Game-time Chicken Wings | Traeger Timberline & Goldens' Cast Iron Cooker

February 03, 2023

It’s a well-known fact that every game day needs chicken wings. There’s nothing better than cheering on your favorite team with a plate of saucy wings! My Game-Time Chicken Wings Recipe is in a class all its own. 

The wings are brined overnight, then seasoned with two mouth-watering rubs. After the ribs have cooked, they’re doused with the best combination of sweet and tangy BBQ sauces. Once you’ve tried this recipe, you’ll agree that the standard has risen. 

These Game-Time Chicken Wings require a little forethought because you brine them overnight. The wait only makes them taste that much sweeter. I love this recipe because it allows me to use two of my favorite pits. 

My cooking method creates wings that are crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. You won’t be able to eat just one! 

The Ingredients

Aromatic chicken wings with less than ten ingredients? Count me in! You’ll likely have leftover rub, so save it for another fantastic recipe. Here’s what you need to add to your shopping list. 

• Chicken wings. There are many types of wings on the market, but I used chicken wing flats. This is the middle part of the wing, which eliminates the drum and wing tip. These are easiest to eat, and they have enough bite to hold up well on the grill. 
• Heath Riles BBQ Chicken Injection & Brine. I like my ingredients to be multi-taskers, so I created this injection to double as a brine. This Chicken Injection & Brine makes a juicy chicken wing that tastes amazing. The flavors of this ingredient don’t overpower the chicken but enhance its natural flavors. I mixed my injection with chicken stock, but you can always use water.
• Heath Riles BBQ Chicken Rub. My Chicken Rub contains wonderful herbs that complement fried, baked, or grilled chicken. Bonus: Your meat will get a beautiful golden color thanks to the addition of turmeric. 
• Heath Riles BBQ Cajun Creole Garlic Butter Rub. This phenomenal rub has all the best flavors of Northern Louisiana. I love adding this to veggies, burgers, steak, and wings. It’s the perfect amount of garlic with some heat on the back end. 
• Heath Riles BBQ Sweet BBQ Sauce. I’m in it to win it, which may explain why I waited ten years to release this tasty BBQ sauce. Every detail of this ingredient is dialed in, from the brown sugar to the balanced blend of spices. Once you’ve tried this sauce, you won’t want to be without it. 
• Heath Riles BBQ Tangy Vinegar BBQ Sauce. I wanted a vinegar-based BBQ sauce that wasn’t too heavy on the sour, so I created one of my own. This sauce is fantastic, but it shines when paired with my Sweet BBQ Sauce. If you’re feeling adventurous, use it as a salad dressing. 
• Duck Fat Spray. I used duck fat as my binder for these wings. This helped the spices stick without altering the flavor of the chicken. You can use any spray you’d like, but duck fat is out-of-this-world delicious. 

The Smoker Setup

Here’s the main equipment I used for this recipe. You can find more of my grill master must-haves in the equipment and tools section. 

• Traeger Timberline 1300. If you only want to invest in one pellet grill, this is the one. It has ample space for all your cooking needs, a pellet sensor, so you never run low, and an included meat probe. Plus, you can increase the level of smoke with one push of a button. 
• Goldens’ Cast Iron Cooker.  This durable setup has extra space for prepping your food. It doesn’t take up much space, but it retains heat like a champ. 
• Charcoal. I stoked my grills with Royal Oak Charcoal. This charcoal is the best because it has no fillers like other kinds. You get a good, pure smoke that makes your meat taste phenomenal. 

The Process for Making Game-time Chicken Wings

You can find a detailed demonstration of this recipe in the recipe video and card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a brief overview of how I pulled these fantastic chicken wings together. 

• Brine the wings. I mixed ¼ cup of Chicken Injection & Brine with 16 ounces of chicken stock until smooth. Then, I poured it over my wings, covered them, and let them brine overnight. 
• Prep the Traeger. I stoked the grill with Royal Oak charcoal and heated the Traeger to 300℉.
• Dry and add a binder. I removed the wings from the fridge and put them on a greased baking rack to dry. I flipped the wings over, so they were bottom-side up, then sprayed them with a little duck fat spray. 
• Season. Once the wings were oiled up, I added a layer of my Chicken Rub, followed by my zesty Cajun Creole Garlic Butter Rub. I flipped the wings and repeated the process on the other side. 
• Grill. I put my wings on the Traeger and let them go for about an hour until they reached an internal temperature of 190℉.-195℉. Sauce. I removed the wings from the pit and put them in a glass bowl. Then, I mixed ¼ cup of
• Sweet BBQ Sauce with ¼ cup of Vinegar BBQ Sauce to create a glaze. I poured the sauce over the wings and tossed it to coat. 
• Char. I fired up the Goldens’ and laid the chicken wings on the rack. I let them char for about 10 minutes, flipping them multiple times to ensure nothing burnt. Once the wings had a little char, I removed them from the grill and put another dash of Cajun Creole Rub on top before serving. 

The Results

These wings had the perfect char and dripped with juice. Because they weren’t over-sauced, the authentic flavor of the meat shone through. 

Storing Game-time Chicken Wings

You can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to four days. They can be stored in a Ziploc bag for up to three months in the freezer. 

Equipment and Tools

Goldens’ Cast Iron Cooker, Royal Oak Charcoal, Royal Oak Tumbleweeds, cutting board, baking rack, ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE

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