Lemon Chicken Wings for the Super Bowl

I love the Super Bowl. Every year come February I’m sitting on my couch in front of the TV screaming… even if I don’t care one iota about the teams playing. Why am I yelling at the TV? Because it’s football, and there’s nothing better than sitting on the couch with friends while screaming at the television. Christ, it’s practically become the national pastime. And nothing goes better with screaming and football than greasy, sticky, party food.

One popular choice: chicken wings. Especially if they’re from Buffalo. But see, I have a small problem: I’m not from Buffalo and I can’t stand those little wings. Actually I detest, loathe, hate with every essence of my being those awful, spicy wings that all men around me seem to be able to never get enough of. Sure, I like the celery that always seems to accompany these spicy pieces of poultry, especially when they’re dipped in ranch dressing. The wings themselves, however, blech!

So while I am not a fan, I do understand why they’re so popular during the football season. They’re easy to pick up. They’re not super messy and you can eat them with one hand so you never, ever have to put down that bottle of beer.

But then I thought, where is it written that those wings have to be hot and spicy? Who says you have to serve wings from Buffalo at your Super Bowl party? Why can’t you make wings that everyone, even people like me who like to feel their tongue after a couple bites, can enjoy? It’s your party! You can root for whichever team you want, which means you can also make (or not) any kind of chicken wing you damn well please!

And so I present to you chicken wings that are hot, sticky and so yummy you may just have to put down that bottle of beer so you can two fist these babies. What I especially like about these tasty wings is since the sauce is made with lemons, this is the perfect time of year to make them. See, all sorts of lemons from Meyer to Eureka are currently in season. So it doesn’t matter if you like your lemons sweet or tart, they all work with this recipe. Even better, this recipe calls for beer. And who doesn’t like a little beer with their football.

So wait. You’re telling me you’ve got beer, lemons and chicken wings all in the same recipe? Damn straight these were made for the Super Bowl.

Lemon Chicken Wings

adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup lemon curd
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 3/4 cup club soda
• 1/2 cup malt liquor
• salt to taste
• 2-1/2 pounds chicken wings
• vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minutes.
2. Whisk in the lemon curd, lemon juice and 1/4 cup of water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the pepper and set aside.
3. Whisk together both flours and the corn starch in a large bowl. Add the club soda and malt liquor and stir until smooth. Stir in the salt. Add the chicken wings and toss to coat.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the wings and fry in batches until golden, about 3 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-coated plate and let cool for 10 minutes.
5. Reheat the oil and fry the wings a second time until brown in color and cooked all the way through, about 5 minutes. Drain the wings on a freshly paper toweled-plate.
6. Toss the fried wings in a large bowl with the lemon sauce until coated. Transfer the wings to a platter and serve immediately.