I heard that Americans ate 1.3 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday. Could that even be possible?

I know I ate a few that Sunday but my Montana, vegan sister told me a legend about making cauliflower wings for her past Super Bowl parties and her carnivorous friends were all over them.

Now that’s even more surprising than the number of chickens that had to give up their wings for our good time!

This intrigues me.

Can You Really Do That With Cauliflower?

My beloved hates cauliflower. Really hates it.

In fact, every time I buy one I have to hear him remind me that he hates it. For the last 20 years.

OK. I get it.

So you see where I’m going with this?

For one, I can’t believe good meat eating people would like this fake wing dish.

Second, I love tricking Sam and making him try things he proclaims to hate.

I see this as a challenge.

I could have an slight evil streak.

My Recipe Search Began

There are TONS of cauliflower wing recipes online. TONS.

Of course, I consulted my Montana sister and she gave me a great place to start. She actually pinned it here and you can pin it, too, if you are into Pinterest and want to try the original version. Just click on: Cauliflower Buffalo Wings

Also, if you are vegan, click on “Follow on Pinterest” below to following our board.

I know. I’m a fake. I’m only vegan when it tastes good! 🙂

Follow Hobsess.com (Rev Crouse)’s board Vegan (FOOD/DRINK) on Pinterest.

OK. Back to this recipe. It’s called, “Cauliflower Buffalo Wings” and was written by Hot for Food. I encourage you to watch the video on their page. Not only is it entertaining but they make it look so easy. I like easy.

Here is my attempt at duplicating this vegan phenomenon complete with a few modifications.

You will need:

• A head of cauliflower

The Batter:

• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 cup of water
• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp of garlic powder
• 2 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of smoked paprika (I live in Texas. We always smoke it up!)
• 1/4 of sea salt
• 1/4 of ground pepper

The Sauce

• 1 tbsp of vegan butter
• 1/2 cup of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (or cholula or your favorite hot sauce)
• 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce

The steps are fairly simple.

1. Cut up the cauliflower into bite size pieces
2. Create a batter to dip and coat the pieces
3. Cook
4. Dip in BBQ Hot Sauce
5. Cook more

Sounds easy right?

A Little Side Trip in the Kitchen

Do you know any cooks/chefs who are so neat when they are working in the kitchen that it is nauseating? I don’t get people like this.

My husband is like this.

I walk into the kitchen and it immediately gets messy. Flour in my hair, milk on the floor, cauliflower in places it should NOT be.

I just don’t get it.

ARGGGG! Yes, that is a little mishap with a brand new bottle of onion powder. Back to the store…

Anyway, let’s get back at it.

How to Make Hot Cauliflower Wings

Cut up the cauliflower into bite size pieces.

Put all the pieces in a bowl.

In another bowl, add all the batter ingredients.

Whisk the batter ingredients.

Now, take one of the cauliflower pieces and dip it in the batter. Give it a shake (not a Harlem Shake just a regular one to get the excess batter off).

Put all the coated cauliflower pieces on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Apparently, this is a very important step that cannot be missed. MUST USE PARCHMENT PAPER.

I did not shake the pieces enough. Look closely at the picture below and you will see extra batter.

This was my first attempt and I actually thought that more would be better. It wasn’t. Dip and Shake, I tell you.

Cook for 25 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure to flip them over halfway through.

During this 25 minute cook time. Make the sauce. Heat the vegan butter on low. Add in the hot sauce/BBQ sauce. Once this is all mixed together, set it aside.

Use whatever ratio of hot sauce to BBQ sauce that you prefer. I went with a little more BBQ than hot sauce with a squirt of BBQ sauce on top for luck!

If you decide to use 100% hot sauce, make sure your will is up to date. 😉

After the cauliflower has cooked for 25 minutes, take them out and coat with the hot sauce mixture.

Put them back in the over and cook for an additional 25 minutes, flipping over halfway though.

Almost makes you want to taste them doesn’t it?

I almost forgot to take this last picture of our Cauliflower Wings. We (and I do mean WE) started eating these and there are probably about 7-8 missing when I remembered I needed this final shot.

You notice that I don’t have a recipe here for dip. If you aren’t a vegan, have some ranch dressing. If you are a vegan, you can make the dip recipe from the original Hot for Food recipe. I tried it and it is ok. Just ok. You may have better luck making it. Or you could always just dip in whatever hot sauce or BBQ sauce you used. So many choices!

Here’s the Hot BBQ Cauliflower Recipe if you want to try it.

That’s a Wrap

In conclusion, I have to say, these wings were really good.

So good that Sam, who hates cauliflower, really enjoyed them.

I can’t believe it.

The legend may be true…