How It's Made

Scott’s Coast-to-Coast Famous Chicken Wings
“Where I’m from, they’re just called Wings.”

I’ve made this same recipe for as long as I can remember in hopping from my hometown of Buffalo, NY, to Raleigh, NC, now to Seattle, WA.

This wing recipe has been sought after by many that have tasted them, and I’ve never given up the recipe or prep method – until now.

The key to authentic wings:

1. Don’t settle for any old chicken wing. Those chain supermarket pigeon-wings just won’t do. The bone to meat ratio is key. On the east coast the best place is a poultry shop, and there are plenty of them. Wings from a good poultry shop are about 6-7 wings (segmented) to a pound. Typical supermarket wings are sometimes as small as half that size – 12-13 to a pound. Way too puny.
   
   On the west coast (Seattle) so far the best luck I’ve had finding decent sized wings are at Asian grocery stores like Uwajimaya, Ranch 99, or Paldo World.
   
   
2. Deep fry in peanut oil. Anyone that tries to pass off a baked wing as true Buffalo wings has obviously not been to Buffalo. It’s like saying a fried steak is the same as a grilled steak. If you are looking to save on the fat or are concerned about your diet, just lick the wings, and eat the celery. Real wings are deep fried, and peanut oil is best since it can get the hottest without fear of flash-over if you get inattentive.
   
   
   Those points aside, here’s the recipe:

The Wings:

• 3 pounds of segmented chicken wings (typically 6-8 wings per pound)

  wings can be bought whole (3 joined segments typically) and segmented at home, discard the tips or use for stock

The Sauce:

MILD

• Roughly 1.5 cups of Frank’s Hot Sauce (enough to coat all the wings, more does not affect taste)
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 T black pepper (coarse ground)
• 1/8 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter

MEDIUM

• Add 1 T red pepper flakes

HOT

• Add 2 T white vinegar
• Add 1 T super-hot sauce of your choice – Scorned Woman, Black Rhino, Visious Viper, etc

  (I’ll spare you the lecture on Scoville Units and at what point hotter is not better, use your personal favorite)

Sides:

• A large stock pot – around a 3-4 gallon size.
• An oil thermometer
• Splatter screen
• Chef’s Apron
• Long metal tongs, or metal slotted spoon for retrieval stage

Directions:

A full batch (20-25 wings) will take about 15 minutes to fully cook. You can use this time to prepare your sauce since babysitting the wings while they cook is advised for the forgetful.

1. Start your kettle with peanut oil. For a full batch of 20-25 wings you’ll need about a gallon of peanut oil – enough for all the wings to float freely as they cook without touching the bottom of the pan. Use an oil thermometer, and get the oil between 350-375 before you add the wings. MAKE SURE that the wings are completely thawed and patted dry before adding. Water WILL cause the oil to pop at this temperature.
   
2. Add all the wings at once up to a max of 25. More wings will cook, but they won’t get crispy no matter how long you cook them for. Once all the wings are in , stir them to make sure none are stuck together, and cover with the splatter screen. Set a timer for 15 minutes as a backup to remind you, but you can usually tell when they’re done when they are floating and have quieted down.
   
3. Make your sauce. Depending on how hot you like it, follow the directions above. Melt the butter first in microwave, add the remaining ingredients and mix in a large glass or metal bowl. Plastic will stain given these ingredients so use either glass or plastic unless you want a permanently dedicated wing bowl
   
4. Stir wings occasionally every few minutes to make sure they aren’t stuck together. You’ll be able to tell when they are getting close to done when they “sizzle” less and begin to float. They’ll be crispy brown around the edges in most cases.
   
5. When wings are done, transfer them to your mixing bowl, and coat with sauce. Serve on their own platter with a discard bowl for bones. Sides, well, on the side.

Pairs well with beer.