Nobody ever said, “I love rubbery over-sauced chicken wings.”
Not a soul. Ever.
Yet zillions of people who weren’t lucky enough to be born in Buffalo, N.Y. with a good, crispy wing hanging from their mouths seem to settle for the elastic, sauce-drenched atrocities anyway.
As a native Buffalonian, I can attest to eating lousy chicken wings ever since moving to San Diego a few decade ago—unless I make them myself.
Admittedly, not every commercial kitchen in Buffalo treats wings sensibly either. That’s because in their rush to appease impatient customers, they put profits over crunch by cutting the deep-frying time. Wings cook thoroughly in about 6 minutes, but that’s a far cry from ideal.
Impressive is the fanfare restaurant owners generate when serving wings that flaunt either an audible crunch or at the very least, taut skins that snap when biting into them. No doubt, such wondrous appendages are easier to find in my hometown compared to anywhere else.
My cousin, Jeff Sabatini, is a wing connoisseur and events director for a sports facility in downtown Buffalo. He’s been my trusty guide these days for finding what he calls “elite wings” whenever I visit. We’re talking about the kind that enabled my addiction prior to flying out of the nest.
His top Buffalo joints of late, where you don’t have to ask for “extra crispy” to reach nirvana—nor do you have to worry about ending up with insipid blue cheese on the side are: Doc Sullivan’s, Nine-Eleven Tavern, and Adolph’s Old First Ward Tavern, all located in South Buffalo. He also likes Forty Thieves on the popular Elmwood Avenue strip, and Mammoser’s Tavern & Restaurant in the suburb of Hamburg.
Failing grades go to kitchens slinging wings with rubbery skins and drowning in sauce.
“The drip factor is a no-no,” he emphasizes. “In places that make them crispy, the sauce gets absorbed into the wings.”
I concur, knowing very well from my work experience in a Buffalo restaurant many years ago that when wings are plucked from the deep fryers, they’re immediately put into a lidded bowl with a modest measure of sauce. They’re then lightly shaken until evenly coated. For those who want to jangle such perfection, ask for your extra sauce (and napkins) on the side.
In my days, the premier spot for Buffalo wings was at the alleged downtown birthplace, The Anchor Bar. Yet in a visit several years ago, the wings weren’t as crispy as what I remembered. More recently, however, nearby Gabriel’s Gate proved a better choice despite requesting our wings extra-crispy.
Duff’s is another Buffalo institution for the famous dish. It dates back decades and maintains a faithful following. But I’ve generally found their wings merely verging on crispiness, and with a sauce situation that’s drippy and tart.
Back on the national front, my trophy for the most wretched chicken wings recently went to Domino’s after stupidly gambling on the company’s recent claim that its wings are “new and improved.” What the hell was I thinking?
Available in boxed quantities of 10 for $10.99, they represent every felony restaurant owners commit when cooking wings, which would include baking them and pairing them to Ranch dressing—exactly what occurs at a chain that should stick to mediocre pizza-making.
Six Golden Rules
So to restaurateurs who want to double their wing business—or for home cooks desiring a genuine taste of Buffalo while watching Sunday football, here is some expert advice that comes with a money-back guarantee:
1.) Deep fry your wings in very hot oil for a minimum of 12 minutes. Keep them down until the skins turn medium-tan, or even a shade darker.
2.) Combine butter and Frank’s RedHot Sauce for coating your wings. All other recipes and flavors are trendy poo. The rule of thumb is heat together two parts butter to one part Frank’s hot sauce for mild wings; use an equal ratio for medium; and go with two parts of the sauce with one part butter (plus dashes of Tabasco or cayenne pepper) for hot.
3.) Add the sauce incrementally into a lidded bowl. Drop in about 10 wings at a time, cover and shake for 15 seconds. Remove wings to a serving plate and repeat.
4.) For the love of your cherished dead relatives, skip the Ranch and use a robust blue cheese dressing as your dipping sauce. If buying it, choose a refrigerated brand. Otherwise search the Internet for recipes.
5.) Always serve wings with celery sticks, which ideally are cut ahead of time (by up to four hours) and kept submerged in cold water until ready to eat. Yes, the celery should be as crispy as your wings.
6.) Provide discard bowls for the bones. Few, if any bars/restaurants outside of Buffalo provide this polite amenity.
(Lead photo by Guillermo Nolasco)
Awesome article Frankie!!! So spot on!!! We Buffalonians are very proud of our wings here!!! And yes, you got some good info, Jeff is a chicken wing fanatic, definitely knows his wings & where to get them !!! When are in WNY next time, let’s try to sample them all!!! My treat!!!
If I’m in town I’m tagging along!
As a Buffalonian and now a Buffalo suburbanite, I am in full agreement with views expressed here except for one little tiny thing. My preference is ranch over bleu cheese.
Traitor!
So sorry, but that’s the way it is with me. I don’t really know how that happened. I do like blue cheese dip until I get an actual chunk of blue cheese in my mouth. It’s just too nasty…like eating mold.
Above comment should be PatR, not ParR
Aunt Patty!!!😳
Oh for extra crispy wings. Anything else is an abomination.
Great article.
If you are like me and usually don’t fry at home too much, a way to get the super crisp texture is to sear in butter the wings on a stovetop first before going to the over to cook through. Make sure its a really hot pan like for when you would cook a steak.
As my mother aged , and her dementia got worse, she still loved going for wings even though she started telling the kitchen to ensure they were crusty! I may not eat wings anymore as a vegetarian but I still agree Buffalo wings can’t be topped and they must be crusty!
I don’t eat meat very often anymore, and skipping wings in Rochester is easy because they suck.
Joe would concur with all of the above but would add one more step to making them at home….dry each wing off with paper towels before frying them. Joe used to make wings a lot and this was key to crispiness for him. Also, have at room temperature before frying. Both steps keep the oil temperature high, leading to better crispness.
Although I hear your wings are the best…..
Thank you for your endless wisdom & in-depth instructions, I have to make Buffalo wings this week!
Absolutely spot-on – I’m going to try homemade ones too!
Great article – I’m going to try them homemade soon too!!
Sadly I am very deficient in my Wing intake since leaving Buffalo. Every once in awhile I will give it a whirl when when I’m in a bar that actually list buffalo wings on the menu but even with my extra frying instructions they’re still always lacking. And don’t even get me started on pizza. Nothing beats Buffalo Pepperoni Pizza hands down!
I will remain my defiant old self amid a family of blue cheese snobbery.