Buffalo Wings

The Globe has a “ Take 10” piece on the best buffalo wings in New England and sadly omits two of the best wing shops around – that being Quickies in Chicopee and Amherst's own Wings Over (Hangar). Being a wings aficionado and having lived in Western New York makes me think this is a topic not left to amateurs at the Globe. Us WNY ex-pats take our food traditions seriously.

The whole concept of buffalo wings has undergone a veritable Darwinian evolution but traces its DNA back to the Anchor Bar, still holding forth, in Buffalo, where tradition holds that one of the owners (Theresa) improvised a snack for her son and his friends one dark and stormy night back in 1964. From those modest beginnings a trend was born. Bar food plays a major role in American culinary history and I think Jane and Michael Stern have done the best job of cataloging and celebrating it along with other local food traditions (aka “vernacular cuisine”).

I've never owned a deep fryer, so making authentic buf wings requires compromise. Sadly, the Frank & Theresa Anchor Bar sauce sold at the Stop & Shop doesn't seem to translate well either, so here's my version of wings:

24+ wings, cut at the joint. Thinner wings actually work better – avoid the oversized Purdue jobs

Frank's Hot Sauce (preferred) or Trappey's Red Devil

Stick of butter (salted)

Allspice (ground)

Dust the wings lightly with the allspice

Bake the wings, preferably in a convection oven, at 375 – 400 until they are browned.

Melt the butter and stir in ¼ (mild) to ½ (hot) cup of hot sauce. Use a pot that has a good, tight fitting cover.

Toss the wings, in small batches, in the butter and sauce. Best accomplished by holding the cover on the pot and shaking it.

Serve with bleu cheese dressing and celery sticks. Maybe some warm German potato salad on the side.

Serves two to three native New Englanders or one Western New Yorker.