You may not be Adam Richman from Man v. Food, but you’ve got chops (no pun intended) and you’ve never been known to turn down a challenge. You can handle spicy. You’ve got a bottle of Sriracha on your counter and maybe even a Frank’s Hot in your back pocket. Well my friend, it is time to take it to the next level. Let me introduce to you the BuffaLouie’s Fire and Ice Challenge.
Photo by Natsuko Mazany
Opponent: 10 Loucifer wings and 1 pint of ice cream
Restrictions: no wetnaps and no drink
Time Limit: none
Prize: Fire & Ice t-shirt, bragging rights
Let me tell you right now: Loucifer does not mess around. Coated with mouth-cindering spice in both sticky and powder form, the wings fume with the kind of pungency that curls the hair in your nose. I confess that I underestimated the spice level. I eat hot sauce all the time. I even managed to eat an entire Trinidad scorpion pepper once (of course, as part of a challenge). This was nothing right?
Not so much. I will warn you that your digestive system might not be too happy with you afterwards. I made the rookie mistake of getting the sauce and powder on my lips with the first bite, and they were burning for the rest of the night. No amount of dry napkins can rid your fingers and mouth of the deceptively tenacious sauce, which left my fingertips in pain until the next day.
Halfway through the wings, I thought I wouldn’t make it. I was sweating, my mouth was incinerated and my stomach was churning. However, after repeating a mantra that went something like, “I’m getting a $@!&ing t-shirt,” I finally stumbled to the counter, huffing and sniffling, to claim my prize. Well played, BuffaLouie’s.
Photo by Natsuko Mazany
Want to conquer the Fire & Ice challenge yourself? Here are some need-to-know survival tips:
Do not let the sauce touch your lips. So you might look like a horse, but let’s just say that if you decide to make out with anyone afterwards, he/she will know what you’ve done. An alternative strategy is to tear all the meat off the wings with your hands before consuming.
Do not breathe through your nose. This is not one of those times where you want to taste your food.
Eat as quickly as possible. Heck, don’t even bother chewing completely because the less time the spice spends in your mouth, the better.
Do not choose a flavored ice cream. After Loucifer, you won’t want anything but plain vanilla. The first bite will be the most glorious ice cream you will ever eat. I’m pretty sure I just stuck my lips into the whole pint. The temperature helps to numb the effect of the wings. Again, speed is key here as a pint of ice cream is quite filling.
Take advantage of dry napkins. As you can see above, the table was covered in napkins by the time the challenge was finished. If there’s sauce on your napkin and you use it again… yep, you just smeared more flesh-scorching fire on your mouth.
Photo by Emily Zhang
Do it with friends. My roommate and a friend did the challenge with me, so not only did we commiserate with each other during and after, but we also egged each other on.
Now that you have these tips in your arsenal, go forth and conquer.
Craving more food challenges?