I Tried Pluckers’ Fire in the Hole Challenge

I Tried Pluckers’ fire in the Hole Challenge.

I have always wanted to do an eating contest.

I love Pluckers, and it has actually held a special place in my heart since I moved to Texas. I learned about Pluckers before I even moved here, and it was the first restaurant I visited by myself after moving to Texas.

So when I learned about the Fire in the Hole Challenge, I knew I eventually wanted to try it.

I’ve seen the Wall of Flame walking into Pluckers, and I’ve also seen the challenge on the menu and in the Pluckers app. Since I love wings and can handle some spicy food, I can do this.

Three months before my birthday, we were eating at Pluckers when I noticed someone doing the challenge.

I told my spouse, “I’m doing this for my birthday.”

At the time, the challenge was 15 winds.

Then they changed it to five wings in five minutes.

I was like…”Oh, that’s easy.” lol

When my birthday got closer, I knew I was actually going to do it.

A little bowling before the challenge.

My spouse, his cousin (my friend) and I decided to make a morning out of it.

Before heading to Pluckers, we went bowling at PinStack.

They were having a special for $10 an hour before noon, and I was sold.

I loved bowling as a kid and would go pretty often. I think the last time I went bowling was in 2019, so I was excited to get back on the lanes.

I’m also very competitive.

So, of course, I wanted to win.

We were originally supposed to bowl for an hour and then head to Pluckers, but we were having so much fun that we ended up bowling for two hours.

And yes… I won every game!

When I tell you I’m competitive, believe me.

I’m not saying I’m an amazing bowler, but let’s just say I’m okay…maybe even pretty good. Depending on my competition.

At the beginning of the games, I kept complainign about the lane.

No matter how straight I kept my arm and the ball went down the center of the lane, about 3/4th of the way down, the ball would start curving.

I was so annoyed.

Every time it happened, I’d say:

“This lane is messed up and it’s messing up my score!”

Well, even with my “messed up” lane… I still won.

So maybe the lane wasn’t the problem after all.

After two hours of bowling, it was finally time for the main event.

The Fire in the Hole Challenge

By the time we got to Pluckers, the restaurant was a little busy.

And that’s when I started getting nervous.

Not because of the wings.

Because of the attention.

I don’t like attention, and I knew that if I did the challenge, there was a possibility they would announce it to the restaurant.

I didn’t want everybody turning around looking at me while I fought for my life over five wings.

We were seated, and our waitress came over.

I told her I was a Pluckers member so I could get my free appetizer.

We ordered fried pickles and Holy Mac.

Holy Mac is a must for us whenever we got to Pluckers. Sometimes we get it tossed or add Spicy ranch.

Then it was time to order.

My spouse and his cousin ordered first.

When it was my turn, I said:

“I’ll be doing the Fire in the Hole.”

Our waitress looked shocked.

I told her my birthday was the next day and that I wanted to do something different to celebrate.

She said something like “Okay then, girl. However you want to celebrate your birthday!”

She asked if I wanted anything else besides the wings.

I also had the option to choose all drums, all flats or a mix.

I chose all flats.

And I had a strategy.

My thoughts process was that I could separate the bone, pull the meat off and eat it without biting directly into the wing.

I didn’t want the sauce getting all over my lips.

As you can tell… I came prepared.

I also ordered waffle fires tossed in spicy ranch.

Unfortunately, they forgot my fries.

But I’ll get to that later.

Our waitress told me she likes to dip her chicken or fries in the Fire in the Hole sauce, but she had never actually eaten the wings with the sauce.

I told her I didn’t want the challenge announced.

My spouse, of course, said: “No, make the announcement. It’s for her birthday!”

Absolutely not.

I told her I didn’t want people looking at me.

Thankfully, she said they didn’t have to announce it and that she would bring me the tablet with the clock.

I told her: “If I finish it, then you can announce it.”

Deal.

The challenge begins.

Our waitress brought out our food.

She gave me my wings last and brought over the tablet with the five-minute clock.

She explained the rules.

I had five minutes to eat all five wings. The majority of the meat had to be eaten off each wing. I couldn’t lave most of the meat behind.

I could use gloves, but I turned those down.

I could have water or tea during the challenge, but the five minute clock didn’t stop.

And whether I finished or not, I still had to pay for the meal.

I told her: “Wow, ya’ll are lame!”

I know other restaurants where if you complete the food challenge, you don’t have to pay. But whatever.

This was what I wanted to do.

She told me when I was ready, she would hit the start button.

And then it was time.

The First Bite

The first bite was okay.

I remember thinking: This is spicy, but I can do it.

I stuck with my original strategy and started pulling the meat off the bones.

I wasn’t going to use the ranch. I wasn’t going to sip my tea. I wanted all the hear.

Like a crazy person.

After the second wing, I thought: Okay…this is spicy.

My spouse and his cousin kept asking me how I was doing.

“Are you okay?”

“YES!”

The spice actually reminded me of wings from a restaurant in my hometown. Their hot wings are HOT, and I usually ordered medium or mild.

So the heat felt familiar.

They kept cheering me on. “You can do it!” “Honestly, you’re doing really good!”

I never actually regretted deciding to do the challenge.

But my strategy didn’t last very long.

After the second wing, I started getting the hiccups.

And that made everything harder.

My eyes started watering a little, and my upper lip was starting to sweat.

My spouse asked “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I have the hiccups and they’re interfering with me eating!”

Of all the tings that could have happened…hiccups!

Did I finish it?

YES.

I finished the Fire in the Hole Challenge.

With the hiccups. With a little upper-lip sweating. And with my eyes watering a little.

But I did it.

And I finished with 2 minutes and 51 seconds left on the clock.

So technically, I finished the challenge in about 2 minutes and 9 seconds.

I was being extra and wanted to clean the bones completely.

If I hadn’t cared about getting every last bit of meat off the bones, I probably could have finished in about two minutes.

My friend’s prediction was that I would have about 2:20 left.

She wasn’t too far off.

After I finished, I still had to pay for my meal, get my picture taken and received my shirt.

Luckily, I had a free birthday meal through Pluckers, so technically…. it was free in my head.

What I Thought About the Challenge

The wings were spicy.

For someone who doesn’t like spicy food, I would not recommend this challenge.

And if you think Pluckers’ regular hot flavor is already hot, you might want to think twice before attempting Fire in the Hole.

But if you like spicy food and want to challenge yourself?

Five wings in five minutes is definitely achievable.

Someone has asked me if I would do it again.

Honestly? Yes.

I’ve actually considered doing it again at different Pluckers locations so I can eventually have my picture on the Wall of Flame at different restaurants.

Crazy? I know.

But I think it would be pretty cool.

Would I Do It Again?

Absolutely.

The challenge was worth it to me.

Not just because I finished it, but because it was something I had wanted to do for a while.

It also became another way to celebrate turning 35.

I got to spend the morning bowling with my people, then we went to Pluckers and I challenged myself to do something I had never done before.

And now I have a story to go with it.

More importantly, it reminded me that I can do hard things.

Even if those hard things happen to involve five very spicy wings and a whole lot of hiccups.

The Hiccups Didn’t Stop After the Challenge

And speaking of hiccups.. There were actually a few more after I finished the challenge.

When it was time to take my picture, I told our waitress what size shirt I wanted.

A few minutes later, she came back and said: “Sorry, there wasn’t any film in the camera, so we have to take the photo again.”

Okay. It was a little annoying because there had already been a few things she forgot, including some of our food and refills.

Then, when it was time to pay, I had to remind her about my picture.

She told me I would be able to sign it and write whatever I wanted.

Since it was the day before my birthday, I wrote: “Happy Birthday, July 27th.”

We had to leave, but my cousin-in-law stayed behind to make sure the waitress actually put my picture on the wall.

And yes… she almost forgot.

I know she was bust, but how do you forget to put the picture on the Wall of Flame?! Come to think about it, I was probably was suppose to do it myself after I signed it.

Thankfully, my friend stayed. She was able to put my picture on the wall and sent me a photo.

So now I can officially say:

I’m on the Wall of Flame at Pluckers.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, I’m glad we decided to make a day of it.

Bowling gave us something fun to do before the challenge, and then we ended the day seeing whether I could actually handle the heat.

There were definitely some hiccups during our Pluckers visit… literally and figuratively.

But it was completely worth it.

I had been talking about doing the Fire in the Hole Challenge for months, and I’m glad I finally followed through.

It was something different for my 35th birthday,

It was fun.

It was memorable.

And now my picture is sitting on the Wall of Flame.

Not a bad way to bring in 35.

Five wings. Five minutes. One Wall of Flame.

And yes. I would do it again.