First (Annual?) Superbowl Wing-Off!

I realize that it's cliche to eat Buffalo wings for the Superbowl, but... well... we can't always be original. Besides, the Fairy Child recently discovered that chicken is edible when smothered in spicy sauce. She hadn't eaten chicken for 10 years until that lucky discovery, so Buffalo wings have been on the menu every few weeks this football season. Getting protein into the Fairy Child is important.In a moment of sheer... er... genius (yeah, we'll call it that) I decided to challenge the Fairy Child to a wing-off. I'm not generally prone to such measures, but it struck me as a fun idea, and before I had the chance to ponder the implications of a pile of spicy wings on breastmilk for a newborn... the plan was made. So, here we go.

What: 1st ever family wing-eating challenge, a.k.a. "wing-off."
Who: Fairy Child, "The Bottomless Pit" vs. "Butter My Bacon" Bekki
Where: our kitchen table, South Texas
Why: I tend to run off at the mouth sometimes...

Now, to make the wings... I no longer have a deep fryer. I received one, from my mother-in-law, about 6 or 7 years ago. It moved with us, to three states, in many Army moves, never yet used. I had planned to use it a few times, and was always daunted by the idea of all that hot oil and the responsibility therein. So it was left untouched. And apparently, insulted. When I finally tried to use it a year or so ago, it was mysteriously dead with no signs of foul play.


So... baked wings it is. 375 degrees, for about 50-60 minutes. I like to season my wings with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Paprika makes pretty much everything taste better. I tried shaking the wings with seasoned cornstarch once, hoping it'd make a crispier skin. It did not. So now I'm quite lazy about it, and simply season them on the cooking pan. When done, I toss them with wing sauce. Since I love to cook, do I make my own special top-secret-recipe wing sauce? No. No, I do not. I tried that twice and they were awful. I love Buffalo Wild Wings' sauces- the Spicy Garlic and the Medium are both quite tasty. Neither can be called healthy foods, but I'm not eating them all that often. I also don't seem to react allergically to the yucky soybean oil in them, which is nice.


So, all coated up in spicy soy... the wing-off begins. 6 wings apiece, the rest stay in a low oven to stay warm. Bang a gong, it is ON! Oh... in case anyone wants to know who my challenger is...

... a hungry, growing 11-year-old girl. Could there be anything more frightening?

The first batch of wings were tossed with Spicy Garlic... and went down very quickly. Although we set it up not as a sprint, but as a marathon. It was to be decided wing-for-wing, not timed. We still ate quickly. They were tasty, and we were excited.

Round 2 was tossed with Medium, which is supposed to be less-spicy than the Spicy Garlic. My competitor and I vehemently disagree. The blisters on my tongue stand as proof.

By the third round our mouths were on fire. I tossed the wings with as little sauce as I could get by with, but it was still too much. Here I show my margin of victory:

Two half-wings. Final count was 18 to 17. I credit my victory simply to the fact that I've had a lot of painful things happen in my life, so I have experience. LOL


Ah, the carnage. So many wings went down in so little time. Now we just have to relax, watch the game, and try to digest. Well... and try not to think about what that spicy sauce will do to us on it's way out....