To make wings for a crowd, plan on roughly 12 wings (about 2 pounds of whole wings) per person for an all-afternoon game party, dry-brine them with baking powder and salt, and roast them on racks in a hot oven so every batch comes out crisp. Hold the cooked wings hot and unsauced, then toss each batch in warm buffalo sauce right before it goes out.
This guide covers quantities, a scalable oven method, sauce ratios, holding and a simple nacho bar to round out the spread. Wing sauces, nacho cheese and jalapeños are all in our February seasonal collection, alongside the Valentine's chocolate.
Wings are the center of Super Bowl food. The National Chicken Council projected that Americans would eat 1.48 billion wings during Super Bowl LX weekend in February 2026, 10 million more than the year before, with average retail wing prices around $3.47 a pound.
Super Bowl LXI is scheduled for February 14, 2027, the first Super Bowl played on Valentine's Day. For caterers, cafés and home hosts, that means one Sunday with two menus: a game spread in the afternoon and something sweet for the evening. Lock in wing orders and party platters early, because this year the calendar is doing you no favors.
Chowhound's Super Bowl guidance is 12 wings, or about 2 pounds, per person, since the game tends to become an all-day event. A pound of whole bone-in wings runs about six wings. If your wings come split into flats and drumettes, you will get more pieces per pound: roughly 10 to 12 flats or 6 to 8 drumettes.
| Guests | Wings (12 per person) | Whole wings to buy | Lighter spread (6 per person) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 120 | About 20 lb | About 10 lb |
| 25 | 300 | About 50 lb | About 25 lb |
| 50 | 600 | About 100 lb | About 50 lb |
| 100 | 1,200 | About 200 lb | About 100 lb |
Use the full count when wings are the main event. When they share the table with a nacho bar, sliders, chili and dips, the lighter column is a sensible starting point. Count kids and light eaters separately if you know them.
Frying hundreds of wings ties up a fryer and a cook for hours. Roasting on racks lets you fill every oven you have. This baking powder technique, as laid out in Smitten Kitchen's baked buffalo wings, gives a crackly skin without oil.
For large events, rotate pans between oven racks halfway through, and stagger batches so fresh wings go out every 20 to 30 minutes instead of all at once.
Buffalo wings trace back to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964. The classic sauce is simply a cayenne pepper hot sauce emulsified with melted butter, sometimes with a splash of vinegar. Adjust the ratio to your crowd:
Warm the hot sauce and whisk in the butter over low heat until glossy. Keep it warm, not boiling, or it can break. For a crowd, offering one classic buffalo and one non-spicy option such as a sweet barbecue or garlic parmesan covers most guests. Browse wing sauces, or build your own dry rubs from our spices and BBQ ingredients.
Sauced wings go soft within minutes, so the trick is to hold the wings plain and sauce to order.
A nacho bar is the easiest partner for wings: almost no cooking, and guests build their own. Keep nacho cheese sauce hot in a slow cooker or warmer, and set out:
If you are catering or delivering in New England, check whether your order qualifies for free local delivery so the cheese, sauces and peppers arrive before game week.
Because the game lands on February 14, a small dessert after the final whistle is a nice touch. Chocolate-dipped strawberries, brownies with heart sprinkles or a pot of hot chocolate all work. The couverture and Valentine's decorations are in the same February collection as the wing sauces.
At 12 wings per person, 20 guests need about 240 wings, or roughly 40 pounds of whole wings. If wings are one of several main dishes, 20 to 25 pounds is a more realistic starting point.
Yes. Coat the wings with baking powder and salt and let them dry uncovered in the refrigerator the day before. Roast in batches on game day, hold them hot and unsauced, and toss in sauce right before serving.
Hold them unsauced in a single layer with some airflow rather than piled in a covered pan, where steam softens the skin. Sauce small batches as they go out instead of saucing everything at once.
The classic restaurant ratio is about 2 parts hot sauce to 1 part butter. Go to equal parts or more butter for a milder, richer sauce, or 3 to 1 for more heat.
Keep hot wings at 135°F or above and cold dips at 41°F or below. Food left in between for an extended period should be discarded, so bring out smaller platters more often instead of one large tray.
Get your game-day spread and your Valentine's desserts from one order in our February seasonal collection, or shop every season to plan the year ahead. Need help sizing an order? Chat or text us.
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