“The Big Game” is Sunday and we all should know the deal. Tom Brady and company are favorites to win again. The Eagles are pretty likeable underdogs. Expensive commercials. A halftime show with Justin Timberlake and a new song that’s pretty dope. Not Bringing Sexy Back dope, but definitely Bringing Something Back dope. Plus, wings. You cannot “Big Game” without wings.
So I am going to tell you something you might not know. We’ve got really, really good wings.
How do GREAT wings happen at an Irish pub, you ask?
I asked our cook this morning and his response, without even looking up, was this:
- Size
- Texture
- Flavor
“In that order?”
“Yes, in that order.”
Okaaay. So he has thought about this a bit. I’m feeling it. But what does that even mean?
Size matters. Duh. And, yes, ours are big.
But, texture… isn’t this subjective? How do we get that right?
(I took some notes):
- We buy fresh (never frozen).
- We marinate in our own sauces and spices for at least 24 hours before we serve them up.
- We bake before we fry. This means that we also let our wings cool down completely so once the order is placed, we throw ‘em in the fryer to get hot and crispy… just for you.
(Full disclosure: I have been working for the pub for years and I just found out that we take this step in prep. I’m confessional by nature. I’ll eat my weight in shame later.)
Lastly, flavor:
Anyone can do hot sauce (and we do) but we love to cook with Guinness and spices. Guinness is clutch. It’s our throwing game. And our wings come tossed in our own Guinness BBQ sauce unless you ask otherwise. That’s a go-to, son.
So if you got this far, you must really like wings. Or you’re still wondering how an Irish pub can claim World Champions. Blame MajorLeague Baseball. Or maybe our underdog status? Maybe. But if you think that Brady wasn’t going to win a Super Bowl without deflate-gate, you’re just not paying attention.
You don’t have to be a BBQ joint to get wings right. You just have to give a shit about preparing really good food. And we do.