October 9, 2020
Appetizers

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Wings with Beer Cheese Sauce

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Indulge in these delicious smoked chicken wings on the Big Green Egg, wrapped in thick cut bacon, BBQ seasoning, and dipped in rich easy keto beer cheese sauce.

Whether you follow a keto diet or not, these bacon wrapped wings are everything you need for your next tailgate (at home) or family wing night! These are so easy to make on the grill, get crispy and are cooked to perfection, and that little bit of smoky flavor combined with a three ingredient beer cheese sauce really brings this one home.

Like home as in your mouth. Because damn, you will be eating the whole platter. Trust me.

I’m no stranger to making delicious grilled chicken wings. In fact, I have the perfect guide to making crispy wings on the grill here if you want some quick tips. While I made this recipe specifically for the Big Green Egg, but you can use other grills as well as adapt to cook in an air fryer or oven if needed. All the details will be in the recipe for alternative methods.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Wings with Beer Cheese Sauce on newspaper with a red towel.

Grab all the details, tips, and techniques I’ve outline in this post below for making this unique smoked chicken wings recipe that’s the perfect crowd pleaser.

“School” Supplies:

Mixing Bowl
Cooling Rack / Foil Pan or Baking Sheet
Tongs
Oven Mitts
Small Pot
Whisk

“Class” Notes:

Classic smoked or grilled wings are a great option to add flavor, avoid deep frying, or having to add a breading to your wings at home. Additionally, grilled wings get a beautiful color and super crispy skin if you follow a few techniques I’ve outlined below. Let’s get grilling!

The Prep-

For a smoked chicken wing, you are going to be using indirect cooking and a medium grill temperature of around 300 F. I find that by eliminating excess moisture in the skin during the prep, helps with the cooking process in achieving a crispy skin.

Seasoned chicken wing flats and bacon on paper on a tray.

How do I get crispy chicken skin on the grill?

Drying the skin out first! I like to do this in two main ways –

Add baking powder or cornstarch at least 2 hours before grilling to your wings. It helps absorb the extra moisture on the skin, resulting in a crispier finished product.
Leave the wings in the fridge uncovered overnight! This is a great way to let the air in the fridge circulate and dry the skin a bit before tossing onto the grill.

Using either or both of these steps is helpful, especially because the bacon wrapped portion of the skin will not get as crispy as the skin exposed to the open air in the grill.

What’s the best method for bacon wrapping my wings?

Start with a semi-thick cut bacon for this recipe. Anything too thin will cook to fast and anything too thick will not render as well. Divide the bacon slices in half down the middle and set them aside.

Raw chicken wing flats wrapped in bacon on a tray.

For this cook, I actually prefer to only use wing flats. However, a whole chicken wing may be a good option as well. You will see the flats however throughout this post for reference.

Simply take one half of the sliced bacon, start with the edge of the bacon and tuck in under the bottom of you flat, Wrap it once around the flat, going across the wing so the other end is on the bottom. Both ends of the bacon should be under the chicken wing.

Press the wing firmly onto a cooling wrack (I use this to cook on because it’s an easy way to transfer the wings on and off the grill! If the bacon is not secured under the wings, it will curl when it cooks and may need a toothpick to keep it in place.

Wrap all your wings in the bacon and season with this gluten free and keto friendly all purpose BBQ dry rub or your favorite rub of your choice. Place them on a wire rack and use a foil pan or baking sheet to place underneath to collect the bacon drippings (you don’t want that mess all over your grill).

Setting Up Your Big Green Egg-

Set your grill up for indirect cooking at a medium heat, around 300 F or so. Add some wood chips for a little smoke flavor to the charcoal, place the ceramic plates inside, and set the conveggtor up to place your wings on. Keep the foil pan under the wings to collect the bacon fat.

Cook the wings for at least 30 minutes or so and check the temperature. Flip them if needed and continue cooking. While chicken is considered safe to eat after it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F, I prefer to actually cook wings to 185-190 F to break down the connective tissues and get crispy skin.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Wings with Beer Cheese Sauce on the big green egg

The Keto Beer Cheese Sauce-

If you love my low carb beer cheese soup recipe, then you will love this three ingredient beer cheese dipping sauce. This is the EASIEST cheese sauce to make, it’s keto and low carb friendly, and super fool proof! If you have 15 to 20 minutes to make this sauce, it’s well worth it!

With only three ingredients (beer, cream cheese, and shredded cheese) and a few seasonings (garlic powder, paprika, and salt) you have the perfect alternative to a classic BBQ sauce for dipping your wings.

Start with a low carb beer (my go to is Michelob Ultra at 2.6 net carbs) and pour it into a pot. Add the cream cheese and heat it over medium heat and break it up. Once heated through and whisked together, start adding small handfuls of the shredded cheese to mixture and whisk until dissolved. Repeat this until the cheese is all melted and you have a sauce!

Pro Tip- The sauce may look thin at first but don’t worry bout adding thickeners like cornstarch of xanthan gum. It will thicken more as it cools!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Wings being dipped inside the cheese sauce

Once cooked you can add this sauce to your small cast iron sauce pot and add it to the smoker to smoke infuse if desired. Serve it all together with some chopped chives and dig in!