The 8 Manliest Food Items

4) Nachos

Cheese by itself is absolutely wonderful, but not particularly manly. The same could be said for tortilla chips. However, when you add the two together and top them off with some extra goodies it all of a sudden transforms into a guy-stravaganza of awesomeness.

3) BBQ Ribs

It’s meat served on a slab and smothered in barbecue sauce. What’s not to like? You can unapologetically dig in with your hands and have a free pass to create a mess that looks like something out of a CSI episode. It doesn’t get much manlier than tearing apart a rack of baby back ribs with your bare hands and trusting you can find a roll of paper towels to clean up later. However, no self respecting guy should ever wear a bib. Never. Ever.

2) Anything You Killed Yourself

This is one of the few occasions in which the method trumps the actual food. Sure, pheasant, quail, and most types of fish are relatively dainty foods, but if you’re eating them because you killed them yourself it’s a completely different story. Deer, elk, and moose are already pretty bad-ass animals to be eating, but if you single-handedly ended its life and orphaned its children, you’re a true man’s man. Also, major bonus points if you kill something and make it into jerky.

1) Hot Wings

There might not be any more misguidedly manly way to prove your mettle than to eat something so spicy it makes you miserable. In the world of hot wings, there are the ones that have a pleasant kick and then there are the ones that make you cry the moment the first drop of sauce even hits your lips. Downing a glass of milk to cut the heat while dabbing giant beads of sweat off your brow just to prove you can finish a serving of hot wings is a very male activity, and if you check any wall of fame at a restaurant featuring a wing challenge, you’ll notice there aren’t many women willing to suffer through this type of pain for a chance at immortality.