Wingin’ It: Skarecuterie featuring “Hay Bales” for Bills vs. Patriots

Buffalo Rumblings regulars know the drill. But for the new Buffalo Bills fans circling the wagons with us, we’re about more than just football here. Need something exciting for this week’s game day chow line? Wingin’ It brings you a themed recipe for every regular-season and postseason Bills game. Like this one...

This might be my first Wingin’ It GIF as the All-22 habits bleed over into my everyday life. If you’re curious about the cheese-grabbing accessory, here’s a short video I made as I got back into woodcarving and miniatures this past summer. “Dark Souls” fans should recognize it. About the food...

Our Editor in Chief Matt Byham threw out the idea of a charcuterie board with a Wingin’ It approach. A “Skarecuterie board” if you will. I don’t know if you will, but you should. It also fit well into Patriots week as these aren’t really recipes... so I’m basically cheating. Only a little though. I modified the classic Chex™ Mix recipe to bring you something I call “Hay Bales” that fit the theme and are delicious.

Hay Bales

Serves: A lot
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 90 min

Ingredients

1 box (16 oz or so) mini shredded wheat (you’ll regret it if you grab frosted)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp seasoned salt
¹⁄₄ tsp mustard powder
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce

You’ll need: Large mixing bowl, small saucepan, baking sheet

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Add cereal to mixing bowl, being careful not to add in all the broken-up bits from the bottom of the bag.
2. Melt butter in saucepan on LOW. Stir in all ingredients except for cereal; remove from heat.
3. Drizzle sauce over cereal; gently shake or stir to coat as evenly as possible.
4. Transfer cereal to baking sheet in a single layer; bake in preheated oven on center rack.
5. Stir about every 15-20 min, for about 75 min total.
6. Remove from oven, let cool, and enjoy!

Wingin’ It Tips and Prep Gallery

Grid View

Look, this damn thing took a long time to put together so you’ll just have to enjoy a ton of pictures. Besides, you might see some ideas you like! For the edible Skarekrows, the first two pictures show how to make the frame. I used a chopstick to bore a hole through the middle for the pretzel stick arms (one pretzel) and another up top like a construction dowel. Do the same for a tomato and, “bam,” you got a head.

The pretzels do soften in contact with the celery so you can use toothpicks (broken in half) to secure the head and to stand them up but make sure your guests know there’s inedible components in them.

• Next up we have a couple pics of the whole deal so you can see it in all its glory. I mean “gory.” It’s spooky season after all.
• Did you know you can use a bell pepper as a condiment container? That’s wing sauce in there, which is superior to blue cheese or ranch for veggie dipping.
• The Grim Reaper oversized Skarekrow is sporting that “Dark Souls Great Scythe” replica featured in the GIF above. I also made “Geralt’s” swords, “Mjolnir,” and “The Blade of Mercy” from “Bloodborne,” which you can check out on my YouTube channel. That’s not edible and I again urge you to warn guests if you’re adding miniature armaments to your Skarecuterie boards
• To finish the Skarekrows, I draped cold cuts to look like ripped sacks/clothing and stuck them on a long piece of celery to keep them standing.
• Orange bell peppers make pretty great Jack O’Lanterns (you can even fill them with snacks if you like).
• The pickup truck is on loan from my wife’s collection.
• Finally, we have another shot of the whole board, but this time with next week’s recipe added. I’m sure you can spot it, but can you guess what it is?