Buffalo-Style Hot Wings

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...First a little history. For years, chicken wings, along with backs and necks and gizzards, were considered food for the poor or relegated to the stockpot and used to flavor soup. That changed in October of 1964 when Teresa Bellissimo, owner of the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, created a late night snack for her son and his friends. She fried up a bunch of wings and dipped them in a buttery hot sauce before serving them with celery and a blue cheese dressing. Her original recipe can be found here. The wings became an instant hit and thus was history writ. Today the Anchor Bar sells 70,000 thousand pounds of wings a month. Who knew?

There's no way to pretend that these are good for you, so I'll make no attempt to do that. I rarely make Buffalo-style wings because I know how unhealthy they are, but when I do fix them I want the genuine article. I'd rather have them once a year in all their awfulness than have a doctored version of them more frequently. Good or bad, Bob and I find it easier to practice avoidance than to take shortcuts with certain recipes. Dishes that are new to the table comply with all known healthy cooking practices, but I refuse to touch old favorites. Now that you've read my warning label, it's time to move onto the recipe. Please take out your deep fryers. Here's my recipe for Buffalo-style chicken wings.


Buffalo-Style Hot Wings...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite and bars across America

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
20 chicken wing segments
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup hot sauce

Directions:
1) Combine flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne and black pepper in a pie plate.
2) Coat each wing segment with seasoned flour and refrigerate for 1 hour. Coat again with seasoned flour.
3) Heat butter and hot sauce in a small sauce until butter melts. Turn heat to lowest possible setting to keep mixture warm.
4) Bring oil in a deep fryer or stovetop equivalent to 375 degrees F. Deep-fry chicken in two or three batches, turning once for about 6 minutes per side. Quickly transfer chicken to a wire rack. Let sit for 30 seconds, then toss in hot sauce. Remove from sauce with a slotted spoon to a warm serving platter. Repeat until all chicken is fried. Serve hot with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing. Yield: 4 servings.

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