Chicken Wings

Buffalo wings, Hot wings, Wings- call a Chicken wing anything but a Chicken wing and you deserve to be eaten by the giant chicken in the sky. Made using the drumettes and flats of the Gallus gallus domesticus this simple snack/light meal is a staple in many bars and small restaurants throughout the state of New York, and even in some places bordering the state.

The Anchor Bar of Buffalo is credited with creating this simple dish. The exact reason for this is slightly shaded in mystery- from a need for the owners to feed the college friends of one of their sons, to a need to give Catholic patrons a quick meat meal at midnight, to having to make-due when they received the wrong package from the butcher- the full truth is as hard to find as a properly cooked wing is delicious.

Now, for the flavoring, traditionalists use hot sauce made from cayenne peppers, along with butter and vinegar to change the heat level, though other people prefer Barbeque sauce, Ranch, Garlic Butter, Honey, Honey Mustard, and other things to flavor their wings. Of course, many people have Ranch and/or Blue Cheese for additional flavoring, with celery/carrots as a side, though some places will also offer fries.

Recipe:

1. For the basic recipe, the first step is to get your supplies; the wings, the flavoring- whatever you prefer, and of course, cooking oil and a deep fryer. Everything else comes afterwards you should know.

2. Heat the oil to around 375*F (190*C) in the fryer; just make sure that there is enough to cover the wings by about an inch.

3. Carefully add the wings to the fryer- watch out for hot oil- burns can be nasty. Cook for around 10-15 minutes.

4. While wings are cooking, or even before, get to making your sauce- like I said earlier, hot sauce made from cayenne peppers, with butter and/or vinegar mixed in to tamper the heat, is the normal route, but you can try things your way. Be sure that sauce is in a serving bowl.

5. When the wings are done, place them in the sauce bowl. Then, you can roll the wings in the sauce, or put a lid on and shake.

6. Put the sauced wings on a plate- let stand a minute or two- then dig in.

Now, obviously, your results will vary- some of you will get something good, others not so good. Of course, if you wish to eat the good stuff, go to Western New York, and visit the small restaurants and bars- the best chicken wings are hidden in some of them. Personally, the Frewsburger, of Frewsburg, does the job for me. Though, if I’m in South Carolina, near Myrtle Beach, Hamburger Joes has some good quality wings- as the guy lived in Buffalo. Also, avoid Pizza Hut’s wings- there is very few places that their wings come out ahead of, and trust me- you don’t want the wings of the places PH’s wings beat.