I'm looking for suggestions on transporting and keeping wings hot

[rbranstner]

Good morning. I'm going to be heading to a friends house tomorrow morning to watch my NDSU Bison hopefully win their fourth straight FCS football championship and I want to grill up some wings on my kettle with the vortex ahead of time and bring them along for the game. Anyone have good luck cooking wings ahead of time and keeping them warm for a few hours without the skin getting all mushy and the wings falling apart?
My thoughts were to grill them as normal and get the skin nice and crispy and put them in a crockpot on the low/warm setting. I have one of those three place crockpot stands so I can have three separate flavors of wings going all at once. Any thoughts or suggestions? I guess I could also just throw them in a foil pan with tinfoil and reheat them in their oven as well. I just hate the way wings turn out when people smother them in sauce and throw them in a crock pot for hours and they fall all apart and get mushy.

[barkonbutts]

Good morning. I'm going to be heading to a friends house tomorrow morning to watch my NDSU Bison hopefully win their fourth straight FCS football championship and I want to grill up some wings on my kettle with the vortex ahead of time and bring them along for the game. Anyone have good luck cooking wings ahead of time and keeping them warm for a few hours without the skin getting all mushy and the wings falling apart?
My thoughts were to grill them as normal and get the skin nice and crispy and put them in a crockpot on the low/warm setting. I have one of those three place crockpot stands so I can have three separate flavors of wings going all at once. Any thoughts or suggestions? I guess I could also just throw them in a foil pan with tinfoil and reheat them in their oven as well. I just hate the way wings turn out when people smother them in sauce and throw them in a crock pot for hours and they fall all apart and get mushy.

That is your best bet!!

[frog1369]

I agree ...... I usually cook up the wings ahead of time, transport them to where I need to go, sauce them when I get there and put them in the oven at about 300. I usually do several sauces and some contain sugars so I stay below 350, if You have a lower sugar content like my garlic parmesan wings you can use more heat and get crisper wings.

[Doug S.]

my garlic parmesan wings

Want to expand a little on that ? (what's it made of and how much ?)

[frog1369]

Want to expand a little on that ? (what's it made of and how much ?)

I don't have exact measurements, but this is my game plan .......

I dust the wings with a 50/50 mix of Mad Hunky GP and Hot Whang - you can adjust in either direction for more or less heat

I smoke them at 180 until they are almost done, then finish them off at 400 to crisp them up a bit.

While the wings are smoking or before hand, I roast a head or two of garlic, depending on how many wings I'm doing. Me, I can't have too much garlic but I have to be considerate of others.

I let the wings cool, refrigerate them if it's going to be a while. When it's almost time to serve I preheat the oven to 300-350 if making a variety, 350-400 if just parmesan garlic wings. I add the roasted garlic to a stick of butter and melt it in the microwave. I toss the wings in the butter and on to a baking sheet. I sprinkle with Italian Seasoning, black and red pepper if desired, turning to get both sides. Final touch, sprinkle with freshly shredded parmesan, I like to turn them so there is some on the bottom side as well. Toss them in the oven until the wings are hot and the parmesan is just starting to brown.

Serve with a dipping sauce of your choice, most people go for ranch or Blue cheese but you can experiment with all kinds of stuff.

Note: The roasted garlic is a subtle flavor, if you decide you want more garlic flavor, next time add either minced or granulated garlic to your liking.

[Doug S.]

Thanks, I'm on the same road..can't have too much garlic

[sweet_magnolia]

That is your best bet!!

I agree that re-heating in the oven is your best bet. If you use the crock pots the skin will for sure get soft.

[PitRow]

The best place for transporting and keeping wings hot is in my belly!!! but serving them afterwards tends to be an issue

[HawgHeaven]

Yup, the oven is your best bet if you're cooking them ahead of thyme. Hey, just pack up the Weber and take it with you... nothing better than freshly cooked wings!

[dcarch]

I have done this many times. Depending on the food and travel distance.

1. Cheap and easy to make. Get 1" thick rigid foam board from HD, the one with one side plastic, and one side aluminum. cut and make a box big enough for what you need. Aluminum for the inside. You can use packing tape or duct tape to make the box. 15 minutes of work.

2. I have a block of himalayan salt which fits inside the box with room for the food.

3. For hot food, heat the himalayan salt block in you oven. The salt block inside the insulated foam box will keep the food hot for at least half of a day. I have done wings and other meats.

4. For cold food, the same block of himalayan salt, freeze it. It will keep the food cold for at least half of a day. I have done sushi.

5. Bring a propane torch to crisp up your food, if that is you food.

Food on pink himalayan salt block makes fantastic presentation.


dcarch

[jwbtulsa]

Foil pan, seal it up. Stack them in your cooler. Fill remainder of cooler with hot towels so there is no open space. Pillows fresh out of the dryer work well if you have a large cooler. Don't open cooler until you arrive. They will still be toasty. I can rest full packer briskets this way for hours and still maintain temps around 190F.

[Conumdrum]

If you need a quick crunch turn the oven way up and cookie sheet them for 5-10 min. Wings in my book need to be hot off the cooker to be the best, losing that crunch can be recovered with a HOT quick bake.

[Conumdrum]

I have done this many times. Depending on the food and travel distance.

1. Cheap and easy to make. Get 1" thick rigid foam board from HD, the one with one side plastic, and one side aluminum. cut and make a box big enough for what you need. Aluminum for the inside. You can use packing tape or duct tape to make the box. 15 minutes of work.

2. I have a block of himalayan salt which fits inside the box with room for the food.

3. For hot food, heat the himalayan salt block in you oven. The salt block inside the insulated foam box will keep the food hot for at least half of a day. I have done wings and other meats.

4. For cold food, the same block of himalayan salt, freeze it. It will keep the food cold for at least half of a day. I have done sushi.

5. Bring a propane torch to crisp up your food, if that is you food.

Food on pink himalayan salt block makes fantastic presentation.

dcarch

How big of a block and how much $$ is it? Sounds pricy.

[MossyMO]

Congrats Bison!

[dcarch]

Here is the thing I made. Actually the salt block can keep food hot or cold for the whole entire day. 1" insulation board works great.

I bought the salt blocks on ebay cheap because they are not perfect. Don't remember how much. I has been many year.



dcarch