# Chicken wings for a large crowd



## dlmomaha (Aug 16, 2007)

Hi, just joined this site with the hope someone could help me out with suggestions for preparing deep fried chicken wings for a large crowd. I will be serving my son's high school football and will need to do about 75 dozen. Planned on just frying plain and then tossing with sauce at some point before serving. Any tips at all with the prep, keeping warm, saucing and serving?  THANKS


----------



## Katie H (Aug 16, 2007)

The only part I can really help you with is the "keeping warm" part.

If you can get your hands on one of those large (18-quart, I think) roasters, you could keep a boatload warm in that.  If not, perhaps several large crock-pots.


----------



## Andy M. (Aug 16, 2007)

A lot will depend on the equipment and manpower available to you.


----------



## dlmomaha (Aug 16, 2007)

Should have plenty of manpower, ovens and roasters. However I may only have 3-4 fryers capable of around 2 dozen (per fryer) wings at a time.


----------



## Andy M. (Aug 16, 2007)

There are several threads here that offer recipes for both deep fried and oven baked chicken wings that can be tossed with buffalo sauce.  By doing a combination of baked and deep fried, you should be able to manage.


----------



## keltin (Aug 16, 2007)

75 dozen.................that’s 900 chicken wings.  

I prefer my wings deep fried, and prepare them that way all the time. In fact, I’m making some tonight. I use a table top deep fryer with a basket. It can do 8 - 10 wing pieces at a time. Once they are done (pierce one with a knife or toothpick and make sure the juices run clear), I transfer them to a paper lined plate or cookie sheet to drain. I keep the paper lined plate in the oven set to warm as I fry the rest of the wings.

Once all the wings are done, I take them out of the oven and crank the heat up to 400 F. I then put the wings in a large Tupperware bowl and then pour the sauce over them. I put the lid on the bowl and then shake for a few seconds to really cover all the wings. Next, place the sauce covered wings on a baking sheet and put it in the hot oven for 5-8 minutes to set the sauce.


----------



## Katie H (Aug 16, 2007)

Okay, so you say you need 75 dozen.  How many people are you feeding?  And, I hope there will be other food, too.  Who has determined that you need 75 dozen?  Maybe the number can be reworked.

Just for the heck of it, if you are serving, say, 75 people, that would mean each person would be served 12 wings.  That sounds like quite a lot for one person to eat, especially if there's going to be other food.


----------



## Jeekinz (Aug 16, 2007)

Can you make them the day before and reheat in an oven?


----------



## Caine (Aug 16, 2007)

Katie E said:
			
		

> Just for the heck of it, if you are serving, say, 75 people, that would mean each person would be served 12 wings. That sounds like quite a lot for one person to eat, especially if there's going to be other food.


 
Who said anything about people? She's feeding high school football players. A high school cheerleader could eat 12 wings!

I'd find as many cookies sheets as I could and load them into a 250F oven until you're ready to serve them. 

BTW, here is the ORIGINAL Teresa Bellissimo recipe, dutifully 
stolen liberated by a high school friend who worked his way through the University of Buffalo at the Anchor Bar.


*Sauce Ingredients*_:_(This recipe is potent enough for at least 4 dozen wings)

1/4 lb butter
1 cup Durkees Frank's Original Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce (this is the only one)
1/8 cup granulated sugar 
1/8 cup white vinegar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion salt


*Bleu Cheese Dip*

Equal amounts of KRAFT mayonnaise and Sour Cream ("Light" mayo or sour cream do not taste the same).
Juice squeezed from one whole fresh Lemon (no concentrates). Pressed cloves of Garlic, to taste.
4oz Treasure Cave All Natural Bleu Cheese, from Beatrice Cheese Inc., Waukesha, Wisconsin...available in most Delis or grocery stores.

*Directions*

Cut off the wing tips & discard them. Pre-mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Rinse wings, pat dry, pre-bake the wings in a 250F oven for 15 minutes, then deep fry in vegetable oil to desired texture (soft or crispy). 


On LOW heat, melt butter in a saucepan, add vinegar and Franks/Durkees sauce. Whisk dry ingredients into saucepan until well combined, Simmer sauce for 20 minutes in a covered saucepan, unless you need to clear your sinuses. 

Pour sauce into Large Tupperware Bowl, add fried wings, seal, and shake well until wings are coated. Use a rubber spatula to get all of the sauce out of the bowl & wash it immediately after serving, otherwise it may retain a reddish "Buffalo Wings" tint

For the Dip, just mix all ingredients well & serve @ room temp or chilled. Serve with celery and carrot sticks. That's right folks, it's celery and carrot sticks tht get dipped into the bleu cheese dressing, *NOT THE CHICKEN WINGS!!!!!!!!*


----------



## jpmcgrew (Aug 16, 2007)

I would most definately make them a day or two ahead and then heat them the day you serve them.This way will save you alot of time and hassle trying to make them on the spot saving you alot of stress.IMO!


----------



## BreezyCooking (Aug 16, 2007)

I agree about making them ahead.

Not to cast any aspersions on the gourmet tastes of your son's football team, but frankly I don't think they'll care a rat's patootie if the wings were made ahead of time & reheated & tossed with the sauce.


----------



## mitmondol (Aug 16, 2007)

I keep large quantities warm in coolers.


----------



## carso (Aug 17, 2007)

dlmomaha said:
			
		

> Hi, just joined this site with the hope someone could help me out with suggestions for preparing deep fried chicken wings for a large crowd. I will be serving my son's high school football and will need to do about 75 dozen. Planned on just frying plain and then tossing with sauce at some point before serving. Any tips at all with the prep, keeping warm, saucing and serving? THANKS


 
Wow 75 dozen is a lot and it is very tedious and tedius to fry the wings. Remember you need to make sure each of the wings is well fried and it takes a lot of time. I would rather buy KFC for the crowd.

Why not do it in simple way to bake the chicken in the oven. You might reheat it in the microwave and it taste as nice as it just cooked. You no need to prepare sauce because behind this recipy, the wings is juicy and it produce tasty sauce by itself. 

Here the recipy...  

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f15/cabrera-chicken-wings-37480.html


----------



## auntdot (Aug 17, 2007)

Just an idea.

It is going to take a heck of a long time to cook those suckers, even with three fryers. Several hours, I would guess.

Would do the cooking the day, or night, before. 

You have to chill them, coolers with ice will do.

Rent those serving things caterers use, those with the Sterno underneath. Those with the big trays.

A couple of hours before the event toss the wings in the trays into the oven.  If you are like us, you may only have one oven. As each one comes out put them on the table over the flame.

That is all I can think of.  I wish there were caterers about, they could give much better advice than I.

Good luck.


----------



## BBQ Mikey (Aug 18, 2007)

Heres what you do, I worked at a wing joint for a few months.

You blanch them first. This involves frying them until they are no longer raw and then removing. You do this to all your raw wings so they are treated and you arent stuck with a bunch of raw chicken when you start.

After blanching them (approx 8 minutes a batch) You cook them to serve, since you are preparing them in advance, blanch them one or two days in advance then refrigerate. On the day of, get up early and start fryin them all again (you could bake too, but they dont come out as good IMO)

Then you can keep them all warm on those foil trays with the canned heat.  I suggest a mild, garlic (or hot garlic) and Honey B.  You will def. be a hit.  Its not that hard once you have them blanched they will cook for another 5-10 minutes a batch and you will have crispy wings everyone will enjoy.

We made several thousand wings on some days.


----------



## dlmomaha (Sep 1, 2007)

Thanks for all your help but a local sports bar has come to the rescue and will do 75 dozen for a great price, saving me a ton of work. I will use some of your suggestions in the future--thanks


----------



## Katie H (Sep 1, 2007)

Wow, I'll bet you're relieved.  That has probably taken a load of work off your hands.  Good luck with the rest of the party.


----------



## college_cook (Sep 1, 2007)

Wings only take  3-5 minutes in a 350 deep fryer, and if your fryers can handle 6-8 dozen at a time, you should only need to start cooking maybe 40 minutes before you need your wings, if your sauce is made ahead of time.  I'd say the best way to go would be to keep you wings in the warmers until they need to be served, at which point i would toss them in a simple sauce and slop them onto a giant platter.

A quick sauce we do at work sometimes is to reconstitue some dried ancho chiles in warm water, then puree them in a blender, adding honey until it reaches a nice consistency.  On the day you need your sauce, mount with butter right before tossing your wings.

Another simple sauce is a reduction of lime juice and soy sauce with fresh herbs and garlic.  We don't have any set ratio, we just play with it until we find we we like.  These are nice because of the salty-tangy flavor.  As before, mount with butter when your wings are ready to go, toss the wings, and dump em on a platter.


----------



## kitchenelf (Sep 1, 2007)

Katie E said:


> Wow, I'll bet you're relieved.  That has probably taken a load of work off your hands.  Good luck with the rest of the party.



Heck Katie!!!!  I'm relieved!!


----------



## dlmomaha (Sep 2, 2007)

college cook,
What do you mean by 'mount with butter'? And what does it do and why can't you add it when you make the sauces? Thanks.


----------



## Billdolfski (Sep 3, 2007)

college_cook said:


> Wings only take  3-5 minutes in a 350 deep fryer, and if your fryers can handle 6-8 dozen at a time, you should only need to start cooking maybe 40 minutes before you need your wings, if your sauce is made ahead of time.  I'd say the best way to go would be to keep you wings in the warmers until they need to be served, at which point i would toss them in a simple sauce and slop them onto a giant platter.



6-8 dozen is a pretty big fryer, and I'd think that a pile of chicken wings like that would drop the oil temp quite a bit when added.

Regardless, I want a fryer that holds that many wings!!!


----------

