Super Bowl Wing Recipes

I have been a lover of chicken wings for as long as I can remember - long before a Buffalo diner made them famous. In fact, my father, a chicken wings fan in his own right, used to ask for them instead of legs or thighs from our local fried chicken joint. At the time, they were happy to oblige, and we would have a wing feast, the two of us.

Once wings became the rage, it became tougher to get the counter clerks to substitute. As my children grew older, they all left their chicken leg phase and began to enjoy chicken wings as well. Unfortunately, the $40 - $50 bill that we would generate when we all ate chicken wings out was tough on this single mom's budget. As a result, we came up with our own recipes and make them at home now. In fact, when we have splurged and bought take-out, my kids usually complain about the puny wings as they are used to the plump, meaty parts we get from our local supermarket.

Here are some of our favorite versions and some tips for preparing them.

Basic Wings

4 lbs chicken wings

Mix together:

1 Cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons Adobo seasoning with pepper

Dismember wings and dredge in flour mixture. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Fry at 375 degrees F in a deep fryer until done (usually around 8 minutes). Remove wings and drain on paper towel. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Then, dip in sauce of your choice. Move to serving plate.

If you prefer wings without the breading, deep fry dismembered parts naked and coat in sauce of your choice.

Hot Wings Sauce

1/2 cup butter
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Hot pepper sauce to taste.

We like our hot wings at a mild intensity, so we use about ¼ cup of hot sauce. We use Frank's Red Hot Sauce, but, if we're out, we have found Tabasco works equally well.

Garlic Parmesan Sauce

2/3 cup butter
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt

Cheese will need to be re-stirred often during dipping process.

Barbeque Sauce

1 cup bottled tomato-based barbeque sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/2teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 tsp. Garlic powder

Serve with a good, chunky bleu cheese dressing and celery sticks, if desired.

We love fried chicken wings, but for a large party, like Super Bowl, baked wings may be easier to fix in large batches and easier to keep hot for a longer period of time.

Here are a couple of our favorite baked chicken wing recipes:

Sweet and Tangy Wings

4 lbs chicken wings
1 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Dismember wings, if preferred, and rinse thoroughly. Place wing parts in large plastic bowl with tight-fitting lid. Stir brown sugar into melted butter until dissolved. Mix in remaining ingredients and pour over wings. Seal lid tightly. Shake to distribute marinade. Refrigerate overnight, shaking bowl to re-distribute marinade occasionally.

Variation: Replace the melted butter and brown sugar with one cup of honey and ½ cup of molasses. Follow remaining directions. Wings will come out with a deep brown color and the sauce is much stickier than the original, thinner sauce.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place wings and marinade in baking dish and cook for one hour. Turn wings and cook for an additional 45 minutes. Baste with marinade as necessary.

Let meat rest for 15 minutes. Place in serving dish.

Teriyaki Wings

4 lbs chicken wings
1 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
4 solid splashes of liquid smoke flavoring
Honey

Dismember chicken wings, if desired. Mix remaining ingredients except honey, making sure to dissolve sugar. Marinate wings in sauce overnight.

Bake in preheated 325 degree F oven for one hour, turn and bake another 45 minutes.

Allow meat to rest and move to serving dish. Drizzle with honey.

Here are some of my tips to take some of the pain out of making chicken wings from scratch.

If dismembering the wings, do it the night before and refrigerate the pieces. In most cases, I am marinating overnight, so this is not an issue. Truthfully, by the time I have dismembered 4 - 8 pounds of chicken wings, I have no interest in eating them. By the next day, my distaste for cutting chicken is a distant memory, and I can enjoy my tasty treat.

If cutting chicken is not your thing, consider buying the precut frozen pieces. Most membership buying clubs sell them by the sack. They are often available at big box stores that have full groceries as well. I used these for a CD release party for a band I know. No one realized I had not used fresh chicken.

I have a large Dutch oven. When preparing wings for a party, I often throw them in the Dutch oven and let them bake for 2 hours at 325 degrees F. This frees up my oven if necessary. Also, the Dutch oven does not heat my house up as much as my conventional oven, making it easier for my air conditioner to keep my house at a pleasant temperature for my guests. Lastly, they can cook without much attention while I accomplish other tasks.

If you don't like messing with the bones, use strips of white meat chicken instead of wings.

When frying breaded chicken wings, do not skip the refrigeration step. Refrigerating the breaded wings will help keep the flour mixture on your wings and out of your oil.

When dipping fried wings, any bowl will work. We have found that using an old Cool Whip container (the large 16 ounce size) allows us to shake the wings, getting them thoroughly coated. We just discard the container afterwards. The sauce may stain your Tupperware or other plastic containers.

To keep the wings hot for a party, place the coated wings in a crock pot on low heat. Check the temperature often with a meat thermometer. Stir frequently to keep any sauce from burning.