Buffalo Wings (Anchor Bar-Style Classic)

About This Recipe

Buffalo wings are the most influential American snack food invented in the second half of the 20th century, and they have a precise origin: the Anchor Bar on Main Street in Buffalo, New York, in 1964, where co-owner Teressa Bellissimo deep-fried a tray of chicken wings late one night for her son's friends and tossed them in a quickly improvised sauce of melted butter and Frank's RedHot. Within a decade, wings had spread from Buffalo across the country and become the official bar food of American sports television. The original recipe is shockingly simple — and that simplicity is the point. Wings (the whole wing split into drumettes and flats, tips discarded or saved for stock) are deep-fried twice or fried hot, undressed, with no breading. The sauce is just hot sauce, butter, and a touch of vinegar — Frank's RedHot specifically, because the original recipe used what was on the shelf and the flavor profile (cayenne pepper, vinegar, garlic powder) is now locked in. Wings are tossed in the sauce while still hot from the fryer so the butter clings, served on a plain plate with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing for cooling. Eat with hands, expect wet napkins, and follow the original protocol: drumette first because it's the cleaner bite.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.4 kgwhole chicken wings, separated into drumettes and flats (tips removed)
• 1.5 Lneutral oil for frying (peanut, canola or vegetable)
• 1 tspkosher salt
• 1 tspgarlic powder (optional)
• 180 mlFrank's RedHot Original cayenne sauce (no substitutes for authenticity)
• 115 gunsalted butter
• 1 tbspwhite vinegar
• 1 tspWorcestershire sauce (optional)
• 0.5 tspgarlic powder (for sauce)
• 0.25 tspcayenne pepper (for extra heat)
• 1 bunchcelery, cut into sticks
• 240 mlchunky blue cheese dressing (Marie's or homemade)

Instructions

1. 1

   Dry the wings thoroughly

   Pat wings completely dry with paper towels — moisture is the enemy of crisp skin. Toss with the salt and (optional) garlic powder and let sit uncovered on a rack in the fridge for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight. The dry surface is what produces shatter-crisp skin without breading.

2. 2

   Heat the oil

   In a heavy 6-quart Dutch oven or deep fryer, heat oil to 150°C / 300°F (the low temperature for the first fry). Use a candy thermometer — guessing leads to soggy wings. The oil should be at least 8 cm deep but no more than half-full in the pot.

3. 3

   First fry — low and slow

   Working in 2 batches to avoid crowding, fry wings 8 minutes at 150°C / 300°F. They will look pale and floppy — that's correct. This first fry renders fat from beneath the skin so the second fry can crisp it. Lift to a rack to drain and cool 5+ minutes between fries.

   Skip this step and the wings will be greasy. The double-fry is the secret to restaurant-quality crisp.

4. 4

   Make the sauce

   While the wings rest, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in Frank's RedHot, vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic powder and extra cayenne. Bring to a bare simmer, whisk to emulsify, and pull off the heat. Keep warm. The ratio should be roughly 2:1 hot sauce to butter — adjust upward in butter for milder, in hot sauce for hotter.

5. 5

   Second fry — hot and fast

   Crank the oil to 190°C / 375°F. Working in batches again, fry wings 3–4 minutes until deep golden and the skin shatters when you tap with tongs. Drain on a fresh rack — never on paper, which steams them limp.

6. 6

   Toss immediately

   Transfer hot wings to a large stainless steel bowl. Pour the warm Buffalo sauce over and toss vigorously by lifting the bowl and tumbling — this coats every surface without dislodging crisp skin. Toss for a full 30 seconds; the butter clings only while hot.

7. 7

   Plate without delay

   Pile onto a serving plate (do not let wings sit in residual sauce — they'll go soggy). Serve immediately with celery sticks and a small bowl of blue cheese dressing. Provide a stack of napkins; there is no clean way to eat Buffalo wings.

8. 8

   Repeat the ritual

   For multiple batches, fry and sauce in waves so each plate goes out hot. Buffalo wings wait for no one — even 5 minutes off the line is the difference between glory and disappointment.

Variations

• •

  Mild: increase butter to 170 g and decrease Frank's to 120 ml.

• •

  Suicide hot: add 2 tablespoons of habanero hot sauce or 1 tsp ghost pepper sauce to the standard sauce.

• •

  Honey BBQ: substitute equal parts honey BBQ sauce for the Frank's-and-butter, for kids and the heat-averse.

• •

  Garlic Parmesan: skip the hot sauce, toss wings in melted butter, minced raw garlic, parsley and grated Parmesan — a popular non-spicy alternative.

Storage

Buffalo wings are best the moment they come out of the sauce. Leftover wings refrigerate 2 days; re-crisp in a 220°C / 425°F oven for 8 minutes, then re-toss in fresh warm sauce. Never microwave — they turn rubbery and the sauce separates.

Frequently Asked Questions