stories : Nagging Question
 |
What Are Buffalo Wings?Are they the clipped appendages of miniature flying bison? |
What are 
Buffalo wings get their name from their place of origin, Buffalo, New York, where the spicy morsels are called simply wings. The Anchor Bar is universally recognized as the birthplace of this most manly indulgence. The details of the legend vary, but the Anchor backs up this version: Late one Friday night in 1964, the owner’s son asked his mom to make his friends some bar snacks. She knocked around in the kitchen for a bit and emerged with two plates of chicken wings—she was making stock—that she’d deep-fried and doused in a hot sauce.
Although some—likely while chasing wings with pints at fraternity houses—have speculated that Buffalo wings come from small flying buffalo or tiny chickens, they are in fact made from regular chicken wings. The tips are discarded, and the two remaining sections are separated. Authentic Buffalo wings have no breading; they are deep-fried and then rolled in a mixture of butter and hot pepper sauce (e.g., Frank’s RedHot).
Buffalo embraced the snack, proclaiming July 29, 1977, Chicken Wing Day. Wing restaurants spread around upstate New York; snowbirds brought the concept to Florida—where in 1983 the Hooters chain was established on a wing-centric menu. Just over a decade later, Domino’s and Pizza Hut started hawking wings, and the pub grub became cemented in American food vernacular.
“Nationally, 20 billion wings are consumed every year, with 1 billion consumed on Super Bowl Sunday,” says wing king Drew Cerza, who founded the National Buffalo Wing Festival and recently squashed Bobby Flay in a wing Throwdown!
Nowadays, ordering wings is a bit like ordering coffee at Starbucks. At chains like Buffalo Wild Wings, Wing Zone, WingStreet, and Wingstop, you can get breaded wings, wings with garlic and Parmesan, Thai-flavored wings, and even boneless wings.
Thanks for your article, BUT I must clarify that we don't call them "Buffalo wings" in Buffalo. They're just "wings". *Sigh*, I don't blame you though, to anyone and everyone outside of Buffalo, they're "Buffalo wings". Thank you for at least capitalizing the "B" in Buffalo as to NOT imply they come from the animal, but rather the city!
From the article: "Buffalo wings get their name from ...Buffalo, New York, where [they're]...called simply wings."
IMHO, Frank's Red Hot isn't *one* of the options for Buffalo wings, it is the *only* option (my husband's recipe is here: http://www.experimentalkitchen.org/ar... When I lived in Seattle, otherwise rational bar-owners would serve a sort of greasy puddle of butter-and-Tabasco vinaigrette as the wing sauce. Yuck.
Great Article! It's interesting because most wing eaters in Boston, MA assume that wings are from down south. Why do most people associate hot foods to hot weather?
And to clarify... generally anyone from buffalo will not get Buffalo Wings anywhere other than Buffalo. The nation's chicken wings serve nothing close to what a real buffalo wing should be. O and they serve them with ranch dressing elsewhere. In buffalo they come with blue cheese and some celery in a bag..(sometimes carrots) And we recommend if you're in Buffalo to try Duff's (on Sheridan Dr.) as they in mine (and my husband's) opinon make the best wings and are much cheaper than Anchor Bar...
good story though...its weird knowing theres something that people eat so much around the nation that originated from Buffalo.
oh and we usually just go with chicken wings or wings (as was stated in the article...
I'm amazed people actually ask the question. And yes, Frank's is the best. It would make a car bumper taste good!
Frank's Red Hot? Please.. that's as bland a hot sauce as I've ever tasted. Here in Toronto, we can get a hot sauce called "Grace's", and it puts Frank's and Tabasco to shame without being one of those ridiculous 10,000 Scoville "suicide" sauces.
And while I don't mind Hooter's once in a while (we actually had them on Friday night), real wings are not breaded. Again, I don't mind flavours like honey-garlic or teriyaki, but those are not real wing flavours to me; they should be hot, and the heat should be balanced by the blue cheese (ranch?!.. yuk) dressing and the veggie sticks.
What does cheese me off is getting the "celery and carrot sticks" only to find you get 4-5 pieces of each. How cheap can you get?!
Ok so... If Frank's is the only sauce for wings, then what is the only dipping sauce? Some love ranch - which I admit is great when mixed with Frank's- but I am a die hard blue cheese fan. Blue cheese provides great relief to a burning tongue. And the occasional chunk is as great as finding a giant chocolate chip in your icecream. What do you all think: Ranch or Blue?
I just make my own sauce with habenero peppers lime juice and paprika. Just awsome on wings
For people outside of Buffalo we call them wings as many people have said, just wanted to clarify. Also the only way wings should be served are very hot with bleu cheese and some celery and maybe carrot sticks on the side. As for sauces i prefer either franks red hot, or sauce from the AnchorBar which they bottle and sell at most super markets like Wegmans. IMO duffs is the best place to eat a good spicy wing, but if friends from out of town come I might take them to the AnchorBar for an "authentic wing".