buffalo wing sauce help

[maui420]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone here can help me with making my own buffolo wing sauce. My problem that I have is that the sauce just seems to salty. what ive been doing is adding some wing sauce like 'red hot' or 'texas pete' to some margirne, heat it up in a sauce pot, add a little vinnegar, black pepper, and some garlic powder and minced garlic. pretty much i follow the directions on the bottle.

after the 'boil' i notice the oil seperating from the thick 'good' substance. is that good? I then take a spoon and take out the oil. now what are some things i can add to the sauce?

to make it hotter? throw in some cayenne?

how about to make it less salty, or make the sauce thinner? can I add some water?

any suggestions would be great.

im looking for a sweet, hot, and vinnegary taste. something that is somewhat thin, not thick like ketchup.

[Jason Perlow]

The core of every wing sauce is melted butter mixed with Tabasco or some other kind of hot sauce. After that, everything else is pretty much optional.

[Susan in FL]

If you are interested in trying a different recipe, instead of just tweaking your own, I will be happy to post the one I use. Supposedly it is the authentic Anchor Bar Buffalo Wings recipe. I've been making wings this way since I got my hands on the recipe in 1993. My family says they are better than any wings bought out. I wouldn't go that far, but they are really, really good.

Have you been deep-frying the wings first, before mixing with the sauce? That makes a difference.

Let me know... I'm looking for the recipe now so I'll have it ready in case.

Edited February 7, 2005 by Susan in FL (log)

[Daniel]

Yes please post the recipe Susan.. I deep fried wings last night and made the Frank's red hot wings.. It was a little too salty, and was thinking next time i was going to use unsalted butter. I ended up adding more Frank's then the directions called for and added crushed dried thai chile peppers.. It turned out better, But would love the anchor bar recipe.. Thank you.

[maui420]

that would be great!

If you are interested in trying a different recipe, instead of just tweaking your own, I will be happy to post the one I use.  Supposedly it is the authentic Anchor Inn Buffalo Wings recipe.  I've been making wings this way since I got my hands on the recipe in 1993.  My family says they are better than any wings bought out.  I wouldn't go that far, but they are really, really good.

Have you been deep-frying the wings first, before mixing with the sauce?  That makes a difference.

Let me know...  I'm looking for the recipe now so I'll have it ready in case. 

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[maui420]

yes, i have been deep frying the wings. i usually like to have a small side of the buffolo wing sauce, dip, then dip in blue cheese. yum.

but anyways, im trying to replicate this chicken wing place here in NJ where the sauce has me coming back for more. all i can describe is that its 'thin', vinnegary, and hot. the look of it is the same as the typical franks hot suace + butter look. also the sauce has no excessiveness of oil.

is it good to drain the oil from the sauce and keep whats left?

the sauce is so good i can spread it over rice or cornbread. =)

If you are interested in trying a different recipe, instead of just tweaking your own, I will be happy to post the one I use.  Supposedly it is the authentic Anchor Inn Buffalo Wings recipe.  I've been making wings this way since I got my hands on the recipe in 1993.  My family says they are better than any wings bought out.  I wouldn't go that far, but they are really, really good.

Have you been deep-frying the wings first, before mixing with the sauce?  That makes a difference.

Let me know...  I'm looking for the recipe now so I'll have it ready in case. 

←

[Andy Lynes]

We were discussing the availability of buffalo wings in restaurants in the UK and I came across this recipe. I know its from a UK restaruant and therefore probably doesn't count, but its another variation on the theme.

maui420 - I would never use margarine for anything. Ever. It sounds like your sauce is splitting. I would use butter and not boil the sauce, just cook it over a gentle heat.

[Susan in FL]

For each 2 1/2 pounds of trimmed and separated chicken wings:

Salt & pepper

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

3 to 5 tablespoons hot sauce [i used to use Durkee when I first started making these, but I haven't been able to find Durkee for quite a while. Now I usually use Frank's.]

1 tablespoon vinegar [i use white wine vinegar]

Very slowly melt the butter in a large saucepan, and immediately remove from heat. Add hot sauce to taste. Add vinegar.

Heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees. Salt and pepper the wings. Deep fry a few at a time until nicely browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels, then add to butter sauce. Toss to coat. Proceed with next portion of wings, repeat, etc. Transfer to platter to serve.

Serve with celery and blue cheese dressing of course!

[maui420]

maybe the problem i was having before was that my butter was salted, thats why i tried margerine. but is there any particular reason why not margerine? what happens to the sauce if i did boil it?

when i used margerine, the concentrated sauce was seperated from the 'oil'. should the oil stay with the sauce?

also, have you ever tried it with tomato paste? is there a tomato taste to the sauce?

thanks

We were discussing the availability of buffalo wings in restaurants in the UK and I came across this recipe. I know its from a UK restaruant and therefore probably doesn't count, but its another variation on the theme.

maui420 -  I would never use margarine for anything. Ever. It sounds like your sauce is splitting. I would use butter and not boil the sauce, just cook it over a gentle heat.

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[Susan in FL]

Butter is preferable to me because of the flavor. I agree with Andy... I don't use margarine for anything. If the butter is too hot, if it boiled as you asked, the butter would break down. That is what Andy meant by splitting. The oil from it would separate from the rest, just as you described, and you would not have the consistency I think you are looking for.

As you can see, the recipe is very simple. It's the cooking technique that can make or break (pardon the pun) the recipe.

Good luck!

[Andy Lynes]

have you ever tried it with tomato paste? is there a tomato taste to the sauce?

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I only found the recipe today so have not had the chance to try it, but tomato puree does have a strong flavour and 220g is quite a lot so I would guess that this version does have quite a pronounced tomato flavour.

[Darcie B]

maybe the problem i was having before was that my butter was salted, thats why i tried margerine. but is there any particular reason why not margerine? what happens to the sauce if i did boil it?

when i used margerine, the concentrated sauce was seperated from the 'oil'. should the oil stay with the sauce?

Check the package...margarine is WAY more salty than butter. I use unsalted butter, Red Hot or Louisiana hot sauce, (1:2 ratio butter:hot sauce), some cayenne pepper, some chili powder (optional), cider vinegar to taste, a small squirt of yellow mustard, and some pressed garlic. My friends rave. I heat the sauce gently, deep fry wings and then brush on sauce. The sauce has never been oily.

Maybe too many ingredients for a "traditional" sauce, but delicious nonetheless.

[essvee]

I hate margarine almost all the time myself, but if you want the sauce to taste authentic, you gotta use margarine. To me, it doesn't taste right with butter, definitely the only time I would ever say that, ever.

[viaChgo]

I would use unsalted butter as well. I think margarine & salted butter are the culprits of your salty sauce. Also, when you bring the sauce to a boil, the margarine (or butter) will split, as Andy stated. The solids & the oil will separate when brought to a certain temp. What I usually do is heat up my hot sauce mixture first & then whisk in cold, unsalted butter off the heat.

I think the basic recipe as stated here, is the same for all wing sauces. Hot sauce & butter/margarine. I think the difference in tastes comes from the type of hot sauce you choose. Some are hotter than others, tangier, more garlicky, etc. Just make a bunch of wings & sauces & do a taste test!

[dano1]

IIRC, margarine was used in the original recipe at the Anchor Bar. Recipe came about in the early 50's i think, availability of dairy was still not widespread after the war. Margarine was widely used.

That said, i'll take the real deal any day ;).

[phaelon56]

Adding cayenne or flaked red pepper to increase th ehotness factor is IMHO not that successful. We had a local place that advertised "inferno" wings and that's how they did it. I would try adding some habanero based hot sauce instead. Better yet, take a few habanero's that are split and seeded, cook them in with the sauce and then strain them out before serving.

[Susan in FL]

I had never bothered to check out the authenticity of my recipe or the official true story of Anchor Bar Buffalo Wings, because I wouldn't change anything anyway, but all this discussion prompted me. I knew the 1960's story behind them, and this link confirmed I had the general idea of the story correct. So far, I haven't found out about the recipe... probably because Anchor Bar Sauce is a product for sale. I am curious, though. I'll report back if I find out, and if some other eG sleuth beats me to some documented evidence, please do share!

[budrichard]

We have tried the different Anchor Bar Wing Sauces and frankly we like our own better. It is just unsalted butter, McIlhenny's Tabasco (I can't stress enough that it MUST BE McIlhenny's; my wife ONCE tried to economise with another Tabasco and EVERYONE agreed it wasn't as good!) and whatever else you want to throw in. We also bake our wings in a 550F oven and it dosen't affect the quality of the product. Today's chicken has so much fat, that deep frying is not needed. -Dick

[ronnie_suburban]

Not sure if he is a definitive authority or not but I seem to remember David Rosengarten saying that the original sauce was a 50-50 blend (by volume) of unsalted butter and Franks hot sauce.

=R=

Edit for clarity

[Llantha]

Unsalted butter is key. A stick of the salted kind has about 1 1/2 tsp of salt which is a huge honkin' amount for a half cup of anything. As for the margerine comment after the war, the Margerine my momma said she used was prety much crisco into which a yellow pellet was stirred. I'l bet there was still not lots of salt. And nowadys it has been scientifcally proven that Margerine isn't food. (If you can keep it in the trunk of your car for 3 months and still eat it, well.......)

[maui420]

great, there goes another hot sauce addtion to my growing cabinet of spices and sauces.

=)

We have tried the different Anchor Bar Wing Sauces and frankly we like our own better. It is just unsalted butter, McIlhenny's Tabasco (I can't stress enough that it MUST BE McIlhenny's; my wife ONCE tried to economise with another Tabasco and EVERYONE agreed it wasn't as good!) and whatever else you want to throw in. We also bake our wings in a 550F oven and it dosen't affect the quality of the product. Today's chicken has so much fat, that deep frying is not needed. -Dick

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[Cleo]

Last night I made the wing sauce from the bottle of Frank's. It was 1/2 cup of Frank's hot sauce and 1/3 cup of butter. I didn't eat it, but apparently it was a hit with my guests.

[NulloModo]

I received a bottle of the Anchor Bar wing sauce that I tried out the other night, it wasn't bad, but it needed a bit of doctoring with my standard wing doctoring steps:

My typcial recipe (for mild wings) is:

Texas Pete Hot Sauce (so much better than Franks)

Butter (salted is fine)

a dash of vinegar

several hearty shakes of worcestshire sauce

loads of fresh cracked black pepper (secret ingredient, use way more than you think you should)

garlic powder or fresh chopped garlic finely ground

If you want it hotter, add some real hot sauce in addition, like Blair's After Death or any of the Capsicum enriched sauces. The key to good wings is the cayenne flavor dominates, so for extra heat the sauces that are all burn and not much flavor are actually a good bet. Not that habanero wings and other gourmet hot sauces don't work as well, they just don't make as traditional of wings.

The wings absolutely positively must be deep fried, baking is not only a poor substitute, it ruins the texture of the product. I used to swear by only peanut oil, and I still prefer it, but I made my batch last night in Soybean oil because Safeway didn't have any peanut oil in bulk, and I was about to shell out $10 a pop for the five little bottles of the peanut oil I would've needed.

Edited February 8, 2005 by NulloModo (log)

[peanutgirl]

All of the recipes/ variations sound good, but I too am searching for a wing sauce recipe. Google has NOT been my friend .

I need something that replicates Cluck U.'s Global Termo Nuclear, it's one step below their hottest which is 911.

I don't think it's butter or margarine / Tabasco based... seems to have cayenne in it, and it's a rich tomatoey colored sauce.

It's spicy good.

Anyone familiar with Cluck U. ?

[NulloModo]

All of the recipes/ variations sound good, but I too am searching for a wing sauce recipe. Google has NOT been my friend    .

I need something that replicates Cluck U.'s Global Termo Nuclear, it's one step below their hottest which is 911.

I don't think it's butter or margarine / Tabasco based... seems to have cayenne in it, and it's a rich tomatoey colored sauce.

It's spicy good.

Anyone familiar with Cluck U. ?

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Cluck-U makes hands down the best wings anywhere, ever, period. I too am a huge fan of the Global Thermonuclear sauce, a pile of those wings was my late night dinner of choice whenever I had to pull an all-nighter, and boy, would they keep my up...

Anyway, a website appeared recently called Cluck-U-shop or something, and it looks like they will be selling their sauce to the public, they just don't have any up yet... bummer. I would just get them from the source, but they really need to offer their wings unbreaded as well as breaded.

As for the recipe: I know it starts with a basic cayenne pepper sauce. I can tell there is a lot of black pepper in it, in fact, that is what convinced me to start adding black pepper to my wing sauce. I can tell a certain smokeyness, almost a sweetness, to it as well, so I'd wager that there is BBQ sauce or Chipotles ground up in there as well. The color is pretty dark red, so, there has to be something other than just cayenne and black pepper. Let me know if you get anywhere though, I would love to replicate those wings.