EJ’s Smoky Buffalo Chicken Bites
Butter-kissed, smoke-infused, and tossed in Frank's at the finish. Simple technique, serious flavor.
Instructions
- Prep the chicken: Brush each chicken breast all over with 1 tablespoons butter, melted, coating evenly.
- Make the spice rub: In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon smoked paprika and 1/2 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the buttered chicken breasts, pressing it in so it adheres well.
- Smoke the chicken: Place the chicken breasts in your smoker with the probe inserted. Set the smoker to hot smoke mode (not combo mode) with a target internal temperature of 165°F. Smoke until the unit alarms, indicating the chicken has reached a safe internal temperature. Remove immediately.
- Rest and slice: Remove chicken from the smoker and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into bite-size pieces.
- Toss in Frank's: Add the chicken pieces to a bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Pour 2 tablespoons Frank's RedHot Original Sauce over the chicken, cover, and shake until every piece is evenly coated.
- Serve: Serve immediately with 1 blue cheese dressing, for serving on the side for dipping.
Recipe Notes
- The butter-first method acts as a binder for the spice rub and helps the outside develop a beautiful color in the smoker.
- Adding the Frank's after cooking keeps the hot sauce flavor bright, fresh, and punchy — rather than muted from heat. The shake method ensures every piece gets evenly coated.
- Frank's RedHot Original passes the Eat Real Again ingredient test: aged cayenne peppers, distilled vinegar, water, salt, and garlic powder — nothing artificial, nothing processed.
- For the blue cheese dressing, make it homemade or look for a clean-label brand with recognizable ingredients. Avoid dressings with artificial flavors, gums, or preservatives.
- Cayenne heat level: ½ tablespoon of ground cayenne is bold. Start with 1 teaspoon if you prefer moderate heat and work up from there.
- This works beautifully as an appetizer or game-day snack, and makes a great protein bowl topping over greens or rice.
- Real Buffalo sauce is simply Frank's RedHot and melted butter — that's it. By applying butter to the chicken before smoking and tossing in Frank's after, EJ honors that classic combination while letting the smoker do what frying never could.
We Ate It (For Real!)
Being originally from the area, EJ had a hankering for his beloved Buffalo Wings, but fried wings and clean eating don’t exactly go together. His solution? A modern twist on a classic, minus the oil and other bad ingredients. Turns out you don’t need to fry chicken to get that iconic Buffalo flavor you grew up loving. The smoker does all the heavy lifting, and frankly (pun intended), it does it better. What came out of that Weston was everything a Buffalo wing promises — smoky, spicy, rich — without a drop of frying oil in sight.
EJ started with a simple but smart technique — and one rooted in Buffalo wing tradition. Authentic Buffalo sauce is nothing more than Frank’s RedHot and melted butter, so EJ honored that classic combination his own way: coating each chicken breast in melted butter first, then rubbing on a bold blend of smoked paprika and cayenne. The butter binds the spices, carries that signature richness, and helps the outside develop that gorgeous, deeply colored crust in the smoker. Into the Weston it went on hot smoke mode, probe set to 165°F, and the smoker did the rest.
The real stroke of genius came after. Once the chicken was rested and cut into bite-size pieces, EJ tossed them into a bowl with Frank’s RedHot, snapped on the lid, and shook until every piece was evenly coated. That post-cook toss is the move — the hot sauce stays bright and punchy rather than cooking down and losing its personality. Paired with a cool, creamy blue cheese dressing for dipping, these bites hit every note a Buffalo wing is supposed to hit. I absolutely loved it. The Buffalonian’s verdict? “Who needs Buffalo wings?”
🎤Mic drop.
Clean ingredients. No frying. No compromise on flavor. EJ delivers again.
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