Football is back, and with it comes all of the delicious foods served at parking lot tailgates and viewing parties at home. Perhaps no food is more synonymous with football than chicken wings. Sports bars make names for themselves based on their chicken wings, but football fans need not visit their local pubs to indulge in wings worthy of gameday. The following recipe for “Chicken Wings with Bacon Barbecue Sauce” from John Holl’s “The American Craft Beer Cookbook” (Storey) is simple and sure to please foodies and their fellow football fans this season.
Chicken Wings with Bacon Barbecue Sauce
Makes 12 wings and plenty of leftover sauce
1 cup roughly chopped applewood-smoked bacon
12 large chicken wings
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄4 cup diced yellow onion
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup New Albanian Bob’s Old 15-B Porter, or
similar robust porter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups veal or beef broth
1⁄2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon puréed chipotle in adobo
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Put the bacon in a heavy skillet and cook it in the oven until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, reserving the fat in the skillet. Reduce the oven temperate to 350 F and move the skillet to the stovetop.
2. Toss the chicken wings in the olive oil, arrange them on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until crisp and cooked through.
3. Add the onion to the bacon fat in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Be careful handling the skillet; it will still be hot from the oven.
4. Add the brown sugar to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it dissolves. Add the beer, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula to loosen any brown bits. Stir in the butter and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
5. After the beer has reduced, add the broth to the skillet and reduce until the jam is thick, stirring occasionally and being careful not to burn it, 10 to 20 minutes.
6. Add the Worcestershire, chipotle, oregano, thyme, and garlic powder to the skillet and stir to fully incorporate.
7. Transfer the sauce and bacon to a blender, let cool for 8 to 10 minutes, and then purée until smooth. Remove the chicken wings from the oven, place them in a large bowl, and pour in enough sauce to liberally coat the chicken. Serve immediately.
Note: This recipe yields a bit of extra sauce. Leftover sauce is great on burgers, with other grilled meats, or as a dip for bread. Or simply make a double batch of wings!
A few beers to try with this recipe:
• Avery New World Porter
• Bell’s Porter
• Deschutes Black Butte Porter
• Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
• New Albanian Bob’s Old 15-B Porter
• Sierra Nevada Porter
• Smuttynose Robust Porter
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