In Season: Wings

With football season in full swing, our tailgate game is getting stronger with each kickoff.

October 14, 2016

5:00 AM

TailGate Beer’s “Fancy x93 wings

Courtesy of TailGate Beer owner, Wesley Keegan.
  Makes two dozen wings. 

Ingredients

½ cup butter, melted
 ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
 2 teaspoons garlic powder
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon black pepper
 24 chicken wings or drummettes
 1 cup Sriracha

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine butter, parmesan, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss wings into the sauce and place on a wire rack atop a baking sheet. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until cooked through; the skin should be crispy. Place Sriracha in a large bowl and immediately toss baked in the bowl to coat. Best enjoyed with ranch for dipping.

IPA BBQ wings

 Courtesy of TailGate Beer owner, Wesley Keegan.
 Makes about 2 pints of barbecue sauce; enough for two dozen wings. 

Ingredients

24 wings or drummettes
1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
 ½ medium white onion, diced
 12 ounces TailGate Beer Grapefruit IPA
 2 cups ketchup
 ¼ cups canned diced smoked tomatoes
 ¼ cup Worcestershire
 ½ cup packed brown sugar
 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
 2 teaspoons salt
 1 tablespoon hot sauce
 1 teaspoon molasses
 2 teaspoon liquid smoke (available through Amazon)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Pat wings dry with paper towels and place on a wire rack atop a baking sheet. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until cooked through and the skin is crispy.

Combine garlic, onion, and beer in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove onions, if desired. (Wes likes to leave them in for texture.) Add all remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Toss wings with the sauce to coat and serve immediately. For extra saucy wings: toss, bake, and toss again. Note: You’ll likely have extra sauce; it will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.

In Season: Wings

With football season in full swing, our tailgate game is getting stronger with each kickoff. But we're always up for testing out new dishes, which is why, this month, we turned to the aptly named TailGate Beer, where their 'fancy” baked wings have been on the menu since the beginning of the year. 'Breweries usually get labeled as either having great beer and terrible food, or it's the other way around. But we think you can do both,” owner and founder Welsey Keegan says.

The brewery bakes its wings, rather than frying them, and kicks up the heat by giving them a final toss in Sriracha. Keegan, meanwhile, has perfected his own at-home recipe for wingsand, naturally, he uses beer in the sauce.

'The Grapefruit IPA gives the liquid base a sweetness, but any IPA will work with this recipe,” he adds.

With 30 tap handles, TailGate is constantly experimenting with new brews, and usually has as many as 10 IPAs on draft. For either of these recipes, swing by the newly expanded West Nashville space (they've recently opened an additional 50-barrel brewhouse) and pick up the perfect liquid pairingTailGate Southeast IPA, available for growler pours, or the Grapefruit IPA, available in cans.

7300 Charlotte Pk., 615-861-9842; tailgatebeer.com