The Great Chicken Wing Debate .

[Albany,n.y.]

When I 1st left Buffalo for the final time as a resident, I was hooked on wings & would make my own.  Most of the time it worked out pretty well. I'd cut up the wings, fry them up, add Frank's hot sauce & sometimes a little butter & it was like being back in Buffalo.  Well, I'm not much of a cook & had 2 disasters:

 

1) I made wings in too small a pot.  I was making them on a gas stove with a flame & when I put the wings in, the oil boiled over onto the flame and all of a sudden, the flame got very big & was rising. My kitchen was right near the door to my apartment & the flames were reaching close to the bottom of the kitchen cabinets.  I had one hand on the doorknob and was afraid my apartment was going to burn down.  Fortunately the flame came down & I didn't burn my apartment down.  I then transferred the wings & oil to a bigger pot & finished cooking & eating them.  

 

2) When i moved to Albany a couple of guys got transferred from Batavia.  Of course, they were Bills fans so we'd get together on Sundays to watch Bills games together.  One time I made chicken wings & somehow I totally messed them up.  They weren't cooking right & by the time I took them out they were all soggy & when I added the sauce, the meat was falling off the bone.  The guys called it chicken wing soup.  After that I stopped cooking chicken wings & left it to the professionals.  

Edited December 21, 2023 by Albany,n.y.

[DallasBillsFan1]

Blue Cheese

[Straight Hucklebuck]

5 hours ago, WingMan said:

I have a lot of experience with making and more with eating wings throughout the US and internationally. Believe it or not they have been frying and eating wings longer in Asian countries than we have been doing it in the US.

 

To answer your question: I think a medium or average sized wing by Buffalo standards is more than big enough. Too small and they are tedious to eat and prepare. Too big and you seem to get less of the crispy surface and they take forever to cook. Also, a premium price for the large wings.

 

I’m not a big fan of heavy breading but I have had plenty of wings with a bread like coating that were delicious. I favor naked but wings but I believe that wings should be judged by the end product like any other food. 

 

Outside of buffalo I almost always ask for extra crispy. Biggest issue for me is a flabby wing. A more common problem I noticed when visiting buffalo lately. 

 

I have personally experimented with all types of sauces. I love a lot of Asian inspired sauces. Sweet, salty, hot with other interesting flavors.

 

I think the best evolution of the wing is to char them after frying then sauce again. I love a crispy, saucy wing.

 

FYI. I have lived in Phoenix for the last 25 years but I spend a few months in Buffalo every year to get good wings and pizza. I love to see new developments with the food. 

 

 

Is the best pizza in the country Bianco’s?

[frostbitmic]

3 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Yummm Emu wings.  Emu and ostrich meat does not taste like chicken at all.  It is a red meat like beef.   

There was farm in Maryland and there was a road sign near an exit and we stopped and bought some steaks that were on sale.

Absolutely great meat able to be cooked rare.  Too bad so little meat for all the farmer's effort.  He was closing his farm.

 

I have been willing to try most anything vertebrate or from the sea.

Insects a couple of times (not worth effort), won't touch snails & slugs and no worms.

 

I've never tried Emu, was just using it as a steroid joke, but Ostrich is really tasty. I had it a few years ago and haven't seen it on a menu since.

[Returntoglory]

Growing up in the Falls in the 70's, I fondly remember going to the "Chicken Coop" and getting a bucket of 50 wings for $5.50!

 

My Father-in-Law had a butcher shop downstate and remembers when they would toss the wings and tips in the trash back in the day.

 

Those we're the days. 

 

Today we make our own.

 

Living in NC now, chicken is in abundance and priced fairly cheap.

 

Medium sized I find best.

 

We Air fry them (crispy) primarily with unsalted butter and Frank's. I add a few secret spices as well.

 

I make a special lemon based sauce for the wife.  

 

 

[Rubes]

7 hours ago, WingMan said:

I have a lot of experience with making and more with eating wings throughout the US and internationally. Believe it or not they have been frying and eating wings longer in Asian countries than we have been doing it in the US.

 

To answer your question: I think a medium or average sized wing by Buffalo standards is more than big enough. Too small and they are tedious to eat and prepare. Too big and you seem to get less of the crispy surface and they take forever to cook. Also, a premium price for the large wings.

 

I’m not a big fan of heavy breading but I have had plenty of wings with a bread like coating that were delicious. I favor naked but wings but I believe that wings should be judged by the end product like any other food. 

 

Outside of buffalo I almost always ask for extra crispy. Biggest issue for me is a flabby wing. A more common problem I noticed when visiting buffalo lately. 

 

I have personally experimented with all types of sauces. I love a lot of Asian inspired sauces. Sweet, salty, hot with other interesting flavors.

 

I think the best evolution of the wing is to char them after frying then sauce again. I love a crispy, saucy wing.

 

FYI. I have lived in Phoenix for the last 25 years but I spend a few months in Buffalo every year to get good wings and pizza. I love to see new developments with the food. 

 

 

My uncle used to order his wings extra crispy, but in my experience people outside of Buffalo don’t know what that means. I’ve never ordered them that way. What does it mean to you?

 

6 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Buffalo wings are amazing!

 

But hear me out....

 

Thai or vietnamese Fish sauce wings are out of this world good. A completely different flavor profile obviously.  But if you have never tried them please do. You will be blown away by the sweet and tangy taste! 

Best wings I’ve ever had were at a pizza place here in SLC that served them in an Asian style that I can only describe as some combination of teriyaki and plum sauce with ginger. Orgasmic.

 

[Solomon Grundy]

10 hours ago, NewEra said:

This works for me.

 

although I’ve been smashing the Char BBQ wings (dipped in “holy s***” hot sauce and blue cheese) at moondoggies (LV) over the last month.  Great mix of sweet and HEAT with great texture.

I'm gonna keep telling y'all about Snyder Bar and Grill. They have some outstanding Char BBQ wings and a MEAN dry rub Cajun wing they put on the grill

[Buffalo716]

4 minutes ago, Solomon Grundy said:

I'm gonna keep telling y'all about Snyder Bar and Grill. They have some outstanding Char BBQ wings and a MEAN dry rub Cajun wing they put on the grill

There are so many good mom and pop joints

 

Buffalo literally has a hundred places that are amazing... I literally buy food from everybody trying to support everyone

 

[NewEra]

10 minutes ago, Solomon Grundy said:

I'm gonna keep telling y'all about Snyder Bar and Grill. They have some outstanding Char BBQ wings and a MEAN dry rub Cajun wing they put on the grill

They look pretty good!  Checked them out on yelp.  Not a fan of what the other food looks like, but the wings look fried perfectly 

[In Summary]

Breading is a crime. Overly large wings are undesirable.  Full un-sectioned wings with the wing tips are grounds for violence. Getting the wings cooked fully through and getting the skin rendered and crispy are what matters most. 

[Saxum]

8 hours ago, WingMan said:

I have a lot of experience with making and more with eating wings throughout the US and internationally. Believe it or not they have been frying and eating wings longer in Asian countries than we have been doing it in the US.

 

Chinese immigrants working on railroads would get wings because they were parts Americans were not eating before the recipe for Buffalo wings was invented.  My daughter did an article in high school on Chinese immigrants 15 years ago and he found among other things grocery lists and recipes from 19th century with chicken wings on it.

 

Although the first references of wings on a menu date to the middle 19th century, anyone who grew up in the South has been eating fried chicken wings since they were old enough to eat solid food.⁠
⁠

Best Chicken Wings! - 200 Year Old Recipe with Jon Townsend

 

[Buffalo716]

28 minutes ago, Limeaid said:

 

Chinese immigrants working on railroads would get wings because they were parts Americans were not eating before the recipe for Buffalo wings was invented.  My daughter did an article in high school on Chinese immigrants 15 years ago and he found among other things grocery lists and recipes from 19th century with chicken wings on it.

 

Although the first references of wings on a menu date to the middle 19th century, anyone who grew up in the South has been eating fried chicken wings since they were old enough to eat solid food.⁠
⁠

Best Chicken Wings! - 200 Year Old Recipe with Jon Townsend

 

Don't get limeade started on Asian stuff!

 

I kid I kid buddy 

 

Hope your wife is doing well

[fridge]

80% of the perfect wing is the blue cheese. Many well meaning people have devoted plenty of time making a good wing, but have fallen short by not understanding this one simple thing.

[Donuts and Doritos]

Cauliflower wings!!! 😜

 

I'll see myself out now. 

[Pete]

BLUE CHEESE

Edited December 21, 2023 by Pete

[Slack_in_MA]

14 hours ago, The Avenger said:

Can't really find decent wings here in Massachusetts and everything is so expensive. 

 

I get fresh wings at the grocery store (large to XL) - enough to make 16 wings for about $8. I cut the drums from the flats from the tips and boil them in super hot vegetable oil until brown and crispy. I use a sauce from Moore's which us good and heat it up with some habanero sauce. 

 

Rules:

 

No breading

No baking - deep fry

No under-cooking - gotta be crispy

Buffalo sauce - don't hit me with some weird pineapple sauce

Blue cheese if desired - ranch is for toddler's chicken nuggets

Wings should not cost $2 each

 

 

 

If you're on the North Shore, check out Fibber McGee's in Beverly. They know what they're doing.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

13 hours ago, Draconator said:

Former BarBill employees run the Bar at Main and Hamlin, yes. I don't think they sell any sauce as of yet. 

Scratches neck 

 

Ya'll got anymore of that "not terrible wing sauce"

[Teddy KGB]

👎🏼 to oversized or over breaded wings.     
 

👎🏼 to the 700 flavors      
 

Buffalo and Garlic Parm are the clear top 2 choices.   BBQ can stay I guess but the rest can go especially Old Bay 🗑️🗑️🗑️

 

 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

3 hours ago, Donuts and Doritos said:

Cauliflower wings!!! 😜

 

I'll see myself out now. 

You know, I'll be honest: cauliflower that is coated in rice flour and fried is absolutely delicious. It holds up to sauce ok as well. I will happily eat some.

 

But it ain't wings.

6 hours ago, Limeaid said:

 

Chinese immigrants working on railroads would get wings because they were parts Americans were not eating before the recipe for Buffalo wings was invented.  My daughter did an article in high school on Chinese immigrants 15 years ago and he found among other things grocery lists and recipes from 19th century with chicken wings on it.

 

Although the first references of wings on a menu date to the middle 19th century, anyone who grew up in the South has been eating fried chicken wings since they were old enough to eat solid food.⁠
⁠

Best Chicken Wings! - 200 Year Old Recipe with Jon Townsend

 

I know Korea does a version where wings are fried in an incredible thin crisp batter for their fried chicken, and have the sweet and sticky double fry wings too.

 

I bet that wok stir fried wings with garlic, ginger and chili crisp would be amazing too.

 

EDIT: my only problem with that video is that the very basic French technique I've been taught is screaming that he's overcrowding the pan and not going to get a good sear adding the vegetable too soon

Edited December 21, 2023 by WhitewalkerInPhilly

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

11 hours ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

I lived for a little while in Korea many years ago.  Once back then, I entered a restaurant and was confused by what I saw and felt.  

 

Koreans are very neat and tidy eaters who use chopsticks.  Normally.  But here I saw people wearing plastic gloves, eating with their hands, and spitting on the floor.  It was kind of shocking.  As I walked to my table, something crunched beneath my feet.  It turned out the house specialty was chicken feet.  So that's what I ordered.  I donned the gloves, put the wings in my mouth, and spit the bones out onto the floor.  When in Rome...

 

The feet tasted remarkably like Buffalo wings.  

Chicken feet are a staple at the Chinese dim sum houses by me. They didn't taste wing like, but it's one of those things where they are very much vehicles for sauce and spitting out the bones is accepted practice