Cooking with Beer: Budweiser Wings

Ok Ok I know your thinking “Budweiser?”  Yes I cook with Bud.  Why? Well for one its cheap.  Although it may lack flavor in the glass; it has flavor after being reduced at a boil.  It provides a simple cheap way to instill flavor in a dish.

6 Pounds of Wings
2 24 oz cans of Budweiser
2 Cups BBQ Sauce
1/4 to 1 Cup Hot Sauce

Open the cans and sit them on the counter a couple hours before you plan on making this dish.  I have heard beer can be prone to boil over if not flat.  Opening ahead like this flattens the beer considerably.  I am in fear of Beer Bitch so I will not test this.  To be honest, and in her defense, I am a sloppy cook anyways.

Put the (thawed) wings in a large stock pot.  Pour the beer in and bring to a boil.  Bringing to a boil took considerably longer than I thought they would.  I boiled for about 12 minutes until the wings had lost their pink.  I transferred them to a 9×12 dish into a preheated 475F oven.  Bake until crispy and brown. (You could also try grilling here)

While baking mix the sauce and hot sauce.  I used Sweet Baby Rays and Frank’s Hot Sauce.  I would recommend adding 1/4 cup of the hot sauce at a time stirring and taking a taste.  Half a cup of Hot sauce made a perfect balanced sauce of spicy without being spicy for the sake of spicy.

When the wings are done toss in bowl of sauce and serve with blue cheese dressing and celery on the side.

Served 4 for dinner although would do fine for more as an appetizer.  Also this recipe could easily be halfed.

Tags: Anheuser-Busch, recipes