Well, we are about a week away from the Super Bowl. Is there any food more associated with watching football than chicken wings? But how do you get them crispy without making a mess or spending a lot of time? Generally wings get their crispiness from frying either unadorned for crispy skin or with some sort of breading for a little extra crunch. But what do you do if you don’t want to bread or fry your wings? The trick is a two stage cook. First cook the chicken wings at a lower temperature to make sure the wings are cooked through without drying them out. Then you crank the heat to crisp up the skin.
Now that we have the crispy skin all sorted out, let’s talk sauce. Wings are a great platform for whatever flavors tickle your tongue. I developed a trio of sauces to try and capture a broad range of palettes.
Some Like It Hot
The hot wing is probably the most popular of the chicken wing flavors. The most common version is the buffalo wing, which uses store bought hot sauce, usually Franks’s RedHot, combined with margarine, but I wanted to go with something different. Many people are familiar with sriracha, the delicious Asian style hot sauce made by Huy Fong in Irwindale, CA. But what many people don’t know is that they make a couple of other products. They make a chili garlic sauce that is great. It has a bit more heat, texture, and complexity than your average hot sauce. I created a sauce based on it for those who like their wings with a kick.
Some Like It Sweet
I realize that not everyone likes things spicy. If you have more of a sweet tooth than a hot head you might want to try my second sauce. Sticking with the pseudo Asian theme, I decided on a teriyaki style sauce. I added some pineapple juice to give it a bit of a Hawaiian flair.
Some Like It Tangy
Continuing with the Asian theme, I went with lime which hails from a bit further west around India and the adjoining parts of Myanmar. I paired it with pomegranate to add some fruitiness. The pomegranate also gives the wings a great color. I added some honey to this to balance out the sharpness of the other ingredients.
What is your favorite flavor of chicken wing? Let us know in the comment.
An easy way to get crispy wings, without frying!
- 12 Whole Chicken Wings
- 1 Cup Wing Glaze See below for 3 different wing glazes
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Preheat your oven to 250°F.
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Place the wings on the a parchment paper lined sheet pan.
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Roast the wings for about about an hour.
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Increase the temperature to 450°F until the skin of the wings are brown and crispy amount another 20 minute but keep an eye on it.
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Remove the wings and lower the oven heat to 350°F.
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Brush your favorite glaze on the wings, and return them to the oven until the sauce sets, about another 5 minutes.
- 12 Cloves Garlic
- 3/4 Cup Dried Red Chilis
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar
- 2 tsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 Cup Honey
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Add the garlic, chilies, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to your food processor fitted with an "S" blade and blend until it it forms a thin paste.
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Pour the chili mixture into a small sauce pot and add the honey. Place over low heat and bring to a simmer.
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Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Apply to wings or put in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
- 1 1/2 Cups Pineapple Juice
- 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1/4 Cup Molasses
- 2 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp White Pepper
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Add all the ingredient to a sauce pan and place over medium heat. Stir to combine. Cook until reduced to a syrupy consistency.
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Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Apply to wings or move to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
- 1 1/2 Cups Pomegranate Juice
- 1/4 Cup Lime Juice
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 Cup Honey
- 1 tsp White Pepper
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Add all the ingredient to a sauce pan and place over medium heat. Stir to combine. Cook until reduced to a syrupy consistency.
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Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Apply to wings or move to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Check out some of our other Super Bowl recipes:
Super Bowl Snack Challenge: Steak and Eggs Tot-Chos (Tater Tot Nachos)
Super Bowl Snacks: Cheddar Stuffed Jalapeno Hush Puppies
Super Bowl Snack – behold the “Nacho Jalapeno Cheese Crisp”!
Superbowl Snacking
Just this past August, my grandma Janie, moved out of her house, after living there for 55 years. The house in Miami where I’d been going to visit a few times a year since I was only a few weeks old. The house where my sisters and I spent every Thanksgiving for the last 15 years or so, complete with drinking wine, eating fresh fish, swimming, working on the New York Times’ crossword puzzles while laying out by the pool, and of course, eating yummy food (always). The house that smells like humidity, nostalgia and a hint of chlorine wafting in from the patio.
I was trying to come up with a great bite for the Super Bowl and I toyed with the idea of doing a stuffed pretzel, I was all ready to make pretzels using lye, but decided I needed something a little more approachable. I wanted something quick to make and easy to eat. I rummaged through my fridge and pantry and came up with hush puppies, or fried cornbread balls. There is one thing you do need to be careful about on this, make sure your oil is not too hot. If the oil is too hot, the outside of the hush puppies will burn before the inside cooks and the cheese melts. I know I have been leaning on cheddar and jalapeno lately, but for the Super Bowl it seemed appropriate.
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