Game Day Grub: oven-baked wings with Buffalo-style sauce

Game Day is almost here.

According to the U.S. National Chicken Council’s 2014 Wing Report, 1.25 billion wings will be devoured during Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday February 2, besting last year’s total by 20 million. That’s enough to put 572 wings on every seat in all 32 NFL stadiums!

To help you prepare for your football festivities, all this week we’ll be sharing the best Game Day Grub ideas from the YVF Kitchen, as inspired by the YVF Home Office Team.

We’re kicking things off with, well, what else…wings!

Apparently 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the first “Buffalo Wing” being sauced and tossed at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. In honour of this milestone birthday, and because Buffalo-style wings are a game day classic, the YVF Kitchen offers you this DIY recipe for oven-baked crispy wings with spicy Buffalo-style sauce.

Basic oven-baked crispy wings
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
24 Yorkshire Valley Farms organic chicken wings, tips removed, and/or drummettes

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.

Combine dry ingredients in a plastic bag or medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss wings until coated. Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle wings with melted butter. Using tongs, turn wings to coat with melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes. Flip wings over and bake for another 15 minutes. The wings should reach an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

To make Spicy Buffalo-style Wings, coat with the sauce (recipe below) while warm and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.

Spicy Buffalo-style sauce
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Cholula Original Hot Sauce 

Melt butter. Add cayenne, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and add in the Cholula Original Hot Sauce. Stir until well blended. This sauce can be refrigerated for two days. Ensure the sauce is fully cooled before transferring for cold storage.

Substitutions
At the YVF office, Alex, our Director of National Accounts, is often looking for gluten-free options, so in the YVF Kitchen we make up a batch of these wings using organic quinoa flour instead of all-purpose wheat flour. They are just as crispy. You can also substitute sunflower oil for the melted butter if you prefer.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

SERVES 4

Neutral-tasting oil, such as safflower, for frying
3 pounds chicken wings
2/3 cup hot sauce, such as Frank’s Red Hot
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce, for serving (recipe follows)
Celery sticks, for serving

DIRECTIONS

[1]   Preheat oven to 200°F. Fill a large, deep skillet with 1 inch of oil; heat over medium-high until it returns to 375°F on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel–lined baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Adjust heat so oil returns to 375°F between batches.

[2]   In a large bowl, stir together hot sauce and melted butter. Add chicken and toss to coat. Serve wings with dipping sauce and celery sticks.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/3 cups crumbled blue cheese (5 to 6 ounces)

DIRECTIONS

[1]  In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, and salt. Stir in blue cheese. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve, up to 2 days.

Excerpted from Martha Stewart’s Martha’s American Food. Copyright © 2012 by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publisers. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.