Upgrade your usual store-bought Super Bowl eats and try these recipes cooked up by local chefs and bartenders from Maverick, Hog & Rocks, Public House, The Pilsner Inn and The Brixton.

Chicken Wings a la Casa,courtesy of Scott Youkilis of Maverick & Hog & Rocks

3 lbs chicken wings

2 quart chicken or pork fat (vegetable oil is fine too) 

Brine:

1/2 gallon water

1 cup salt

2 cups Tres Agaves nectar

1 whole head of garlic

2 dried ancho chile

1 yellow onion, julienned

2 quarts ice 

Sauce:

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp tomato paste

4 oz Tres Agaves blanco tequila

2 oz Tres Agaves nectar

1 bottle of Youk’s Hot Sauce

1 oz butter 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. 

Bring the brine ingredients to a boil and then pour over ice. Let cool completely to 40 degrees and then pour over wings. Hold in brine for 2 hours. Discard brine, pat chicken wings dry and place in deep roasting pan with warm fat, cover with foil. Cook for 1 hour in oven and remove. Let stand in fat until you can pull out of fat with fingers. Pull all of them out draining off excess and save the fat for next round of wings. 

In sauce pan, add 2 tbsp of fat from chicken wings.  Add garlic and saute lightly. Add chili powder, tomato paste, tequila, nectar and hot sauce.  Bring to boil and allow tequila to ignite. Let tequila burn off, turn down to a simmer and reduce slightly. Remove from heat and mound in butter.  

Turn oven up to 450 degrees. Place empty sheet tray in the oven for 10 minutes or until really hot. Lay chicken wings on to sheet tray carefully in even layer. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown and meat pulls easily away from the bones. Toss with sauce and serve immediately.   

Michelada, courtesy of Greg Stone at Public House

Note from Greg: The Michelada is a great morning drink, hair of the dog. It's a way of accenting a beer with tomato, salt, lime, and some heat. The main thing to remember is that it is just that, accenting the beer. It should be refreshing.

1.5 ounces of tomato juice
1 tsp of ground chile de arbol
1/2 oz. of lime
dash of Valencia hot sauce
dash of Tabasco - the dashes can be tweaked for personal heat preference.

Shake all ingredients with ice, put mixture including ice into pint glass rimmed with salt and chile de arbol and add a can of Tecate.

Zingy-Spicy Fresno Chile & Cheddar Cheese Dip, courtesy of Michelle Mah of The Brixton

Yields 2 1/2 quarts

2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
4 Fresno chiles, sliced
1 medium red onion, diced
1 medium bell pepper, diced
24 fluid ounces of pale ale
6 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with equal parts water
4 cups of cream
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 pounds grated sharp Tillamook cheddar

In a pan, saute canola oil with chile powder (over medium heat). Add Fresno chiles, onion, and bell pepper; cook until lightly charred and soft. Add beer (pale ale) and reduce mixture by half over heat. Add in cornstarch, then cream and bring to a boil. Add in the grated cheese and brown sugar. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Remove the mixture from pan, and transfer into a blender; blend to desired consistency. Serve with pretzels and enjoy!

Maple Bacon Popcorn, courtesy of Terry Villegas of Pilsner Inn

8 slices of bacon (something not too fatty)
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup salted butter
1 cup unpopped corn (or 3 bags of plain microwave popcorn)
Sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Cook the bacon on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to absorb a good chunk of the grease and keep the bacon dry. When the bacon is thoroughly dry, finely chop by hand or food processor until you've got it to the point where it's easy to sprinkle.

Heat the butter, syrup and sugar together in a sauce pan. Let it simmer, but not boil until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Place cooked popcorn into a couple of mixing bowls. Put a little nonstick spray on the inside of the bowl to prevent it sticking when you pour in the maple butter mixture. Slowly pour the maple butter mixture over the popcorn while mixing it, making sure that all of the popcorn has got a light maple glaze. Then start mixing in the bacon.

Put the popcorn mixture on 2 parchment paper lined cookie sheets and bake for about an hour or so at 200 degrees. This helps to caramelize the sugar and give the popcorn a little bit more crunch. Make sure to stir the mixture every once in awhile. Start incorporating the salt in at this point, little by little.