Just winging it – first attempt at making Cocktail Wings

 Once you gather your ingredients, preheat your oven to 350° F and start preparing your wings. This was my first roadblock. I mistakenly saw the recipe called for chicken wings so I bought the package that said chicken wings…It doesn’t sound like a mistake does it? Well, for an amateur like me, it most certainly was. You see, a package that says chicken wings is the entire wing still in one piece. That means that you have to do that hard work and cut them apart into the drumstick and the actual wing. I would suggest buying the package that says drumstick and just go with those. It’ll save you a lot of time (especially if you’re inexperienced with wings and want to keep all of your fingers).Once the wings are prepared, get ready to make your sauce. You’ll need a large bowl and a spatula. Add the ¾ cup of cocktail sauce with the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, bay leaves, water sugar, salt and hot sauce. Second roadblock. I thought I had sugar, but I didn’t. I ended up using powdered sugar and I think it worked just as well. Mix all of these ingredients together and add your wings to coat them.

Next, put your wings and sauce in a shallow baking dish. You want the chicken to be resting in the sauce, but not covered by it in order to get a crispy skin. Bake these in your 350° F oven for 60 to 75 minutes and baste them frequently to keep them moist. I basted about every 10-15 minutes.

Finally, add butter and more cocktail (or I used hot sauce) to a large skillet and melt that together. Then add your wings and coat and serve. I also added some minced garlic to my sauce for an additional flavor.

I shared these with some friends last night and they were eaten up! They would be perfect for any sort of sports related party or potluck. They’re delicious and worth every minute they take to make.