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Our Classic Buffalo Wings are the real deal! Fry up a batch for your next game day party.
Today’s recipe for Classic Buffalo Wings is perfect for watching the game – no matter which team you’re cheering on or which sport you are watching.
Several years ago, Jack was asked by one of his friends to help open a restaurant in Ithaca, New York. This restaurant quickly became a local favorite being centrally located between Ithaca College and Cornell University. And, needless to say, lots of beer and buffalo wings were sold! Jack’s friend, Tom, shared this recipe for Classic Buffalo Wings – and it has been part of Jack’s own recipe collection ever since.
What are Buffalo Wings?
Buffalo Wings are crispy, fried, chicken wings coated in a spicy, red sauce. Buffalo wings are believed to have been invented by Teressa Bellissimo, who co-owned the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, along with her husband Frank, as a way to use up a supply of chicken wings that was incorrectly shipped to the restaurant.
The signature sauce for Classic Buffalo Wings starts with Frank’s RedHot Sauce – a vinegar-based cayenne pepper sauce. The RedHot sauce is combined with melted butter, giving the sauce a silky smooth texture which clings nicely to the fried chicken wings.
Buffalo wings are typically served with blue cheese dressing on the side, as well as celery sticks to help balance the spicy heat in your mouth.
Always buy fresh chicken wings
To make the best Buffalo chicken wings, you’ll want to buy fresh, whole chicken wings. Cut off the tip from the flat part of the wing, then separate the flat part (wingette) from the drumette at the joint of the chicken wing.
You’ll fry up the wingette and the drumette for this recipe. (But save the tips in a bag in the freezer – then add them to the pot the next time you make homemade chicken stock.)
Avoid the frozen wings sold at the supermarket – they tend to hold more water than fresh wings, and they won’t fry up as crisp!)
How do you cook Buffalo Wings?
After you’ve separated the drumette and the wingette section of your chicken wings, dry them as much as possible with a paper towel. This step will help avoid splattering while you add the chicken to the oil, plus it will help your chicken wings fry up nice and crispy.
Heat some vegetable oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot – making sure the oil is deep enough to cover the wings as they fry. You’ll want to use a candy thermometer to test the temperature of the oil – when it reaches 400 degrees F, you’ll be ready to fry the chicken wings.
While the oil heats up, combine Frank’s RedHot Sauce and melted butter in a saucepan. Add a teaspoon of cumin for some extra depth of flavor, and if you like your Buffalo wings very spicy, add a touch of additional cayenne powder to the sauce as well. (For me, the wings are plenty spicy without adding more cayenne – but the choice is yours!)
Once the oil is up to temperature, fry the wings in batches so they evenly cook. Fry each batch until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is extra crispy and golden. Drain, then coat with the prepared Buffalo sauce. (We keep the first few batches of wings warm in the oven on a sheet pan while the rest of the wings fry.)
These restaurant-quality Classic Buffalo Wings have that perfect amount of crunchy skin underneath the tangy and spicy seasonings of the sauce. And served with our delicious homemade blue cheese dressing and crisp, cold celery sticks – this is buffalo wing perfection!
You may like these other Chicken Wings recipes:
- Crisy Asian Wings with Ginger-Lime Dipping Sauce
- Bourbon Spice Barbecue Chicken Wings
- Lemon Butter Air Fryer Chicken Wings
- Cranberry Buffalo Wings
- Asian Barbecue Chicken Wings
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Classic Buffalo Wings
Ingredients
3 pounds of fresh plump chicken wings (about 14)
Vegetable oil for frying
1 cup Frank’s original Red Hot sauce
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (may be omitted if you don’t want your wings too spicy)
Blue cheese dressing and celery sticks, for serving
Instructions
- Heat oven to 250 degrees.
- Note: We highly recommend that you use fresh wings from your local market and not frozen, bagged wings. Frozen wings tend to have more water in them which will result in soggy-skinned wings!
- Cut off tips of the chicken wings. (Discard or freeze for later use in a chicken stock). Cut wings at the joint. Lay wing pieces out between two layers of paper towels and press to dry on all sides. (Dry the wings as much as possible.)
- In a heavy bottomed pan or Dutch oven on your cooktop, heat enough oil so that the chicken will be completely submerged when frying. Heat the oil to 400 degrees (measure temperature using a candy-thermometer to ensure correct temperature is reached).
- While oil is heating, prepare sauce. Place Frank’s hot sauce, melted butter, cumin and cayenne in a large bowl and whip together.
- Once oil is up to temperature, work in three batches and gently place chicken in hot oil. Fry for 10 minutes or until done and crisp (they will begin to float to top of oil. Also use a spider, tongs or a strainer to loosen any that stick to the pan bottom). As each batch comes out, lay onto a rack covered sheet tray to drip for a few seconds then toss in a large bowl with one quarter of the buffalo sauce. Remove to a sheet pan and hold in the warm oven until each batch is done. Make sure you let the oil come back to 400 between batches.
- Once the chicken is cooked, place all of the chicken back into the pan with the remaining sauce and toss or mix to coat.
- Serve with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
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Notes
Notes: If these Buffalo Wings are too spicy, add BBQ sauce to reduce the heat and add some sweetness. (Buffalo Wing purists will disagree with this recommendation, but it is one way to give those of us with more sensitive taste buds the chance to enjoy these spicy wings.) 🙂
Love the recipe. Where do you buy your fresh or frozen wings? I am looking for plump wings like from Buffalo NY
I am willing to pay for shipping
Hi Matthew – Unless you have access to a restaurant supply store, you might try talking to a local butcher shop. Ours is able to place specials orders for meat – more so than a local supermarket. Hope that helps!
If you’re from Buffalo, you call them Chicken Wings or Wings… Buffalo’s don’t have wings…
Thanks Michael! (Makes sense…)
Hello, have been a fan forever…..I have tried to buy ‘fresh’ wings here (Las Vegas, NV) without success. Frozen is what’s available to us local yokels. Resturant suppliers ignore requests. My question is; do we defrost them in a normal manner, in the fridge, dry them and maybe salt them to draaw out moisture? Our local bar cannot sell OTC raw food. Ugh
Surprised your local supermarkets don’t sell fresh wings. If frozen is all you can get, thaw normally and drain and pat dry. They will loose some moisture since manufactures add water to get the weight up. The thawed wings will be smaller than fresh but still should be good. Good luck John.
NO bbq sauce! Wings are supposed to be nice and spicy, just reduce the amount of spices to reduce heat. Adding the bbq alters the taste, as well. But thank you for posting a REAL wing recipe (so many that use just hot sauce…)
Thanks William!