I grew up in upstate NY and even spent a few years living in Buffalo.  This is a town that takes wings seriously. They are a staple on almost every menu in town.  People always reference the Anchor Bar who are known for the first wing.  True Buffalo people will tell you that Duff’s does it right!  I agree about Duff’s but in Buffalo you usually can’t get a bad wing.  Here are my tips for making amazing chicken wings.

 

Fry Them!!!!

You need clean frying oil! I’ve seen to many restaurants/people go to long on changing their oil.  It’s gross and will affect your wings.  So make sure the oil is clean.  I use a standard Canola oil for frying.  set your fryer to 350.  Make sure your fryer is to temp.

The key is to fry them crispy.  Great wings take time and if you pull them to early they are just not the same.  You need to cook chicken to 165 but when I fry wings they usually temp at about 185 to get the crispy wing that you need.  I usually fry them for about 15-20 minutes.

I have two wing sauces that I love.  The first is your original classic wing sauce. The second it the one that I truly believe is pure gold.  In NY the main sauce that is used is classic Red Hot.  In the south Texas Pete is also a good second option. When you buy them make sure it is just the standard sauce.  Don’t buy their chicken wings sauces or any other type.  It’s worth it to doctor it up on your own.

Classic Buffalo:  Melt a little butter in a sauce pan this is the part that mellows the hot sauce.   If you want them mild add more butter and vice verse.  I add a small squeeze of yellow mustard, a touch of worcheshire sauce, salt and pepper.  Some recipes call for vinegar but with the yellow mustard you get that plus a little more of a profile to the wing sauce. You can add a little crushed red pepper flake if you want to increase the heat.

MY Go to Sauce:  saute 2 cloves of garlic in 1/3 cup butter.  add 1/2 cup of hot sauce and a squeeze of yellow mustard and worcheshire sauce.  Then I add 3 tablespoons of honey and a touch of salt, that’s it.  its simple but when its done right people love them.

If you wanted to make your own hot sauce and really go for a true from scratch recipe you won’t be eating the True buffalo wing but they can also be amazing….Just different.

Hot Sauce from scratch  Fresh or Dried Peppers?  They both work great so it’s up to you.

Fresh peppers- cut them into equal sizes and remove the seeds.  in a saute pan add oil and get it hot.  Add some chopped onion, garlic, and the peppers and saute till golden add a cup of diced tomatoes and continue to cook it down.  Season with salt. I remove it from heat and transfer it to a Vita Mix which is prefered or a food processor.  puree the mixture and add white vinegar slowly until its smooth.  put it through a strainer.  now you have a pepper sauce you can use as the base of a hot wing sauce.

Dried Peppers- cut in half and remove the seeds.  Toast the peppers in a pan and soak them in some water until they reconstitute.  Add them to a vita mix with tomato paste, white vinegar, salt and pepper.

Asian glazed wings-  1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, a little chopped garlic, fresh ginger or powder, 2 tsp rice wine vinegar or mirin.  heat in a sauce pan until the brown sugar dissolves.