown sugar, old bay, garlic and Parmesan gave this sauce the perfect balance of salty & sweet, spicy & umami.
The wings were entered in a local WING WAR Competition where they easily took home first place. After that the wings were known as “Destiny Wings” names by a local bartender and friend. The wings are still available if you’re ever in Baltimore at Delia Foley’s Irish Pub.
For those not in the Baltimore area I’ve created a low Carb version of the sauce and a method to recreate their famous wings at home. This is a fantastic recipe for when you need to feed a large group but also a great meal prep treat throughout the week.
The Secret to a Perfectly Smoked Crispy Wings
To get crispy smoked wings that fall off the bone you need to use a few tricks. First you smoke the wings on low for an hour to impart the smoked flavor. Next you crank up the heat to cook the wings to a safe temperature of 165 degrees F. The next step sounds counterintuitive but after the wings are fully cooked we lay them out on a sheet pan to cool. This allows the muscle fibers to relax and become tender.
They final step would be to deep fry the wings for about 5-7 minutes until crispy and warned through. Since at home I don’t have a fryer I like to finish cooking my wings on a sheet pan with a wire rack. This allows the wings to cook on all sides. The wings have a beautiful golden crispy skin but with all of the flavor of slow smoked chicken. Having a pellet cooker in this case my Rectec 700 makes cooking large batches of wings with ease. If you don’t have a smoker you can follow the same instructions using your conventional oven.
Sounds like a lot of work for wings???
The beauty of these wings is once you’ve smoked and cooled the wings you can bag them up in individual portions or in large freezer bags. Then the wings can be tossed into the oven or Air Fryer to reheat in a snap. Cooking the wings twice helps the skin get extra crispy and also helps break down the muscle fibers. This makes the wings incredibly tender and fall off the bone. Similar concept to prepare duck confit except smoking the wings instead of braising the poultry in its own fat.
The other advantage is that since most of the work has already been done you can have a big plate of wings ready for your guest in about 30 minutes instead of 3 hours. This gives you more time to work on other dishes or spend more time watching the game. I also love keeping a bag of already smoked wings in the fridge for a weeknight wing feast. Its half the cost of going out for wings from your favorite Wing Joint. For individual servings the Air Fryer is a great way to reheat the wings.
Bleu Cheese or Ranch?? Why Not Both!!!
Don’t serve these amazing Wings with some cheap Bleu cheese and ranch from the Grocery Store. Take the extra 15 minutes and make a batch of my Favorite Five Ingredient Bleu Cheese Dressing and my Hidden Valley Copycat Ranch Dressing. Slice up some celery, carrot sticks and seedless baby Cucumbers and you are ready to watch the game with a spread worthy of World Champions
Looking For More Appetizers for the Big Game?
- Chesapeake Crab Dip
- Crispy Chicken Pizza Tenders
- Spicy Keto Pimento Cheese
- Keto Vietnamese Sticky Wings
- Cajun BBQ Sausage Bites
Ingredients
- 5 lbs Chicken Wings
- 1/3 cup BBQ Chicken Rub
Instructions
- Season wings lightly with BBQ rub seasoning then place on smoker set to 225 degrees F. Cook for 1 hour then raise temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for another Hour.
- Remove wings and allow to cool to room temperature before chilling in the Refrigerator in ziplock bags
- When its time to reheat set conventional oven to 450 degrees or air Fryer to 400 Degrees F.If heating in the oven place wings on a wire rack on top of a sheet pan and bake for about 30 minutes until wings are golden and crispy. If Heating in Air Fryer Place a layer of wings in the basket or rack and cook for about 20 Minutes until golden and crispy
- Let wings rest for 5 minutes before tossing them in sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Ingredients
- 1 cup Hot Sauce (Texas Pete)
- 1 Stick Butter
- 1/4 Cup Golden Sweetener or Local Raw Honey
- 2 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 3 tbsp Grated Parmesan
- 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Instructions
- in a saucepan over medium low heat stir hot sauce, sweetener and butter until butter has almost melted
- Remove saucepan from heat then using a Stick Blender Blend the sauce together for about 30 seconds until the sauce has turned a bright orange color and thickened slightly
- using a whisk stir in old bay, garlic and grated Parmesan
Nutrition
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