If you’re anything like me, one of your most missed aspects of life before the COVID-19 pandemic is walking up to your favorite bar, ordering a beverage and a plate of your favorite bar food and sitting at the pinball machine while you wait for your friends. While some bars are open again at limited capacity, some people like myself may be waiting to go back out into the world of socialization. To help fill the void of nights out at the bar, I’ve been teaching myself to cook some of my favorite bar foods to enjoy at home.
Crispy baked chicken wings
My all-time favorite bar food is chicken wings, and up until recently, I thought it was a food I was going to have to wait to eat again. Fear not, wing lovers, because my recipe for homemade wings gives a crispy crunch every time without needing to use a frier.
First, preheat your oven to 415 degrees and cut your wings into party size drums and flats. Since each full chicken wing provides two party wings, cooking the wings at home also saves you quite a bit of money. My recipe makes about 20 party wings (10 full chicken wings). Once the wings are cut up, pat them dry to ensure no moisture remains on the meat.
In a separate bowl, toss together:
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
A small dash of flour
Once the dry rub is complete, add the dry wings to the bowl and toss the wings in the rub. Now that they’re well covered, put the wings on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 40 minutes, flipping them over halfway through.
Once finished cooking, let the wings cool for a few minutes and toss in your favorite sauce. One of my favorite sauces to make uses Battle Ground’s own Silagy hot sauce. To make it, toss together melted butter, garlic powder and Silagy Smokin’ Habanero. Another great sauce is the “Soon to Be Famous” Spicy Thai Peanut sauce from Portland wing joint Fire On the Mountain. Paired with a more mild barbecue sauce and your favorite dip, the wings make for a great night at home.
