The Big Game is here and that means writers trying to figure out a way to work the NFL’s Championship game, known as the “Super Bowl” to sports fans, into articles and headlines. The issue is copywrite laws which rightfully protect the NFL’s products, names, logos etc. Which is why I’m making sure to explain that editorially because I don’t want to get sued!
By the way the term “Super Sunday” is protected as well.
That means it’s time to make the Easiest Super-Duper Big Bowl Game Wings EVER! These are also known as my Zesty Cheater Wings and I’ve included variations of them in a few of my cookbooks. But before we get to that – here’s some fun stuff.
That’s a Bunch of Wings!
Chicken wings have been part of tailgating and football watching since they were first served up. And their popularity has only increased. How popular? Well, here’s some chicken wing facts from the National Chicken Council
- During the 2014 Super Bowl (XLVIII) an estimated 1.25 billion chicken wings were devoured by football fans. Cooking could be grilled, smoked, baked, and of course fried.
- If you were to lay 1.25 billion wings end to end, they would stretch from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey 30 times.
- That’s enough wings to put 572 wings on every seat in all 32 NFL stadiums.
- source: National Chicken Council
Kent’s Nearly Famous Zesty Chicken Wings
So, you forgot to get your order in for a huge mess of wings from the grocery store – no problem! I say make use of simple ingredients for a ZESTY sauce perfect for wings and tenders. You can bake, grill, smoke or even fry!
Ingredients:
24 mini wings and drums
Zesty Italian dressing
Your Favorite Barbecue sauce
Minced green pepper
Minced onion
Couple of drops of hot sauce
Directions:
Marinate the chicken in equal parts of Italian dressing and barbecue sauce. Toss in some hot sauce and spoon in a few tablespoons of minced peppers, onions and some dried parsley flakes. Cover, chill for a couple of hours and grill until juices run clear. Boom – done!
But here are some tips. Save some of the sauce, or make extra, and coat the wings when you remove them from the grill, oven or smoker. Or, like they do with fried wings in restaurants, toss the wings and sauce in a covered bowl to evenly coat.
Also, don’t be scared to buy some bread tenders or nuggets from the store if you’re in a time crunch and can’t stand by the grill or do too much prep. Coat the tenders in the sauce, toss in the oven, and cook as you normally would.
Kent Whitaker is a culinary writer and cookbook author living in East Ridge, Tennessee. He is the winner of the Emeril Live BBQ contest and winner of an American Authors Association Gold medal for Culinary Writing for his Texas Hometown Cookbook. Mr. Whitaker’s books are in bookstores nationwide and are available online. Visit him online at www.thedeckchef.com.
