At a tailgate, grill your Buffalo wings instead of frying them: crisp the wings over two-zone heat, then toss them in melted butter and hot sauce and serve them with blue cheese and celery. It's the obvious call in the city they're named for, and Highmark Stadium's rules leave room for it, as long as charcoal sits at least 6 inches off the ground. No fryer to haul, no oil to dump.
The Highmark lot rules are in our Bills tailgating guide.
Pack for the lot
- Seasoned raw wings, bagged, in their own cooler on ice
- Jar of wing sauce
- 2 sets of tongs: 1 for raw, 1 for cooked
- Foil pan for tossing
- Small saucepan
- Instant-read thermometer
- Blue cheese dressing and celery, on ice
- Charcoal (6 in. off the ground at Highmark) or propane
- Paper towels and plenty of napkins
Can you make Buffalo wings without a fryer?
Yes. Pat the wings very dry, toss them with baking powder and salt, cook them on the cool side of the grill, then crisp them over the fire. Grilled wings also work at lots that ban fryers outright, like AT&T Stadium and MetLife.
How do you keep wings crispy at a tailgate?
Cook them to order and sauce them right before serving. Wings go soft in a covered pan, so they're the one thing not to make ahead. For the food that does hold, here's how to keep food hot at a tailgate.
What temperature should chicken wings be?
165°F in the thickest piece (USDA safe temperature chart). Keep raw chicken in its own cooler, with its own tongs.
More game-day food: what to cook at a tailgate.