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Buffalo Wings
Serves 4 Prep 1 hr 15 min Cook 25 min Total 1 hr 40 min Type Snack Origin American

Buffalo Wings

The American bar snack: deep-fried wings tossed in glossy hot-sauce butter, served with celery sticks and blue-cheese dip. Born in Buffalo.

Serves 4 Prep 15 minutes (plus 1 hour drying) Cook 25 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Chicken wings separate at the joint into drums and flats. Pat very dry; toss with a little baking powder + salt; rest on a rack 1 hour (the baking powder draws moisture for crispness). Oil heats to 160°C for stage one (cooks through, 10 min); rest for 5 min; oil up to 190°C for stage two (crisps shell, 4 min). Sauce: equal parts melted butter + Frank's RedHot whisked together with a touch of vinegar and a pinch of cayenne. Toss hot wings in warm sauce; serve immediately with celery sticks and blue-cheese dip.

Ingredients

Wings

  • 1.2 kg chicken wings (separated into drumettes and flats, tips discarded or saved for stock)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder (NOT baking soda)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 litre neutral oil (for frying)

Buffalo sauce

  • 100 g unsalted butter (melted)
  • 120 ml Frank's RedHot (or any Louisiana-style hot sauce)
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (for extra heat - optional)

Blue-cheese dip

  • 100 g blue cheese (Roquefort or Stilton; crumbled)
  • 100 ml soured cream
  • 50 g mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove (crushed)
  • A pinch of salt

To serve

  • 4 celery sticks (cut into 7 cm batons)
  • 2 carrots (cut into batons; optional)

Method

Stage 1 - Dry the wings

  1. Pat the wings VERY dry with paper towels (wet wings won't crisp).
  2. Toss in a bowl with baking powder, salt and pepper.
  3. Spread on a wire rack over a tray; rest uncovered in the fridge 1 hour (or up to overnight - the longer the drier).

Stage 2 - Blue-cheese dip

  1. Mash half the blue cheese with the soured cream and mayonnaise to a smooth-ish base.
  2. Stir in the rest of the cheese, vinegar, garlic and salt.
  3. Chill while you fry.

Stage 3 - Buffalo sauce

  1. Whisk the melted butter, hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire and cayenne in a wide bowl.
  2. The sauce should be glossy and emulsified.

Stage 4 - Fry stage one

  1. Heat oil to 160°C.
  2. Lower wings in 8 at a time; fry 10 minutes - they'll cook through but stay pale.
  3. Lift onto a wire rack to rest 5 minutes.

Stage 5 - Fry stage two

  1. Bring oil up to 190°C.
  2. Re-fry wings 8 at a time, 4-5 minutes - they should turn deep gold and crackling crisp.
  3. Lift onto a fresh rack.

Stage 6 - Toss

  1. While still hot, drop the wings into the buffalo sauce.
  2. Toss until evenly coated.

Stage 7 - Serve

  1. Pile on a platter with celery sticks and carrot batons.
  2. Blue-cheese dip in a bowl in the centre.
  3. Eat with fingers, then napkins.

Notes

  • Baking powder NOT baking soda: the aluminium-free baking powder raises skin pH and helps draw moisture, giving a crispier skin. Soda gives a soapy taste.
  • Two-stage fry is the secret: single-fry wings come out either underdone or burnt. Low first cooks through; high second crisps.
  • Toss at service, not before: wings sauced too early go soggy. Sauce-toss immediately before plating.
  • Blue cheese vs ranch: Buffalo, NY tradition is blue cheese. Ranch is a coastal heresy. Pick your side.

Storage

  • Best within 10 minutes of saucing.
  • Plain fried wings (pre-saucing) keep 24 hours refrigerated; re-crisp in a 200°C oven 8 minutes; toss in fresh sauce.
  • Don't refrigerate sauced wings - the coat goes gummy.

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