Confession: I’m not a big fan of football. I watch hockey.

Problem/tragedy: my beloved Montreal Canadiens are doing terribly this year.

Solution/only salvation: take a couple of weeks off from hockey and watch football for the end of its season.

I know so little about football that every year at this time, I have to ask people what teams are still playing. And then I ask them where those teams are from. Here’s what I do know about football:

• It’s played in the Fall and Winter
• The season is short because it gets too damn cold to watch it outdoors and for some reason they don’t play indoors even though roofs on stadiums have been around for years.
• The best HD television cameras are used for football and the graphics are quite amazing - is that yellow line really on the field, and if it’s not, then how can people walk over it like it is?
• Fans gather several hours beforehand in parking lots and eat food out of the trunks of their cars or off the tailgates of their trucks. Football food includes a lot of finger foods, probably because it’s hard to eat with a knife and fork in a parking lot.

That’s about it.

It’s the last point that makes me think that perhaps I could get into football for a couple of weeks. I love finger food! So, in preparation to watch football, I decided that this pre-game eating was critical to the enjoyment of the sport. I would make some finger food. The quintessential football finger food is, of course, “the wing”.

Traditionally, the wings served in conjunction with football are Buffalo Wings. When I was a little girl in Canada, I thought this was perplexing. What the heck’s a buffalo wing? Buffaloes do not have wings, and yet…(oh boy) Of course, Buffalo wings are not named after the animal, but after Buffalo, New York and refer to a deep fried chicken wing tossed with a butter and hot sauce mixture and served with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing. According to an official proclamation by the city of Buffalo, the Buffalo Wing was invented by Frank Bellissimo in 1964 at the Anchor Bar. However, in reading Calvin Trillin’s account of the history of the Buffalo chicken wing, I once again came across what I’ve always thought about culinary “discoveries” - that they can’t really be pinned down. People have been eating chicken wings for as long as they’ve been eating chickens. Whether it was the Bellissimo’s who first tossed fried chicken wings in hot sauce and butter, or someone else, really can’t ever be known. What can be known is that this preparation of wings became very popular in Buffalo, New York in the 1960s and 70s and Buffalo was credited with the dish. I also read that residents of Buffalo don’t actually call them “Buffalo Wings”, but just wings. (Sort of like the French when they talk about French fries.) I have no first-hand knowledge of whether or not this is true, but it’s believable.

So, as I chose to partake in the football craze leading up to the Super Bowl, I decided to make wings. After all, I’m sure eating the food is part of watching the game. I did not, however, feel like deep-frying, nor did I really want to eat spicy wings that would stain my fingers and create that big red circle around my mouth while my tongue searches for the blue cheese dressing to soothe the burning rage. I wanted a baked wing and I wanted a BBQ flavor. I also wanted a touch of smoke flavor in the wing, as though it was made at a BBQ joint, rather than in my kitchen. I went to work and came up with the Smoky Sir Kensington’s BBQ Chicken Wing recipe that you’ll find below.

The wings were easy easy easy to make and they were delicious and moist. The only trouble with my plan was my timing. I guess I should have made my pre-football game wings on Sunday afternoon, but I made the wings on Saturday night, coincidentally right before Hockey Night in Canada came on TV. Old habits die hard, and of course I watched the Canadiens game. As the playoffs get closer and the chances of Montreal being in those playoffs gets smaller, every night they play is a big game. I ate my wings with the game and the Canadiens won! Maybe there’s something so this pre-game eating after all.

At least now I’m ready for Football’s Big Game when it comes around. When is that?

Smoky Sir Kensington BBQ Wings

This recipe uses two of my favorite ingredients - Sir Kensington’s ketchup (which you can read all about in a recent post here) and Gourmet Nut’s Smoked Sea Salt (the easiest and most natural way to get a smoky flavor into your foods). I’m a big believer that your finished meal can only be as good as your ingredients, and these ingredients make your finished dish a winner.

Makes about 30 wings

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds chicken wings
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon smoked sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

BBQ Sauce:

• 1 to 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika (for a stronger smoky flavor, use smoked paprika)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• ½ cup Sir Kensington’s Gourmet Scooping Ketchup
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon smoked sea salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400º F.
2. While the oven pre-heats, make the BBQ sauce. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the paprika and cayenne and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar and salt and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes and then remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Put the flour, smoked sea salt and black pepper in a zipper sealable plastic bag. Cut the wings into parts, discarding the wing tip and any excess skin.
   

   First, cut the drumstick off the wing, cutting close to the meat of the drumstick.

   

   Next, cut off the flap of skin between the drumstick and the “flat” or middle segment of the chicken wing.

   

   Finally, cut the wing tip off the “flat” or middle section.

   In batches, shake the wings around in the bag to dredge them with the flour. Transfer the dredged chicken wings to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (to make clean up easier) and bake for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and bake for another 5 minutes.

4. Transfer the wings to a bowl and toss with the BBQ sauce. Return the coated chicken wings to the baking sheet and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.