Super Bowl Sunday isn’t complete without snacks.
From chicken wings to BBQ brisket, Los Angeles Times food columnist Jenn Harris is making it easy on everyone ahead of the big game. She’s done all the research and joined Lisa McRee on "LA Times Today" to share.
One of Harris’ recommendations is CJ’s. The restaurant is located on Pico Boulevard in Mid-City LA. Harris talked about how the owners used their East Coast roots to bring a special sauce to their wings.
“CJ’s is run by Cornelius and John, cousins from Rochester, New York," said Harri. "Growing up in Rochester, they used to always eat a sauce called Boss Sauce. And when they moved to Southern California, they were looking for this sauce because it was like ketchup out there, and they couldn’t find the sauce. So Cornelius’ mom started sending him care packages of the sauce, and he started making chicken wings out of his apartment in LA and dousing them in the sauce. They have the exclusive rights to sell [the sauce] here in LA. They have a food truck, and they’re about to open another location.”
CJ’s chicken is roasted in a pressure fryer, giving it an extra crispy feel.
“What the pressure frying does is it kind of like creates this like armor around the chicken and seals in the moisture so that it’s super juicy," said Harris. "It cooks faster than if you were to fry it in something else and the outside stays super crispy. So when they douse it in this sauce, it stays crispy even like an hour after you ordered it, which is really great."
Harris also recommends a Texas-inspired brisket from ZEF BBQ in Simi Valley for a Super Bowl snack. Chef Logan Sandoval makes his briskets stand out with his own unique sauces.
"Logan is making two fantastic barbecue sauces," said Harris. "He’s doing one that’s kind of like your traditional tomato-based red barbecue sauce that you might be used to. It’s a little sweet and sticky, but there’s also some like lemongrass in there and ginger... And then they have one called 24k, which is their 24 karat gold sauce. It is aptly named because it is this really rich, yellow golden color. It’s kind of like a Carolina-style mustard sauce, and it’s really tangy and vinegary."
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