Bloody Mary Chicken Wings

When January rolls around, so many people are focused on finding recipes to back up their resolutions; this usually means lighter fare. Words like healthy, skinny, and lightened-up take over the search bar. I totally get that. The holidays kick my butt, too. For me though, January triggers something entirely different—a craving for chicken wings!

I think wings are a natural accompaniment to January. Or maybe I should say they're a natural accompaniment to football and the art of gathering around the television eating things with your fingers. Now, I realize that this is actually the tail end of the season, but for one reason or another, it's bowl games and play-offs that trigger my desire for wings.

I'm pretty sure I look like a madwoman, preparing for the chicken apocalypse, as I stack every last package of chicken wings and chicken drumettes from the cooler into my shopping cart. Should I even mention what happens once I get all that chicken home? Let's just say that if a fridge was a pair of jeans, I'd need a pair of pliers to zip them up.

So naturally, with all of those naked wings hanging out, I have to come up with some delicious flavors to dress them in. After I cut up my whole chicken wings, I usually marinate them for at least a few hours. While there's nothing wrong with simply baking them up and then saucing them, that extra time in a flavor bath only makes them even more finger-lickin' delicious.

These Bloody Mary Chicken Wings were prompted by a bottle of unopened spicy vodka staring at me from the table. I'm not much of a fan of drinking spicy liquor or liqueur plain, but I love the extra dimension of flavor it imparts when you add it to food. The one exception I'll make in the drinking spicy liquor department is a Bloody Mary. I'm also that girl who orders spicy tomato juice on an airplane to drink alongside my bag of 7 pretzels. Apparently I enjoy drinking spicy tomatoes (this Spicy Bacon Bloody Mary is another favorite).

I started thinking about how much fun it would be to have a brunch that consisted simply of a buffet of chicken wings, seasoned simply and then grilled, baked, or fried (for a variety in textures and nuances) and a do-it-yourself Bloody Mary bar. Then, alongside the sauceless wings, how perfect would it be to serve one batch of wings that is sauced—using a spicy Bloody Mary mixture! Sometimes I amaze myself. For the record, this is happening soon....football on the television is optional.

It's not everyday you get to lick your cocktail off your fingers...in public.

See my original Bloody Mary Chicken Wings post at Food Fanatic.

See the Bloody Mary Chicken Wings recipe at Food Fanatic.

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When January rolls around, and season-ending football parties abound, I start craving chicken wings. Around here, it's come to be known as "my yearly craving" (though I'll happily eat them anytime of the year). What better way to satisfy my craving than to enjoy a week-long festival of ALL THINGS CHICKEN WINGS!  Join me this week as I share a simple tutorial on how to break down whole chicken wings, introduce different cooking methods, and of course share new recipes so you can put those skills to use. I even have a few friends dropping by with their own chicken wing guest posts! This, my friends, is the start of a yearly tradition—welcome to #wingweek!

Follow Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez's board WINGS! All wings, all the time. on Pinterest.