WARNING! These smokey, tangy wings are highly addictive!

If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for the next best wing flavor. These smoked lemon pepper wings are a real crowd-pleaser and come with a huge flavor profile. 

I’ll show you how you can make crispy, delicious smoked lemon pepper wings with your own simple flavor-packed rub and sauce.

Why you need to make these smoked lemon pepper wings

• Homemade Lemon Pepper Sauce – A mouthwatering mix of butter, hot sauce, honey, lemon, and roasted garlic.
• Crispy Skin, Juicy Meat – The cornstarch helps create an incredible crunch while keeping the wings tender inside.
• Easy & Foolproof – Simple steps, minimal ingredients, and a smoker do all the hard work.
• Quick Smoking Time – Ready in about one hour, making it a great option for weeknights or game days.

Ingredient Tips for Lemon Pepper Wings

• Chicken Wings – Separating the drums and flats ensures even cooking and crispier skin.
• Hot Sauce – Used as a binder instead of oil, adding subtle heat and helping the seasoning stick.
• Lemon Zest & Juice – Fresh lemon zest is the star of the seasoning and sauce, delivering bold citrus flavor—use fresh, not bottled!
• Cornstarch – Helps draw out moisture from the skin, creating extra crispiness in the smoker.
• Smoked Paprika – Enhances the smoky depth and adds a rich color to the wings.
• Roasted Garlic – Mellow and slightly sweet, it blends beautifully into the buttery lemon sauce.
• Butter & Honey – The sauce balances tangy, smoky, and slightly sweet flavors for the perfect glaze.

Fresh or Frozen?

When buying wings, you want to get fresh, not frozen, as the texture and flavor will be much better.

Whenever I purchase wings, I always get the whole wing, then cut the chicken wing into the drum and the flat.

They are easy to cut apart, and you save quite a bit of money for two minutes of extra work. Use a good sharp chef’s knife when separating them.

How to get crispy skin when smoking chicken wings

Have you smoked chicken wings before only to be disappointed by rubbery skin?

When wings are cooked at a low temperature, the fat in the skin doesn’t get a chance to render and go crisp, resulting in the dreaded leathery texture.

There are a couple of things you can do to ensure you get the crispiest skin.

First off, add a bit of cornstarch to the rub. Cornstarch helps dry out the skin, which means less moisture and crispier skin. Be sure to toss it in with your seasoning, mix it well, then get a nice even coating all over those wings.

The other thing you can do is place your chicken on a wire rack in the fridge for a few hours.

This helps the wings dry out. The less moisture there is, the crispier the wing will get.

Time and temp for smoked wings

It should take around one hour to cook these wings smoking at 275°F.

Wings are safe to eat when the internal temperature is 165°F, but because of the higher fat content, they taste best cooked to 175-185°F.

After an hour, the wings will be cooked, but I like to finish them with a 5-10 minute grill over direct heat to ensure that the skin is nice and crispy.

How to make smoked lemon pepper wings

1. Fire up the smoker

Preheat your smoker to 275°F.

For this cook, I used my Kamado Joe with apple wood which compliments the lemon profile of the rub. Any smoke wood will work for chicken.

One large wood chunk is all that is needed for this cook.

I place my wood chunk next to the burning coals – not directly in them. This helps produce a cleaner, better-tasting smoke profile. I also like to give the wood chunk a few minutes to burn until the heavier smoke dissipates.

If you find that wood chunks produce too much smoke, you can use wood chips, adding a few handfuls as needed.

Also, feel free to mix it up and try two kinds of wood at once and customize it to your liking.

2. Prep your wings

Separate your wings by removing the drums from the flats and discarding the wing tips (or you could freeze them to add to stock at a later date).

Coat your wings with a binder, like hot sauce or olive oil. This helps the rub stick better.

You can cook your wings straight away or, as I mentioned above, season and let them sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to dry out, this also helps to let the rub set in.

3. Smoke the wings

Once your smoker is stabilized at 275°F, place your wings directly on the grates and close the smoker.

After 30 minutes, it’s time to give them a flip. Let them smoke for another 30 minutes to infuse that delicious smoky flavor.

4. Make the wing sauce

I used a whole head of roasted garlic. To do this, cut the top off the garlic, pour over some olive oil, and then cook for 30 minutes.

If you put the garlic on the roast when you put the wings on, it will be ready when you need to make the sauce.

You can also substitute for 2 tsp of garlic powder or 1 tbsp minced garlic.

Add all your ingredients into a pan and cook them down slowly until the butter is fully melted. Stir well and set aside.

5. Grill over direct heat

Once your wings have been smoking for an hour they are almost done. I like to hit my wings with 7-10 minutes of direct heat to crisp up that skin. Flip them every 2-3 minutes to prevent them from burning – you want to be able to taste that smoky flavor!

Once they reach about 185°F internal temp, pull them off.

The great thing about chicken wings is they are hard to overcook. You can pull them off at 165°F or get them crispier and cook them longer. They will still come out juicy and delicious, I promise!

6. Sauce the wings

To finish, place them in a large bowl, pour in your sauce, and toss the wings until they are fully coated.

These wings are so good! Sit back, grab yourself a cold one, and enjoy it with someone who loves wings as much as you. 

If you’re looking for more wing inspiration, check these out:

• Smoked chicken wings with garlic parmesan sauce
• Buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce
• Easy chicken wing brine
• Smoked Fried Wings with Honey Garlic Sauce

Get ready to sink your teeth into these crispy, smoky, and zesty Smoked Lemon Pepper Wings—the perfect balance of bold flavor and juicy tenderness! If you love this recipe, don’t forget to rate it below—your feedback helps fellow BBQ lovers and keeps the smoker fired up with more mouthwatering recipes!

Print

Easy Smoked Lemon Pepper Wings

These Smoked Lemon Pepper Wings are crispy, zesty, and packed with bold, smoky flavor. Perfectly seasoned and smoked to juicy perfection, they make the ultimate appetizer or game-day snack.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 720kcal

Author Nick Nesgoda

Ingredients

• 3 lb whole chicken wings
• 1 tbsp hot sauce or olive oil as binder
• 1 lemon for serving

Rub

• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp black pepper cracked
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp cornstarch

Sauce

• ½ stick unsalted butter
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 lemon medium size, juiced
• 1 head roasted garlic Slice top off a head of garlic, pour 1 tsp of olice oil then cook for 30 minutes at 400°F.

Instructions

• Preheat the smoker to 275°F.
• Separate the wings into drums, flats and tips. Discard the wing tips.
• Place drums and flats in a bowl. Pour in hot sauce and mix making sure they all have a light coating of the binder.
• Season the wings with the lemon pepper rub ensuring they are all evenly coated.
• Place the wings directly on the grates then close the lid and let them smoke for 30 minutes.
• While wings are smoking, roast a head of garlic for the wing sauce. Slice top off, pour 1 tsp of olice oil then cook for 30 minutes at 400°F.
• After 30 minutes of smoking, your wings should be developing a darker color. Flip them and let them smoke for another 30 minutes.
• After they have been smoking for 1 hour, cook them over direct heat for 5-10 minutes to help crisp up the skin.
• Once the internal temperature of the wings reaches around 185°F its time to pull them off.
• Place them in a bowl, pour in your sauce and give them a good toss to coat.
• Garnish with extra lemon zest and black pepper.

For the rub

• Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

For the lemon pepper sauce

• Squeeze the garlic out of each clove, then add the rest of the ingredients to a pot and cook on low until the butter is fully melted.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 720kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 229mg | Sodium: 1884mg | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1177IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 3mg