Chicken Wing Extravaganza

Never before have I seen so many people at an event that focuses on one of my favorite things in the world: hot wings. The 2010 Southern Hot Wing Festival was a home run knocked out of the park. I type this as I am hungover from chicken wings and believe I got my fix for a long time coming. Then again, who am I kidding? On a gorgeous afternoon in downtown Memphis, the festival this year had around 50 teams who set up various sized tents and a huge variety of cooking methods. No two tents were the same but all of them had the hot wing in common. I visited each tent and talked to many people about their secret to their hot wing success. Some tents had nothing but a Weber grill. Some had nothing but a turkey fryer. The more experienced teams, who represented local hot wing establishments, had the entire setup to include the kitchen sink. Each of them was giving out tons of free samples of their specialties to anyone who wanted to try them out. I, unfortunately, had to pass on all of them because I was staying focused on my goal for the afternoon, which was to become the King of the Wing eating contest.

Hosted and provided by Central BBQ, 20 participants competed to see who could down the most hot wings under three minutes in the first round. All winners then advanced to the championship round which was extended to 5 minutes with an hour in between rounds. The lottery set me up to compete in the third heat for the first round. After taking in the first two heats, I knew I had my work cut out for me. Some of these guys were putting these wings down fast. Butterflies began to set in but I stayed focused. When the time came for my heat, I was slow to begin but made up for it towards the end. I have a method that I use to put a wing down in seconds that aided me in winning my heat, advancing to the championship round with the other three winners. After an hour or so, they called us back up there but not before the celebrity round. Chris Jarman from 98.1 The Max along with other local celebrities took the stage and attempted to beat Craig from Central BBQ. Not a chance. Craig not only cooks these amazing wings, he also knows how to put them down fast. After they cleaned up the mess, they called our names. Jarman introduced us one by one and who we represented. The other three contestants were members of cooking teams while I was there representing BurnMyMouth.com. The new plate of wings was brought to the table and my stomach began to turn. More butterflies took flight once the crowd erupted but I was able to contain myself. Shortly before time was called, the guy next to me called for another plate. I knew I was done at this point because there was no way another hot wing was going down. My efforts landed me in the top three out of 20 and accomplished my goal, which was to have fun. Special thanks to the awesome Memphis Roller Derby girls for cheering us on and wiping my face.

Two stages of music, 50+ teams, thousands of hot wings, many kegs of beer and tons of festival patrons all made this year's Southern Hot Wing Festival a huge success. Next year, BurnMyMouth.com will be represented by a cooking team, so watch out Memphis. Not only do we know how to consume wings, we can cook them too!