Being on lock up due to our current shelter in place order has left us all with A LOT of extra time. Just flip through Instagram and you are sure to see inordinate amount of people who have now become bakers, chefs and fitness trainers in the last month. Posting pics of all their endeavors, it's as if they are auditioning for some stay at home version of "Quarantine's Got Talent."
Truth is, I'm guilty as charged for all of the above. For the last month and a half I've baked, cooked and trained my way through boredom. The only difference, I suppose, is that I was doing all of that prior to being stuck at home. My newfound time has allowed me to explore these passions (along with sampling delicious craft beer) even further and I believe my food game is stronger than ever.
Quarantine Helps Create New Après Ski Recipes
The wheels have been spinning non-stop here at Stoner's Palace where the Après Eats Kitchen has been abuzz with the development of many new après ski recipes. Inspired by the food eaten on my travels to many different ski resorts my family has been delighted by my cooking and well fed through all of this. Now you can too.
Last week's first installment of my Tasty Tuesday recipe series featured the delicious combination of Buffalo Chicken Blue Cheese Beer Sauce Nachos. Prompted by rave reviews, this trend will continue and I will release a new après ski food recipe every Tuesday. In doing so, I hope they inspire you to find your own inner Top Chef and earn your spot on the new season of QGT. So go ahead and give them a try. It's not like there's much else to do.
Bloody Mary's and Chicken Wings are Essential Après Ski Foods
This week's après ski recipe once again combines two ski weekend food staples,The Bloody Mary and Chicken Wings. Their ability to both cure hangovers and replenish your depleted stores have elevated both to essential status over the years. It is not uncommon for me to take a break from skiing mid-morning and head up to the Bullwheel at Mount Snow for a delicious Bloody Mary garnished with bacon. It's the liquid lunch of champions that carries me over until après ski at Mount Snow begins.
Similarly, chicken wings are a fundamental foundation to my diet when skiing. I seriously eat them like they're going out of style. Having had many delicious variations like the oh-so-tasty garlic and parmesan wings that I devoured at Rip Van Winkle Brewery near Hunter Mountain, I'm a bit of an addict. Juicy and succulent...they stood no chance!
What Happens When You Combine a Chicken Wing With a Bloody Mary?
Obviously food and drink like this can stand alone. They are ski diet staples for a reason. But, what would happen if you did happen to combine them? That was the case when I started dipping my Buffalo Wing garnish into my Bloody Mary one fine Saturday at Stratton Mountain's Grizzly's. The result was a taste explosion that I knew I must be recreate. Thus this epic après ski recipe that rolls them both into one delicious tasting chicken wing was born.
Bloody Mary Chicken Wing Recipe
Ingredients
1 dozen assorted chicken wings
1/2 cup of Bloody Mary seasoning (I use Pappy's Choice Seasoning)
1 cup of Bloody Mary Mix of your choice (I make my own smoked variation, recipe coming soon)
Blue Cheese Dressing
Procedure
- Preheat Pellet Smoker (I own the Camp Chef Woodwind) on High Smoke setting for 15 minutes. If using an oven, preheat to 250 degrees and if using a fryer, heat the oil. I prefer the smoker because it gives the wings an additional smokey flavor.
- Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken wings. Then cover in the Bloody Mary seasoning so that all sides are coated.
- Assemble wings on the smoker toward the right side of the grill away from the smoke box. The temperature near the smoke box tends to get a bit hotter and could lead to some shriveled up wings.
- Let the wings smoke for 15 minutes on High Smoke setting prior to turning the temperature up to 250 degrees. Cook the wings on this temp for another hour and 45 minutes flipping over half way through.
- Remove the wings from the heat and toss in 1/2 cup of the Bloody Mary Mix. This will act as a BBQ sauce and will caramelize when you return them to the smoker for another 30 minutes.
- Pull the wings from the smoker, sauce again in the remaining Bloody Mary Mix and serve with a side of blue cheese.
The Perfect Craft Beer Pairing for Your Bloody Mary Chicken Wing
You'd think with a dish like Bloody Mary Chicken Wings would be a Bloody Mary. I would not fault you if you went in this direction. Pairing like with like is always a good way to go. However, I'm going to throw something else at you. Finishing a Bloody Mary leaves the vessel coated with a bit of the mix left over. Of course, you cannot and should not waste that but licking the glass would be plain weird. So why not pour a beer in there? Go with a delicious pilsners or lager. Light, crisp and flavorful they'll clean that glass right up for you and compliment these chicken wings perfectly. Cheers!
