Buffalo Wings
One of 14 entries · Provenance 1000 — American
Buffalo, New York, United States. Created by Teressa Bellissimo at the Anchor Bar in 1964, reportedly to feed her son and his friends late one night using spare wings. The dish spread nationally through the 1970s and 1980s via sports bars. Frank's RedHot is the legally trademarked sauce of the original recipe.
Buffalo wings were invented at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964 — deep-fried chicken wings tossed in a sauce of Frank's RedHot and butter. The sauce is the entirety of the dish: equal parts hot sauce and cold butter, emulsified by tossing the hot wings vigorously. The wings should be crispy from double-frying; the sauce should coat and cling without sliding off. Served with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing — the blue cheese is structural, not optional.
- Korean fried chicken with gochujang sauce (the Asian cousin — double-fried wings with spicy-sweet glaze); Chinese salt-and-pepper wings (Cantonese fried wings — the simpler Chinese fried wing tradition); Peruvian pollo a la brasa (spiced whole roasted chicken — the South American crispy chicken parallel).
Blue cheese dressing and celery sticks — this is not optional. Bleu Moon or a cold American wheat beer. Buffalo wings are sports bar food: the beverage is always cold, carbonated, and easily consumed.
Wings: sectioned into drums and flats, dried thoroughly in the refrigerator overnight — surface moisture is the enemy of crispiness Baking powder coating: toss dry wings with 1 tablespoon baking powder per 500g and a pinch of salt. The baking powder raises pH, promotes browning, and creates bubbles in the skin during frying Double-fry: first at 160C for 12 minutes (cook through), rest 5 minutes, second at 190C for 5 minutes (crisp the skin) The Buffalo sauce: Frank's RedHot and cold unsalted butter in a 1:1 ratio. The butter must be cold — warm or melted butter produces a broken sauce. Toss the hot wings in the cold butter-hot sauce simultaneously The emulsification: toss the wings in the sauce aggressively for 30-40 seconds in a bowl — the heat from the wings melts the butter as the motion creates the emulsion Blue cheese dressing: Gorgonzola or Roquefort crumbled into buttermilk, sour cream, and mayonnaise with lemon and chives
Wet wings before frying: surface moisture creates steam, not crispiness — dry thoroughly before any coating Using warm butter for the sauce: the emulsion requires the contrast between hot wings and cold butter to form correctly Skipping the blue cheese: ranch dressing is regional — the original and correct accompaniment is blue cheese
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- 1.2kg chicken wings — separated into flats and drumettes, patted dry
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
10 ingredients · 6 steps
Common Questions
Why does Buffalo Wings taste the way it does?
Blue cheese dressing and celery sticks — this is not optional. Bleu Moon or a cold American wheat beer. Buffalo wings are sports bar food: the beverage is always cold, carbonated, and easily consumed.
What are common mistakes when making Buffalo Wings?
Wet wings before frying: surface moisture creates steam, not crispiness — dry thoroughly before any coating Using warm butter for the sauce: the emulsion requires the contrast between hot wings and cold butter to form correctly Skipping the blue cheese: ranch dressing is regional — the original and correct accompaniment is blue cheese
What dishes are similar to Buffalo Wings?
Korean fried chicken with gochujang sauce (the Asian cousin — double-fried wings with spicy-sweet glaze); Chinese salt-and-pepper wings (Cantonese fried wings — the simpler Chinese fried wing tradition); Peruvian pollo a la brasa (spiced whole roasted chicken — the South American crispy chicken parallel).