Wingin’ It: Bills at Texans, Wild Card playoffs!

Being a fan can be the kind of hard work that builds an appetite. That’s why Buffalo Rumblings brings you a recipe every week to pair with the Buffalo Bills’ upcoming opponent, featuring a custom wing sauce to make it more “Buffalo.” Our PLAYOFF opponent this week: the Houston Texans.

If you follow Buffalo Rumblings you know that after the season we dip into free agents, one per day, and examine them from multiple facets. One of our favorite players noticed and jokingly asked about his prize, to which I offered taco night. It lived on as a running joke for a bit, but the actual taco night never took place.

While the Buffalo Bills could extend Wingin’ It this season with a victory over Houston, there’s no guarantee. So we are merging our opponent-based recipe of Tex-Mex(ish) with a celebration of Lorenzo Alexander with a Rumblings taco night. And naturally, the offer still stands Zo. Go Bills!

Buffalo Taco Salad

Serves: 6-8
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

Buffalo Taco Sauce
¹⁄₂ cup hot sauce
¹⁄₂ cup ginger ale
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
¹⁄₂ tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1 ¹⁄₂ tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp unsalted butter

Buffalo Taco Steak
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb beef top round cutlets, thinly sliced
1 cup water
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Make Buffalo Taco Sauce*. Add all ingredients to medium saucepan on MED/HIGH and bring to a boil; stir and reduce heat to MED/LOW.
2. Reduce sauce until it’s about half the starting volume, stirring frequently, about 10-15 min.
3. Remove from heat, add butter and stir in.
4. Make Buffalo Taco Steak**. Add oil to large skillet and turn heat to MED/HIGH.
5. Toss in beef until lightly browned.
6. Add water*** and all spices to pan and stir in.
7. Increase heat to HIGH, stirring frequently.
8. Continue until meat starts to stick to pan, remove from heat.

Put it all together

I went with a taco salad and tortilla chips but you can use this in whatever way you prefer.

Wingin’ It Tips

*Reducing the sauce can take a while and can be done while preparing meat

**Both the meat and sauce are geared to provide a very intense flavor. Don’t hold back on the lettuce and other ingredients to balance it out. For more subtle flavor, cut the spices in half.

***Using the water helps tenderize the cheaper cut of beef we’re using and evenly distributes flavor. If you’re worried about the intensity of flavor above take the advice about cutting the spices in half and if it’s not flavorful enough, add another ¹⁄₄ cup of water and whatever spice/flavor you think the meat needs.