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. 

[Punching Bag]

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

[Teddy KGB]

11 hours ago, dayman said:

Always extra crispy

 always hot

 always blue cheese

 always straight buffalo…with rare exception if you have to mix it up for mango habenero

 

 

 anyone doing bbq in ranch should be shot on the spot

there’s some excellent garlic parm out there at some places.  
 

 

[Gugny]

I swear by the double fry method. 
 

Fry the wings at low temp (225-250) for about 20 minutes. There should be minimal bubbling. The goal is to cook the meat, but not crisp the skin. 
 

Put the wings on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels and stick ‘em in the fridge overnight. 
 

When you’re ready to chow down, crank your fryer to its highest temp and flash fry the wings (maybe 5 minutes) to crisp the skin whilst keeping the meat moist and juicy. 
 

Sauce ‘em up and suck ‘em down. 

[T master]

19 hours ago, Bray Wyatt said:

 

 

You found good wings down here in middle TN?? Moved here in 2020 (Murfreesboro) and have yet to find a good spot!

 

It was probably a luck thing, it was a convenient store but i was hungry & i thought i'll go for it . I didn't have any stomach issues after eating them & they were surprisingly very good but i won't bet on it next time i go by that place if i do find a good place i'll pass it on to the wing connoisseur's around this area .

[PBF81]

20 hours ago, yall said:

Naked.

Medium size (jumbos are getting out of control).

Traditional Buffalo sauce, as hot as you can make it.

 

As long as they have good flavor.  Heat without the flavor is useless.  

 

 

[T master]

19 hours ago, zow2 said:

 

My teenage son is more partial to BBQ wings (hickory smoked flavor) than traditional Buffalo sauce.  I have to say, when dipped in blue cheese the BBQ wings are darn good.  It's a nice change of pace.  When we get wings nowadays I'm always including an order of BBQ.  

 

If you ever get back up around Buffalo you need to take your son to Lanova pizzeria . They have barbecue wing on their menu that if ordered extra crispy is out of this world good ! I never had them until we were driving through town & another driver had to stop & get some then i understood why .

 

Oh and their pizza at Lanova's is pretty dam good to if i do say so !! 

[PBF81]

20 hours ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Other topics not in OP, but are of personal notes:

https://www.seriouseats.com/ultimate-extra-crispy-double-fried-confit-buffalo-wings

Has to be the double fry: cook in oil low, 225-250 for about half an hour. Drain and cool, freeze batches in advance. This cooks the meat inside without overcooking it and dries out the skin.

 

Heat oil to 375-400 F and fry until golden brown.

 

Best crunch and sauce adhesion I have even seen.

 

Try connection baking (air-frying) them instead.  Then cool & freeze.  Use a raised bottom off you can.

 

That gets the moisture out so that when you get them they'll come out perfectly as well.  Works great for volume in a restaurant on busy days like SB Sunday.  

 

 

[BigDingus]

I've been corrupted... used to be all about naked wings only, but recently I've found myself enjoying breaded every now & then. 

 

Even worse, it was crappy Hooters wings that started this recent change to the dark side...

 

A friend had a bunch of wings from Hooters at his place, and I was hungry enough to grab some. Despite being delivered, they still tasted crispy & hot, and I'm a sucker for that traditional Buffalo sauce smell.

 

Ever since then, I've found myself flip flopping between naked & breaded. I may need to hang up my Buffalo card... If I ever start dipping in ranch, I'll be forced to become a Phins fan as punishment 🤢🤮

Edited December 21, 2023 by BigDingus

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

2 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

Try connection baking (air-frying) them instead.  Then cool & freeze.  Use a raised bottom off you can.

 

That gets the moisture out so that when you get them they'll come out perfectly as well.  Works great for volume in a restaurant on busy days like SB Sunday.  

 

 

My only quibble is that I don't have a convection oven (yet) and I refuse to buy an on the counter air fryer when i have too many cooking gadgets already. So the next house. Because that method makes perfect sense to me and sounds like a perfect option for large batch preparation before high volume day.

 

The oil has the advantage of the fact that I need to use it anyway to fry in the end stage but it comes with a major downside: if you want to use the same oil you have to heat the hell out of it to get the lingering moisture out

 

It's nice chatting with people who take wings seriously 

4 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

I've been corrupted... used to be all about naked wings only, but recently I've found myself enjoying breaded every now & then. 

 

Even worse, it was crappy Hooters wings that started this recent change to the dark side...

 

A friend had a bunch of wings from Hooters at his place, and I was hungry enough to grab some. Despite being delivered, they were still tasted crispy & hot, and I'm a sucker for that traditional Buffalo sauce smell.

 

Ever since then, I've found myself flip flopping between naked & breaded. I may need to hang up my Buffalo card... If I ever start dipping in ranch, I'll be forced to become a Phins fan as punishment 🤢🤮

For me, there are degrees.

 

Naked is classic. But I think a thin and carefully chosen coating can give you the crunch without the downsides.

 

And then you get travesties like this "well regarded local place" in my town.

 

F'n travesty that is.

[PBF81]

18 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

 

DJ's in Barnstable on the Cape are on point!

 

 

[Just Jack]

I prefer a bigger wing.  Breading, it depends on if I'm in the mood for it.  

 

Side story, back in the late 1980's, after spent a semester in WNY at college where I first found out about wings, I came home to find my local sub shop advertising they had wings.  Excitedly I ordered.  What did I get?  Full size drum sticks and wings.  Never ordered wings from them again.  

Edited December 21, 2023 by Just Jack

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

39 minutes ago, Gugny said:

I swear by the double fry method. 
 

Fry the wings at low temp (225-250) for about 20 minutes. There should be minimal bubbling. The goal is to cook the meat, but not crisp the skin. 
 

Put the wings on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels and stick ‘em in the fridge overnight. 
 

When you’re ready to chow down, crank your fryer to its highest temp and flash fry the wings (maybe 5 minutes) to crisp the skin whilst keeping the meat moist and juicy. 
 

Sauce ‘em up and suck ‘em down. 

yeah that is the best result I've even got. You can load up at the first stage too then smaller batch fry

[Just Jack]

13 minutes ago, BigDingus said:

I've been corrupted... used to be all about naked wings only, but recently I've found myself enjoying breaded every now & then. 

 

Even worse, it was crappy Hooters wings that started this recent change to the dark side...

 

A friend had a bunch of wings from Hooters at his place, and I was hungry enough to grab some. Despite being delivered, they were still tasted crispy & hot, and I'm a sucker for that traditional Buffalo sauce smell.

 

Ever since then, I've found myself flip flopping between naked & breaded. I may need to hang up my Buffalo card... If I ever start dipping in ranch, I'll be forced to become a Phins fan as punishment 🤢🤮

 

My Hooters story.  One day years ago (when Syracuse still had a Hooters in the mall) I was in the mood for some breaded wings and went there to place a to-go order, 50 wings.  They said it would be about 30 minutes so I went and did some shopping.  Come back and they can't find any record of my order.  Eventually they figured out that order system they use, the paper on a wire into the kitchen method, my order paper fell onto the floor and no one noticed.  The manager added an extra 25 wings onto my order and any drinks I wanted at the bar while I waited.  Worth it.  I had wings for days.  

[Kwai San]

Naked

Medium Size

Fried if out - In my Air Fryer if at home, this season I have been @ home for quite a few games!  Not an easy task in SoFlo

Carrots

Blue Cheese

Hot but not crazy hot - altho I have had some yummy smoked BBQ wings as well.  I am a Ho!

Saucy

Edited December 21, 2023 by Kwai San

[PBF81]

23 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

And then you get travesties like this "well regarded local place" in my town.

 

F'n travesty that is.

 

Are you in Philly?

 

I have family in that region and haven't found good wings around there yet.  

 

What's that place?  I may have been there.  

 

 

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

12 minutes ago, PBF81 said:

 

Are you in Philly?

 

I have family in that region and haven't found good wings around there yet.  

 

What's that place?  I may have been there.  

 

 

Yeah, the Jersey part of the Philly suburbs.

 

That particular place is called Southwood and would be an ideal dive were it not for the travesty of wings.

 

I have a few places I have been to that I find tolerable: the Jug Handle Inn and Warwick Tavern bread theirs but not too badly and they have good sauce.

 

I have tried Golden Nugget, Schileens, and Dominics and was unimpressed. Mount Royal Inn had the proper fry (the owners are WNY ex-pats) but the sauce was subpar. 

 

There was a placed called Miss Heavens right by me that was supposed to be "best in the state" and I literally spit some of it out. I sometimes literally dip my finger into salt, and their lemon pepper was too salty for me and the Buffalo was a disappointment. 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by WhitewalkerInPhilly

[Sherlock Holmes]

Parboil then bake at 350 until crispness level desired is reached! Drums are at least 50 times better than flats BTW. Perfect crispness can be attained without having to taste only fryer oil.

 

If a soggy floppy wing touches my mouth ever again...ask my wife what happened when she dunked such a wing (flat of course)in ranch and had me take a bite...

 

CHUNKY ASS BLEU CHEESE BABY!!!!

 

ps. Don't get mad guys but there's a possibility Thousand Island is a legit dipping sauce for wings (in between Bleu Cheese dips of course)...it's definitely better than ranch in an emergency such as when a restaurant gives you that with your salad and your wife doesn't notice they forgot your Bleu Cheese and you live miles away from them and the game is already started.

[PBF81]

13 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Yeah, the Jersey part of the Philly suburbs.

 

That particular place is called Southwood and would be an ideal dive were it not for the travesty of wings.

 

I have a few places I have been to that I find tolerable: the Jug Handle Inn and Warwick Tavern bread theirs but not too badly and they have good sauce.

 

I have tried Golden Nugget, Schileens, and Dominics and was unimpressed. Mount Royal Inn had the proper fry (the owners are WNY ex-pats) but the sauce was subpar. 

 

There was a placed called Miss Heavens right by me that was supposed to be "best in the state" and I literally spit some of it out. I sometimes literally dip my finger into salt, and their lemon pepper was too salty for me and the Buffalo was a disappointment. 

 

 

 

I think I've been to the Warwick Tavern in the past.

 

When I go somewhere I'll typically Google "best Wings ..." and evaluate from there.

 

If the comments are all about how great the breading is, that takes that off the list.  LOL 

 

I make my own these days.  

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by PBF81

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

Just now, PBF81 said:

 

I think I've been to the Warwick Tavern in the past.

 

When I go somewhere I'll typically Google "best Wings ..." and evaluate from there.

 

If the comments are all about how great the breading is, that takes that off the list.  LOL 

 

I make my own these days.  

 

 

Honestly, I am with you. Anchor Bar ships their sauce over Amazon. Our home cooking methods get us a superior product so I should just stick to that rather than be continually disappointed.

 

Unless we want to make our own Wing Shop...

[PBF81]

1 minute ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

Honestly, I am with you. Anchor Bar ships their sauce over Amazon. Our home cooking methods get us a superior product so I should just stick to that rather than be continually disappointed.

 

Unless we want to make our own Wing Shop...

 

Less expensive than eating out too.  

 

Homemade Bleu is much better too.  

 

 

[hondo in seattle]

19 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! 

 

I've had Thai and Vietnamese wings many times.  The quality/taste depends on the restaurant.  But at their best, they are very, very good.  

 

Korean and Chinese wings can be really good, too.  

 

And I once ate at a Brazilian chicken restaurant that specialized in wings.  The wings themselves were crispy but somewhat bland.  But they gave you an assortment of dipping sauces - some of which were great.