Wings!

Football season is here!

So let’s talk about one of my favorite Game Day Foods: Hot Wings!

There are many ways to cook delicious wings on the grill, or in my case, on the Big Green Egg.

After trying a few things, this is what I found works the best for crispy, grilled, juicy, smoky wings.

I buy whole wings and cut them because I like the flippers and John likes the drumettes:

The truth?

John likes both, but since I prefer the flippers, he eats the drumettes.

It’s a good compromise, I think.

Use any seasoning you like.

You can keep it simple with just salt and pepper or use your favorite store bought dry rub or mix a few different spices together and create your own.

For crispy skin, put the wings in the refrigerator and let the skin dry out prior to cooking.

The amount of time you do this is completely up to you.

Sometimes I leave them to dry out for an hour, and sometimes I’m starving so they only dry out for as long as it takes for me to get the cooker fired-up.

I cook my wings at 325F for about an hour, raised direct.

That means I use fire bricks to raise the grate (raised), and nothing is between the fire and the wings (direct).

Put the grate on and let the cooker come up to 325F.

Now you’re ready to cook!

I cook my wings with the thick skin side up for most the of the cook.

Here they are after 30 minutes:

They are starting to get crispy:

But not enough.

Here they are after another 30 minutes:

Much better.

At this point (1 hour) I flip the wings and cook for another 15 minutes.

Now they are ready for the sauce of your choice!

Need some sauce ideas? Here are a few of my favorites: Mango Spice, Tequila Chipotle, Jalamango Lime, Vietnamese, or Caribbean Dry Rub Jerk.

This is a “secret sauce” John has been making since his college days.

Two of his roommates were from upstate New York and supposedly got the recipe from someone in Buffalo, New York who invented Buffalo Wing Sauce.

Who knows if that’s truth or fiction . . .

What I do know is it’s delicious and includes a lot of butter and loads of garlic.

Serve them with celery and blue cheese:

And plenty of napkins!

What’s your favorite Game Day Food?