Commentary by Mark LaFay
The big game is coming up this weekend, and regardless of whether your team is playing, it’s still a great excuse to get friends and family together for some food and hang time. I’m so out of touch with football this year that my wife and I planned a quick weekend getaway to Las Vegas for some food and people-watching, and we booked it on Super Bowl weekend. It wasn’t until we had flights booked and tried to secure a reasonably priced hotel that we found out what we had done. Well, the good news is, the return flights were cheap on Sunday morning, imagine that.
Our plan is to put on the game for the kids, cook up some wings, and invite some family over. I will probably play euchre and listen to the game while shoving my homemade wings into my mouth. There are so many different foods you can have to party properly during the Super Bowl, but our default is deep-fried poultry. So, here is my recipe for the best fried wings, ever. Seriously.
Ingredients:
•Chicken party wings (flats and drums separated)
•Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
•MSG (you read that right)
•Cornstarch
•Peanut oil or Crisco shortening
Instructions:
1.Dry chicken wings by laying them on a thick layer of paper towels. Cover them with more paper towels and press. Let them sit for 10–15 minutes to ensure maximum water has been absorbed.
2.Aggressively season the chicken wings with Lawry’s and MSG. Don’t be scared of the MSG.
3.Toss the wings in cornstarch.
4.Fry the wings in oil heated to 360°F. They will start to float when they are fully cooked. Keep them cooking until a good golden brown.
5.Remove from oil and place on a wire rack or a pan lined with paper towels to catch the grease.
6.Say thank you.
But what about the sauce?! That’s right, you need a great sauce to take those wings from six to midnight. So here you go, buffalo sauce and garlic parm sauce.
Buffalo sauce:
•1 cup Frank’s Red Hot
•1/2 cup unsalted butter
•1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
•1 tablespoon garlic powder
•Salt to taste
Instructions: Mix all of the ingredients in a saucepan, heat and allow to cook down for about 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Toss with wings in a bowl and dig in!
Garlic Parmesan Sauce:
•1 cup Duke’s Mayo
•1 tablespoon garlic powder
•1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
•1/4 cup ranch powder
•Salt to taste
Instructions: Mix all of the ingredients, microwave on high for 90 seconds, whisk, and repeat twice. Toss in a bowl with cooked wings, put on the lid, and shake to coat.
