My name is Jorj Morgan and I’m a football fanatic. My last cookbook has an entire chapter dedicated to the Couch Potato… I mean Football Fan. Sunday Best Dishes has it all: giant, juicy burgers; both beef brisket and a turkey burger slider layered with pimento cheese and crispy onion rings. There’s an easy-peasy recipe for home-made veggie chips with a great onion dip to go with. There’s a recipe for quesadilla, one for loaded potato skins and even a recipe for game day pizza. There’s a decadent nacho recipe and my all time favorite…. A terrific recipe for Hot Garlicky Wings.
There’s a story here! When I moved to South Florida with my family in the early 70s, we immediately became Miami Dolphin fans. We drove forty minutes from our house to the game and parked on the front lawn of a home belonging to a sweet Cuban family that lived blocks away from the Orange Bowl. The price to park at their house…. ten bucks! My mom packed tons of waxed paper wrapped sandwiches, and we ate on the sidewalk on our way to the game.
Joe Robbie built a new stadium in the late 80s and tailgating took on a whole new meaning. Fans hauled grills to the parking lot, and we ate footlongs, burgers and brats…sometimes a Buffalo wing or two!
The stadium was overhauled, team ownership changed, and the fans continued cheering. Stadium food grew to multi-course buffets and in-seat food delivery via your iPhone. Our fan-food palette grew, but the standards remained the same. Burgers, hoagies and wings!
Just look at these babies!
As long as I can remember there was a Game Day staple from a little restaurant in Pompano Beach that makes the best wings I’ve ever eaten! We ordered them with extra garlic and extra hot sauce. The sides included celery sticks with blue cheese dressing and a white paper sack filled with skinny, salty, greasy fries. The restaurant’s name is Wings ‘N Things. If you ever get to South Florida… you must give them a try!
But, if you are craving a game-day wing experience, and not planning a trip to South Florida, you can get a great dish by making my Sunday Best recipe for Hot Garlicky wings. Whether your team is winning, or on the verge of winning (and at this point in the season, there is always HOPE). These wings are the perfect couch potato, fan food!
Let me know what you think and share your favorite football stories with us!
Hot Garlicky Wings
(from Sunday Best Dishes)
Yield: about 48 wings enough for game day!
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: About 30 minutes to fry all the wings and about 10 minutes more to simmer in the sauce.
For the sauce
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 cup hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
8 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced, about 3 tablespoons
For the wings
24 chicken wings
Canola oil for frying
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 tablespoon dried minced garlic
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet over low heat. Stir in the hot pepper sauce, vinegar and minced garlic. Continue cooking while you cook the wings watching to make sure that the garlic softens but does not burn.
Cut the tips from the wings and reserve for use in stock. Cut the wings into two parts and place onto a baking sheet. Season the wings with the spices. Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook the wings in batches, (in the hot oil) turning once until golden brown. (Note: A mesh splatter guard placed over the skillet is very useful for this process as these wings will splatter!) Drain the wings on a rack placed over paper toweling. Place the wings into the sauce and toss to coat. Cover the skillet and continue to simmer over low heat until the wings are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Serve the wings with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing for dipping.
