Smoked Hot Wings with Alabama White Sauce

Ingredients

• 1.5kg chicken wings, separated into drums and flats, tips discarded
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsp garlic granules
• 2 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 chunks of apple or hickory wood (or a handful of soaked chips)
• 200g mayonnaise (full-fat, Hellmann's or similar)
• 3 tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp creamed horseradish
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp coarse black pepper
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 1/4 white cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 carrot, julienned or coarsely grated
• 2 spring onions, sliced on the angle
• small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Pat the wings completely bone-dry with kitchen paper — wet skin steams instead of crisping, and crisp skin is the whole point of a smoked wing. Tip them into a large bowl.
2. Mix the smoked paprika, black pepper, salt, garlic granules, brown sugar and cayenne in a small bowl — the rub carries most of the seasoning, so don't be shy with the salt now. Drizzle the oil over the wings, toss to coat, then scatter the rub over and turn the wings until every piece is evenly dusted. Leave to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes while you set up the BBQ — the salt draws moisture to the surface, then reabsorbs, seasoning deeper than a last-minute toss. The dry rub also bypasses the usual pan-bloom for the paprika and cayenne; the long, gentle smoke wakes them up over the cook so they taste of themselves rather than dusty.
3. Set up your kettle BBQ for indirect cooking: light a chimney of charcoal, tip the lit coals to one side, and place a foil tray with a splash of water on the empty side. Add a wood chunk to the coals. You're aiming for a steady 130°C — vents about a third open top and bottom. If it's running too hot, close the bottom vent down; chasing temperature with the top vent shuts off the airflow and kills the smoke.
4. Lay the wings on the cool side of the grate skin-side up, spaced out in a single layer with room between them — crowd the grate and the smoke can't circulate, the skin sweats, and you end up with pale rubbery wings instead of bronzed ones. Lid on, top vent over the wings to pull smoke across. Smoke for 75–90 minutes, turning once halfway, until the skin is bronzed and the meat reads 75°C at the thickest part of the drum.
5. While the wings smoke, make the white sauce. Whisk the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, lemon juice, horseradish, Dijon, sugar, pepper, salt and grated garlic in a bowl until smooth. The garlic goes in raw and grated — fine, so it disappears into the sauce rather than crunching against your teeth. Taste — it should be sharp, peppery, and properly horseradish-hot up the nose. That nose-tingle is the signature; if it's flat, add another teaspoon of horseradish, then taste again and adjust the salt. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes so the flavours marry.
6. For the slaw, toss the cabbage, carrot, spring onions and parsley with the cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. Scrunch with your hands for a few seconds to soften the cabbage slightly, then leave to sit — this keeps it crunchy but takes the raw edge off.
7. Now for the crisp-up. Rake the coals into a hot pile and move the wings directly over them, or fire a second chimney for a proper blast of heat. Grill the wings over direct heat for 2–3 minutes a side, lid off, until the skin tightens, blisters and turns mahogany with charred tips. Watch them like a hawk — the sugar and garlic granules in the rub go from caramelised to bitter and burnt in under a minute, and once they're gone they're gone.
8. Pile the wings into a large bowl. Spoon over about a third of the white sauce and toss gently to coat — you want a creamy slick, not a drowning. The hot skin against the cold sharp sauce is the whole moment. Taste one — adjust now, not at the table; an extra pinch of salt or another squeeze of lemon over the bowl can be the difference.
9. Tip the wings onto a board or platter, scatter with a final crack of black pepper and the lemon wedges tucked alongside, and serve immediately with the slaw heaped next to them, the rest of the white sauce in a bowl for dunking, the pickle spears, the bread for mopping, and hot sauce on the table for those who want it.