Ken's Buffalo Wings

Well...at long last it's finally up. Guess all the bugging from a couple of friends finally paid off (you know who you are). It's nothing spectacular...probably nothing all that original either...but it makes good wings and that's all that matters!

Disclaimer...

I've never been to the Anchor Bar (where Buffalo wings are supposed to have been originated). I've never tasted Anchor Bar wings. I've never been approached by a disgruntled employee of Anchor Bar offering to sell me the 'Secret Recipe'. I've never cooked wings in any type of bar and grill. What I have done though is had a lot of different types of wings at a lot of different kinds of bars and I know what I like and I've finally found out a way to make it right. I like them...my friends like them...maybe you will too.

Background...

My love of wings all started a number of years ago when my good friend Tom introduced me to 10 cent wing night. We'd go and start out with 100 or so for the 2 of us and then see how things went after that. Then I started getting the high priced wings out at other places...you know the ones...6 on a plate for $5.95. That's when I realized that all wings are not created equal (look for Ken & Tom's Buffalo Wing and Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe rating page coming soon). We've had everything from frozed pre-sauced wings that were microwaved to baked wings with barbeque sauce on them (how they call barbeque wings buffalo wings I'll never know). And that's when we decided to try to make up some wings for ourselves. It's been a long journey with many mistakes, many different types of hot sauces, and many nights of a messy kitchen. But now it's done...we've come up with wings that we think are pretty darn good. I know what you're thinking...enough already Ken...get to the point...well, here it is...

Ingredients...

I'm giving brand names here...you can substitute whatever you like, but be aware that it won't be the same. Even something as minor as switching Durkee for Red Devil can have unpredicable results. You've been warned...

1 bottle (6 oz) Trappey's Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce
1 bottle (5 oz) Cholula Hot Sauce
Inner Beauty Real Hot Sauce (to taste)
1 stick margarine
3 tablespoons white vinegar
5 lb bag of Tyson wing flingers

Directions...

Again...there are many many different ways to cook wings, cook them how you like, but this is the way that I found comes out best.

First a few pointers on the wings. Some people cook them frozen...although I've never tried, I don't think it would work in a home situation...maybe in an industrial fryer. In fact, not only do I not cook them frozen, I let them warm up close to room temperature so that they don't cool the oil down too much. I like my wings crisp and there are a couple of things that don't make crisp wings...low oil temperature and too many wings in the pot at once (causes low oil temperature and also a high water content). So what I do is use a 5 qt pot and put about 3 quarts of oil in it (don't want the oil to bubble all over the stove) and heat it up to around 350 - 375. Then I only cook about 13 wings at a time. It's slow going, but they come out crisp on the outside and the meat falls off the bone so something has to be right about it. Oh...don't go cheap on the oil either...if you want them crisp and good, get the good stuff.

Ok...so now you've got your thawed out wings, your oil heating up to between 350 and 375...now on to the sauce. Not really too tough once you figure out what to put in it. Take the Red Devil, Cholula, vinegar, and margarine and heat them up in a sauce pan. Let it cook to melt all the margarine and thicken up a little bit. NOTE: This is one thing that should absolutely not be substitued. Never use butter instead of margarine. After the margarine's all melted, you can add the Inner Beauty to taste. I usually put in 3 tablespoons. I like it hot so put in less if you don't like it hot or put in more if you like to eat your wings in pain.

So now you have your sauce on low heat thickening up a little and got your oil is nice and hot. Drop some wings in the oil and start the timer going...leave them in for about 10 minutes and you should be all set. You can do them a batch at a time and eat them fresh or cook them all first and have it done with. I usually try to get a 2 batch head start on things and then do them a batch at a time.

Here's another step that took me a while to realize the importance of. Put the wings in a container, put in some sauce, cover the container and shake to coat. I used to just pour the sauce onto the wings and for some reason it just doesn't come out the same...they really need to be shaken in the sauce.

More on the Ingredients...

Here's a run down on the ingredients to help you find them or to help you substitute if you can't find them in a store near you.

Trappey's Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce
This is pretty much just your ordinary hot sauce like Durkee's or Frank's...but it seems a little different so I use the Red Devil
Cholula Hot Sauce
Now this is good stuff. Not only is it hot, but it is very flavorful. This is one of the key things that makes people say 'wow...these things aren't just hot...they actually taste good'. This comes in a little bottle with a wooden cap. I've seen it in some Mexican restaurants.
Inner Beauty Real Hot Sauce
This is what gives it the real kick! It comes in a bottle that looks like a flask. The sauce isn't red, it's yellow. This stuff is HOT so be carefull with it.