Spice Up The Big Game

Are you planning a Super Bowl Party and don’t know what to serve? Need to bring something to a party for the big game? Or maybe you’re just on the hunt for TV munchies that the entire family can enjoy.

The NFL’s Culinary Center is the perfect play space for me to develop recipes. I can create, experiment, and serve food to very willing tasters – consumers, clients, and co-workers. While experimenting with three of the hottest Super Bowl foods: popcorn, Buffalo wings, and fried chicken; I created a new NFL favorite. The staff begged me to share the recipe with them, so I thought I’d share it online. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Remember, eating involves all the senses. So make the occasion extra fun by eating with your fingers and serving it in a movie popcorn box, as the recipe suggests!

The National Food Lab’s Buffalo Chicken Popcorn
Yields: 4 (3 cup servings)

½ cup margarine or butter, melted
½ cup hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot®)
3 Tablespoons cooking oil
1/3 cup unpopped popcorn
1 pound frozen breaded boneless chicken
2 stalks celery, cut into sticks
8 oz blue cheese, crumbled

Instructions
Whisk together the melted margarine and hot sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

Pour cooking oil and popcorn into a 3 quart or larger pan with lid. Stir to coat kernels. Cover pan and gently shake over high heat. Remove the pan from heat when popping stops. Carefully pour popped kernels into a large bowl.

Bake chicken following package instructions. After chicken is cooked, place chicken pieces into a separate bowl. Pour ¼ cup of Buffalo hot sauce over cooked chicken. Toss to coat.

Drizzle ¼ cup of Buffalo hot sauce over popped popcorn and toss to coat. Add coated chicken and toss to combine. Spoon popcorn and chicken into popcorn boxes, place celery sticks into box and sprinkle popcorn with crumbled blue cheese. Serve remaining hot wing sauce on the side for people who like it spicy.

-Chef Teresa Landis