Money Infant

Are you planning a Superbowl party to celebrate the clash of New York Giants and the New England Patriots in Superbowl 46? One dish every Superbowl party needs is Buffalo chicken wings, especially in a year when one of the teams hails from New York (even though it isn’t the Bills). I won’t be watching the game for the first time in many years, but I thought that I should share with you this ORIGINAL Buffalo chicken wings recipe that have kept my family and friends happy for decades. Sorry it isn’t personal finance related, although I suppose you could make the argument that chicken wings are a frugal meal.

I first received this recipe in 1990 and was told that it was the Original Buffalo chicken wing recipe from the Anchor Bar. I have no idea whether or not that is true, but I can tell you that these wings have wow’ed friends and family of mine for 22 years. Give them a try and let me know if they WOW you as well.

Original Buffalo Chicken Wings
(makes 10 lbs)

• 10 lbs chicken wings (drums and middle wing)
• 1 bottle oil for frying (peanut oil is best)
• 1 bottle (12oz) Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (You can use other hot sauces. I’ve used Crystal Hot Sauce with good results)
• 1 stick margarine (Do not substitute butter. The flavor and consistency of the sauce will be different and not as good.)
• 4 TBS white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
• 6-8 tsp Tabasco

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until the margarine is melted and combined with the hot sauce.
2. Meanwhile fry the chicken wings in oil (375°F) until golden brown (about 10 minutes – wings will float when done).
3. Drain wings on paper towels.
4. I season my wings at this point lightly with garlic powder, onion salt and pepper.
5. Once all of the wings are fried place them in a large bowl and add about half of the hot sauce and toss to coat.
6. If you don’t mind losing some of the crispiness you can then add the rest of the sauce, toss to coat and serve.
7. If you are looking for wings that are more crispy place them on a baking sheet with sides and place into a pre-heated 425°F oven. After 5 minutes (the wings will start to ‘fry’ in the oven) take the wings out, flip them and use a spoon to coat each wing with more sauce. Place the wings back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so and you are ready to go.
8. Serve with celery and carrot sticks and blue cheese and ranch dressing.

Total prep time works out to be about an hour although that depends on the size of your fryer. The more wings you can fry at the same time the shorter the prep time will be. I have had great success with these wings over the past 2+ decades and I’ll bet you will too. I should tell you that the wing sauce as I’ve given it to you is what I would consider mild (although I eat Thai food on a daily basis and am pretty used to spicy food). If you are looking to kick up the heat simply add more of your favorite chile powder. We use ground Thai bird chiles, but any ground chiles would work as well. I don’t recommend using your favorite hot sauce though as it will change the flavor of the sauce since the hot sauce has other ingredients besides the chile.

Go ahead and test the Original Buffalo chicken wing recipe at your Superbowl party this year and let me know what you and your guests thought. Be warned though that you may be called on to make these for every party you attend from this point forward.