Buffalo wings are deep-fried, unbreaded chicken wings or drums coated with a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter.
They are commonly served with celery and a blue cheese dipping sauce, which acts as a cooling agent for the mouth.
A popular bar food and appetizer, wings can be ordered mild or spicy, and boneless varieties are also common.
Unsurprisingly, neither the origin of the name nor the food item itself have anything to do with actual buffalo, nor American Bison which many people call buffalo even though they are not.
Rather, this tasty item originated in Buffalo, New York, with most foodstorians indicating buffalo wings probably were first served in the Anchor Bar there.
As for how Buffalo, New York got its name, well, that probably is related to the American Bison, which as stated are often inaccurately called Buffalo.
In 1977 the city of Buffalo issued an official proclamation celebrating Anchor Bar co-owner Frank Bellissimo and declared July 29, 1977 to be Chicken Wing Day.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Buffalo wings gained in popularity as a bar food and appetizer across the United States and Canada.
Large franchises specializing in Buffalo wings have emerged, notably Buffalo Wild Wings founded in 1982 and Hooter’s in 1983.
From 1990-1993, the Buffalo Bills made it to the Super Bowl four consecutive seasons. During this time, the media covering the team also did features on the region itself, including talking quite a bit about local food and particularly highlighting these spicy, fried chicken wings.
In 1993, a Philadelphia radio station hosted the first annual Wing Bowl eating contest, and over the years it has grown to become one of the competitive-eating circuit’s most prestigious events, drawing crowds well over 20,000. The Wing Bowl record currently belongs to professional eater Molly Schuyler, who in 2018 consumed 501 wings in 30 minutes.
Americans are winging their way through life as the average meat eater devours nearly 18,000 chicken wings in their lifetime, a new study reveals.
Over the Super Bowl weekend, according to the National Chicken Council’s annual report, Americans eat about 1.3 billion chicken wings.
In collaboration with “Foodgod” Jonathan Cheban, New York City restaurant chain The Ainsworth made 24 karat gold-dusted chicken wings. They are served at two Manhattan locations nad are described by The Ainsworth as “the most expensive and insanely tasty 24K Gold Wings in the world.” A total of 50 wings with a bottle of Ace of Spades brand Champagne costs $1,000.
“Buffalo” is now attached to other items, as in buffalo shrimp or buffalo pizza. This simply means that buffalo sauce used on chicken wings has been put on shrimp or pizza instead.