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by Nancy Gerlach, Fiery-Foods.com Food Editor Emeritus
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Recipes: Buffalo Chicken Wings Grilled Chicken Wings Breaded Buffalo Wings Louisiana-Type Hot Sauce Blue Cheese Dressing
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Have you ever wondered how “Buffalo Wings” got their name? Certainly not from flying bovines. The recipe for these spicy chicken wings originated in the city of Buffalo, New York and hence the name. Since their creation in 1964, they have become so popular that now they seem to be on the menu of every sports bar and tailgate and Super Bowl party across the country.
Frank Bellisimo’s Anchor Bar in Buffalo is credited as their birthplace, and his wife and cook Teressa as the creator. But there are differing versions of who had the inspiration. One rendition is that their son Dominic came home late one night with a bunch of his hungry friends and asked his mom to prepare a quick snack for them. She deep-fried some of the chicken wings she was using to prepare stock for the restaurant and, when done, doused them with hot sauce. She put them on a platter, grabbed some celery sticks from the antipasto, and served them with a bowl of house dressing, which just happened to be blue cheese. This rather odd impromptu snack was an instant hit.
After Dominic, or Rooster to his friends, took over the family business, he told a slightly different story to the New Yorker magazine. His version had him tending bar on a Friday night back when Catholics were avoiding meat on Fridays. It was a good crowd and, being a good host, he wanted to show his appreciation. He asked his mother to prepare a snack that they could enjoy after midnight when it was technically Saturday and consuming meat was okay. The inspiration for the dish varied, but the results were the same.
Not wanting to be left out of culinary history, Frank Bellisimo’s version has wings being delivered to the restaurant instead of the usual necks and backs he used to make chicken stock. Wanting to take advantage of his good luck, he asked his wife Teressa to come up with something he could serve at the bar instead of tossing them into the stockpot. So she cut off the useless tip and chopped the remainder in half so they would be easier to eat and proceeded to fry, coat with the hot sauce, and serve. “Mother Teressa,” as loyal wing lovers refer to her, gets the credit for the recipe, but everyone else wants in on the glory. Who knows, maybe she came up with the idea all on her own.
Whichever version you choose to believe, there are a few constants in the stories. First, Teressa did come up with the recipe including the celery sticks and blue cheese dressing, it first appeared in the early to mid 60s, and it happened at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo.
Throughout the 70s, their popularity was restricted to the East Coast, but the word was spreading. When the Hooters restaurant chain was founded in the early 80s. they built their menu around Buffalo chicken wings and introduced them to the country. In 1994, Domino’s pizza went nationwide with their wings and were closely followed by Pizza Hut. And by 1995, it was estimated that hot wings were a $400 million part of restaurant revenues. Buffalo wings are now not only served nationwide, but worldwide too in such exotic places as in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Yotsuya, Japan, and Singapore, to name a few.
Along with their popularity, legions of wings aficionados have sprung up. For the last couple of years, they have been flocking to Buffalo, New York over the Labor Day weekend to participate in the National Buffalo Wing Festival. Along with wing sauce and wing eating contests, car and truck shows, is the annual “running of the chickens.” The 0.5K Chicken Wing Run, which the sponsors bill as “fun for the motivationally challenged,” spans exactly 500 “cruel meters or approximately 22 driveways or 51 Winnebagos end to end.” And since it’s so difficult to predict the finish times, they give prizes for both the fastest and slowest runners. This is obviously a group that take their wings and fun seriously! For more information on this festival, see http://www.buffalowing.com/index2.html
Some crazed Buffalo Wing fans have launched the Buffalo Wing World Domination website ( http://bwwd.org/Main.asp ), where their stated goals are:
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The peaceful pursuit of simple wholesome meals.
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Worship and domination of Avian Bison.
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Worldwide recognition of the wisdom of Avian Bison.
If this is just a little over the top for you, try visiting the original Anchor Bar at www.buffalowings.com
Over the years, many have tried to duplicate the Anchor Bar’s Buffalo Wings, but their exact recipe remains a closely guarded secret. On their website they have a recipe, but it requires the use of the Anchor Bar brand of wing sauce. Like with chili, I think that any good hot wing is good whether it’s “authentic” or not. Even though I can’t provide you with the Anchor Bar recipe, I’ve included a few easy recipes that should get you started on developing your own signature “Buffalo” wings.
This is the recipe that most people will tell you is the way they make wings in Buffalo. It’s a recipe that’s easy to alter to suit your tastes.
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4 pounds chicken wings
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Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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Vegetable oil for frying
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1/4 cup butter or margarine
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2 to 5 tablespoons of commercial Louisiana-type hot sauce, or recipe below
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1 teaspoon white vinegar
Accompaniments:
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Blue cheese dressing either commercial or recipe below
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Celery sticks
Wash the chicken wings and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the tips off each wing and discard. Using a sharp knife, separate the two remaining pieces at the joint. Sprinkle the wing pieces with salt and pepper.
Pour enough oil in a deep-fat fryer or large heavy pot to cover the wings and heat to 375 degrees. When the oil is hot, add half the wings and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the wings are golden brown and crisp, remove them and drain well on paper towels. Add the remaining wings and repeat the process. Put the wings in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the hot sauce and vinegar and stir to combine.
Pour the hot sauce over the wings and toss to coat. Arrange the wings on a platter and serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.
Yield: 48 individual wings
Heat Scale: Medium to Hot
These wings are a tasty alternative to deep-frying the chicken. They’re great as an appetizer for a summer barbecue. Put them on the grill before guests arrive so that their great aroma greet them as they walk through the door.
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Here’s Gator Hammock’s Buddy Taylor, Photo by Harald Zoschke
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4 pounds chicken wings
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3 teaspoons ground cayenne chile
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2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
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2 teaspoons onion powder
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1 teaspoon dried thyme
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1 teaspoon garlic powder
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1/4 teaspoon celery salt
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Louisiana-type hot sauce or recipe below
Wash the chicken wings and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the tips off each wing and discard. Using a sharp knife, separate the two remaining pieces at the joint.
Combine the cayenne, black pepper, onion, thyme, and celery salt in a large bowl. Add the wings to the bowl and turn them to evenly coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Oil the grill and preheat the grill on high. Turn off all but one burner and put the wings on the cooler part of the grill. Cover and cook until the chicken is done, about 45 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.
To serve, eat them hot off the grill with the hot sauce served on the side.
Yield: 48 individual wings
Heat Scale: Medium
Although these wings have a breading, it’s not thick and heavy but light as well as being spicy.
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4 pounds chicken wings
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3/4 cup all-purpose flour
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1 teaspoon paprika
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½ teaspoon ground cayenne chile
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½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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½ teaspoon garlic powder
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1/3 cup Louisiana-type hot sauce or see recipe below
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1/4 cup butter or margarine
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Salt
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Vegetable oil for frying
Accompaniments:
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Blue Cheese dressing, either commercial or see recipe below
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Celery sticks
Wash the chicken wings and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the tips off each wing and discard. Using a sharp knife, separate the two remaining pieces at the joint.
Mix the flour, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss to evenly coat. Put the wings on a sheet pan and refrigerate for a hour to hour and a half.
Pour enough oil in a deep-fat fryer or large heavy pot to cover the wings and heat to 375 degrees. When the oil is hot, add half the wings and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the wings are golden brown and crisp, remove them and drain well on paper towels. Add the remaining wings and repeat the process. Put the wings in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the hot sauce and stir to combine.
Pour the hot sauce over the wings and toss to coat. Arrange the wings on a platter and serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.
Yield: 48 individual wings
Heat Scale: Medium to Hot
This recipe is from The Hot Sauce Bible, by Dave DeWitt and Chuck Evans. They say that the key to success with this sauce is to use fresh rather than dried chiles and that any small fresh hot chile can be used.
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15 to 20 large fresh Tabasco chiles, stems and seeds removed, cut in half lengthwise, or substitute fresh piquins or cayennes
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2 cloves garlic, cut in half
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½ cup distilled white vinegar
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Salt to taste
Place the chiles, cut side down, on a broiler rack. Broil for about 5 minutes or until the skin blisters and blackens. Transfer the peppers to a paper bag and let stand for about 10 minutes. Peel the chiles when cool.
Place the chiles and garlic in a blender or food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the vinegar until the mixture is well blended. Add salt to taste. Keep covered and refrigerated until you use it.
Yield: ½ cup
Heat Scale: Hot
This is a easy to prepare, and very tasty, alternative to bottled dressings. Increase or decrease the amount of blue cheese to suit your taste.
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1 cup mayonnaise
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½ cup sour cream
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2 tablespoons minced onion
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2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
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4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Use within 10 days.
Yield: 1 ½ cups
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