Nearly everyone likes a fun Saturday night at the bar, but the fact is, such luxuries are a bit too far out of most peoples’ pocketbooks, lately. Nearly every part of the world is experiencing some sort of financial hardship right now, and things, like rushing out on a Saturday night and paying $8 per drink, and eating expensive bar food just, aren’t doable.
However, you don’t have to give up your fun.
Here are three things you can do at home to bring the costs of a night out down quite a bit.
1: Wings
Wings are a staple food item of any bar, and when you’re starting to feel a little tipsy, they hit the spot perfectly.
The best part about them is that they’re pretty simple. Here’s a quick recipe for “trashed wings”.
- De-tip enough chicken wings to feed everyone, and split them into drums and flats. You can do this by finding the joint in the middle of the wing and gently pushing a knife through it. The tip slices off easily.
- In a large bowl, mix two tablespoons of baking powder with two tablespoons of salt, and toss the wings until they’re all covered.
- Lay the wings out in a single layer on paper towels, and let them sit for 15 minutes. This pulls out moisture so you can get crispy skin.
- Preheat a skillet of your favorite neutral cooking oil to 350 degrees while you wait on the wings.
- In batches, fry the wings for roughly 8 minutes. The wings should be floating and starting to turn golden brown.
- Finish them off by tossing them in your favorite sauce, and for less-messy wings, bake the sauced wings for about 7 minutes at 350 degrees or until the sauce has cooked into the skin.
2: Premade Cocktail Mixers
You can buy a case of beer or a bottle of liquor, but you can do that all the time. When you’re at a bar, you probably go for your favorite mixer that your local bartender makes “just right”. Well, you can bring that experience home, too.
Premade cocktail mixers are perfectly-blended cocktails in your favorite flavors, and they’re the perfect way to kick off a Saturday night. Margaritas, Bloody Maries, Martinis, and more are all available in premade versions.
Of course, you can make those from scratch, but if you’re trying to enjoy yourself, do you really want to be stuck pouring different liquors and ingredients all night? Probably not. Plus, premade cocktail mixers are cheaper than buying all the ingredients for several different cocktails.
3: Invite Your Friends and Have a Blast
Finally, it’s not a “night out at the bar”, if you don’t have some good friends around to enjoy it with. No one likes sitting at the bar alone, and no one wants to sit down with a big hot wing feast and cocktails alone, either.
A few days in advance, invite your friends over, maybe split the costs of some of the stuff or have them bring a dish of their own, and let loose without your bank account breaking your heart in the morning.