Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings

Buffalo-style chicken wings are one of the many wing flavours available but it is probably the most popular and also the most bastardized type of wing you'll find. Many restaurants say they have buffalo wings on their menu but what they have is not even close to buffalo-style wings. I've ordered buffalo wings at one particular tavern in town and what I got was a baked wing in some sort of BBQ sauce with a lot of mustard flavour. Sure, some people may love that tavern's wings but they are not buffalo wings.

Tonight I made a small batch of wings for two. The chicken itself was not from a local farm but sometimes I just gotta have me some wings. At least they were not frozen from a box. I don't even know what those wings are.

Buffalo-style wings require three ingredients: Butter (some say margarine but stay away from margarine at all costs), vinegar (I use red wine but you can use white), and hot sauce (I use regular Frank's Red Hot). One thing I add to my sauce is some sugar to balance off the flavours. I combine all these ingredients in a small sauce pan in almost even amounts aside from sugar and vinegar. I use a bit less vinegar than the other ingredients and about half the amount of sugar. Find a mix that works best for you.

I rinse my wings well and pat really dry. I then toss them in a liberal amount of all-purpose flour and shake off the excess. I then deep fry them for anywhere between 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the wings. The wings should be golden brown when done. Take them out and put them on a cooling rack with a tea towel or paper towel underneath for about 30-40 seconds. Then, put them into a big mixing bowl and pour the sauce mixture over them. Toss around until coated and place them on a plate with some tongs if you don't want them swimming in sauce or just pour the whole bowl onto a plate if you like them messy. Enjoy.