SAP BrandVoice: Best Chicken Wings For The Super Bowl: Experts Weigh In (2024)

When it comes to creating the best and tastiest Super Bowl spread for family and friends, there’s endless options to choose from. But amidst the mountains of smoked meats, sliders and nachos that will no doubt be consumed, there’s one finger food that still rules them all: chicken wings.

Don’t believe me? I have receipts.

According to the National Chicken Council (NCC), Americans will gobble up 1.45 billion chicken wings during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11th when the San Francisco 49ers face off against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Sure, you can have your chips, your guacamole, your pizza,” said NCC Spokesperson Tom Super. “But when it comes to menus next Sunday, wings rule the roost. So, grab a wet nap and enjoy America’s favorite party food for the Big Game.”

Winning possibilities with Perdue

Chicken wings have become a staple at community gatherings like Super Bowl parties in large part due to their versatility, according to Cody Walter, Senior Marketing Manager at Perdue, one of the largest poultry producers in the United States.

“If you’re serving up fresh, frozen wings, it’s easy to make a large batch and add a variety of flavors to accommodate everyone,” said Walter. “Perdue also has a long history of listening to our consumers and developing convenient products that meet their needs and bring simplicity and high-quality, premium protein to their busy lifestyles.”

That’s one of the reasons why Perdue launched its new Air Fryer Ready Crispy Wings last year. Available in Roasted, Hot N’ Spicy and Lemon Pepper varieties, Air Fryer Ready Crispy Wings are the first ever at-home wings specifically formulated for air frying and deliver the crispy, flavor-packed wings in just 16-18 minutes, so you don’t have to miss any of the big game.

Meeting demand: No wing left behind

As you can imagine, major sporting events like the Super Bowl create massive spikes in demand for Perdue’s products. But with the right people, process and technology in place, you can rest assured there’s no wing left behind.

According to Dan Maupin, Director of Demand Planning at Perdue, the company leverages technology from SAP to identify seasonal spikes in demand caused by events like the Super Bowl. Perdue’s SAP system generates accurate insight to help fulfill demand, provide best-in-class service to its customers and ensure they accommodate their shoppers.

“The data available through SAP directly informs Perdue’s Supply and Demand Plans and helps us prepare for spikes by providing the company with a clear picture of customer orders, inventory and demand,” said Maupin.

Scoring the best wing recipe

What goes into making the perfect chicken wing? It depends on who you ask, but when you ask one of the best in the business, like Danielle “Diva Q” Bennett, the path to chicken wing nirvana becomes much easier.

Bennett believes chicken wing lovers owe a debt of gratitude to Buffalo’s Anchor Bar, long thought of as the original inspiration for today’s buffalo wing craze.

“In the late 70’s to early 80’s, wings were cheap,” said Bennett. “No one wanted them and they were typically thrown away. But the Anchor Bar turned them into something special which started the hot sauce craze too.”

When trying to re-create buffalo wing magic of places like the legendary Anchor Bar, Bennett finally found what she believes to be one of the best ways to cook wings.

“Smoking wings makes them too rubbery and throwing them on the grill could make them burn,” said Bennett. “After much trial and error, I discovered the right alkalinity level of the skin helps create that crispy exterior everyone loves.”

Bennett also said making the best wings at home is all about balance.

“You obviously want to capture those great wing flavors but it can’t be overwhelmed with sauce,” she said. “Wings first, sauce second. I love crispy chicken wings and all it takes is a little application of meat science to make it happen on your grill.”

Diva Q’s Perfect Chicken Wing Recipe (You’re welcome)

• 2 dozen wings (2-3lbs) 2 tbsp baking powder 2 tsp salt (Diva Q uses @redmondrealsalt)
• Take wings out of the package and pat them down with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. In a bowl toss the wings with the baking powder and salt. Make sure each wing is very well coated
• Lay the wings out on a mesh baking rack making sure to leave room in between each wing. Refrigerate for a minimum 4 hours uncovered
• Preheat your (preferably wood pellet) grill to 225° using your favorite pellet. (Diva Q likes hickory). Place the rack full of wings on the grill for one hour. If your wings are especially large you may want to do this for 1-1/2 to two hours.
• Increase grill temperature to 400° and continue to grill until the internal temperature of the wings are a minimum of 180°F (BBQ Diva likes hers closer to 200 to 205°F)
• Toss with Buffalo sauce and serve!

Diva Q Buffalo Sauce (Enough to coat 1 dozen wings)

• 1/2 cup Cholula Chipotle Hot sauce
• 6 tbsp unsalted melted butter
• 1/4 cup Guldens Spicy Mustard
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients together toss with hot wings from the grill

“This technique has been around for a long time, so I don’t think it would be categorized as new,” said Bennett. “But I don’t think many people take the time to try this program, and they should.”