If you’re looking for a mouth-watering, spicy-hot duck recipe, look no further than Michael Hunter’s Smoked Duck Wings that’s kicked up several notches with his special Maple Hot Sauce.
Michael “The Hunter Chef” shared some fantastic wild game cooking tips in the pages of Hook & Barrel Magazine’s March-April 2026 issue.
Along for that ride, he shared his killer brown trout with sweet pea risotto recipe that’s making everyday trout anglers into the favorite person in the home kitchen.
Next up, Michael Hunter shares his Smoked Duck Wings With Maple Hot Sauce recipe that’s a fan favorite at Hunter’s Antler Bar & Kitchen establishment in Toronto, Canada.
As most waterfowl hunters know, wild duck wings can be on the tough side, so cooking them “low and slow” is always the preferred method. Well, there’s no method slower than busting out your smoker.
Enjoy the following recipe, and if you like it as much as we did, it’ll pay dividends later to buy Michael's newest cookbook, “Hunter Chef in the Wild: Game, Fish, and Fowl Recipes and Techniques for Cooking Outdoors.
READ MORE: Recipe: Forget the Goose, Make It a Peking Duck Christmas Story
Smoked Duck Wings with Maple Hot Sauce Recipe
This is one of my favorite recipes to enjoy with friends, whether for a special football game or just a fun night together, because it’s such a crowd-pleaser.
Chicken wings are no comparison to these meaty smoked duck wings. Farmed duck wings tend to be larger than wild duck wings but similar to wild goose wings.
Both farmed and wild are much tougher than chicken wings and must be smoked for a lengthy period to break down, but it is worth it, I promise.
Ingredients
Smoked Duck Wings
(serves 4 to 6)
- ½ cup sweet paprika
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or 2 teaspoons for spicy, or 1 tablespoon for hot)
- 4 pounds duck wings, separated into drumettes and flats
Maple Hot Sauce
- ½ cup Vegetable oil, divided
- 1 cup chopped Anaheim chilies (if you like heat, leave the seeds in, or for less heat, slice the chilies in half and remove the seeds)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) kosher salt
- 1 cup (250 mL) pure maple syrup
Cooking Instructions
In a large bowl, stir together the paprika, brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
Add the duck wings and mix to completely coat in the dry rub. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Make the Maple Hot Sauce
Heat a medium saucepan over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of the vegetable oil, the chilies, garlic, bay leaves and thyme. Sauté until the chilies are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining vegetable oil, reduce the heat to low and gently cook the chilies and garlic, without letting them simmer in the oil, until very soft, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
Purée the sauce with a hand blender or transfer the sauce to a blender and purée until smooth.
Season with the salt, then add the maple syrup and stir.
Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a container. Reserve if you are using right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Bring to room temperature before using.
READ MORE: Into The Blind: A Newbie’s First Duck Hunt
Smoke the Duck Wings
Remove the wings from the fridge. Prepare your smoker at 225°F (110°C). Place the wings directly on the grill of the smoker and smoke for 1½ hours.
Transfer the wings to a baking sheet and wrap the tray tightly with foil. Return to the smoker and smoke for another 1 to 1½ hours, until the wings are tender and can be pulled apart. (Avoid cooking until the wings fall apart or they will be difficult to handle and eat.)
Toss the wings in the maple hot sauce and serve!
Editor’s Note: Accompanying this article in the printed issue of Hook & Barrel March-April 2026 are two freebies we hope you enjoy. Excerpted from Hunter Chef in the Wild by Michael Hunter. Copyright © 2025 by Michael Hunter. Food photography by Jody Shapiro. Published by Penguin, an imprint of Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved. For more information, check out thehunterchef.com and antlerkitchenbar.com.