Tired of Buffalo Wings? Supercharge Your Super Bowl Wings With These 3 Recipes

Serving classic appetizers at your Super Bowl party is a safe bet. But if you want to impress your loved ones with a little something extra this year, mix up those prized snacks. Start with chicken wings — you can season and cook them in several ways. For example, rather than dousing the wings in Buffalo sauce, how about coating them in a sauce made with lemon-pepper seasoning or peanut butter? This small change can result in mouthwatering wings unlike any batch you’ve had before. Below are three standout chicken wing recipes that are sure to wow your guests this Super Bowl Sunday.

The Wing Bowl

Sure, the Super Bowl is mostly about football — but wings play a key role in game day celebrations. The National Chicken Council (NCC) projects that Americans will consume 1.45 billion chicken wings this Super Bowl weekend. This is a two percent increase from last year’s 1.42 billion projection — the equivalent of 84 million more wings consumed. Talk about chicken wing-mania.

“The two main reasons [for this year’s projection] are more favorable prices and more people getting back to normal and gathering for the Big Game, whether at home or at a bar or restaurant,” NCC spokesperson Tom Super explained in a statement. “While Americans are seeing inflation impact almost every part of their lives, both wholesale and retail wing prices are down double digits from a year ago, according to [the] USDA, and consumers are seeing a lot more features and promotions.”

Take these lower prices as a sign that it’s time to dress up your wings with a tasty and creative new recipe.

3 Chicken Wing Recipes To Try

Whether you’re a fan of the pasta dish cacio e pepe (it translates to “cheese and pepper” in Italian) or agree that peanut butter belongs in savory recipes, these three wing recipes are guaranteed crowd-pleasers.

1. Cacio e Pepe Wings by Tony Sudak, Chef and Walden Local Meat Butcher

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds chicken wings
•  ½ cup whole black peppercorns
• 1 cup (around 8 ounces) high-quality Pecorino Romano cheese 
• ½ cup of unsalted butter, melted
• Canola oil
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Prep: 32 mins
• Cook: 20 to 25 mins 
• Total time: 57 mins
• Yield: 10 servings 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. While oven is preheating, add peppercorns to a sauté pan and toast over medium high heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
2. Remove from pan and grind in a spice grinder until roughly smooth. Grate cheese with finest side of a box grater and set aside. 
3. Toss wings with canola oil and salt, and bake until fully cooked and crispy with internal temperature around 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Once wings are cooked, remove from oven and let rest. 
4. Melt butter in sauté pan over medium heat, add ground peppercorns, and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Place chicken wings in bowl, add butter and pepper mixture and half of cheese, and toss. Serve on platter topped with remaining cheese and drippings from bowl poured over wings. Serve hot.

2. Lemon-Pepper Chicken Wings by FleurSweetLoves on AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 12 chicken wings
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon-pepper seasoning
• 2 cups oil, or as needed

Directions:

• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 10 mins
• Total time: 20 mins
• Yield: 4 servings

1. Heat oil in deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Stir olive oil and lemon-pepper seasoning together in bowl; set aside.
3. Fry wings in hot oil until no longer pink at the bone and juices run clear, about 8 minutes. (An instant-read thermometer inserted near bone should read 165 degrees Fahrenheit.)
4. Toss cooked wings with lemon-pepper mixture to coat. Enjoy.

3. Peanut Chili Chicken Wings by Land O Lakes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds chicken wingettes and drumettes
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, finely chopped 
• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce 
• 3 tablespoons water 
• 3 tablespoons hot chili sauce 
• 1 tablespoon vinegar 
• 2 teaspoons honey 
•  Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 56 to 1 hr. 4 mins
• Total time: 1 hr. 4 mins to 1 hr. 14 mins
• Yield: 20 servings

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line large baking pan with aluminum foil; spray with non-stick cooking spray. 
2. Place chicken wings into prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes. Drain fat. 
3. Melt butter over medium-low heat in saucepan. Add garlic; cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except sesame seed; stir. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 4 to 6 minutes or until melted and smooth. 
4. Pour sauce over wings; toss to coat. Bake 5 to 10 minutes or until wings are crispy and no longer pink inside. 
5. Sprinkle sesame seeds over top of wings before serving, if desired.