In the same way that New York Stylepizza is known simply as pizza in Manhattan and French fries arecalled fried potatoes (pommes frites) in France, chicken wings inWestern New York are of course simply wings, not “Buffalo-Wings.”

By now most people in this hemisphere know the origin of the humble chicken wing (cooked Buffalo-Style), but I truly cannot recall eating chickenwings until I was a teenager. This is partly because money was tightand we rarely ate out (pizza was rare treat), but this is probablyalso true because at that time “Buffalo-style” chicken wings werenot that well known…when I was a child they were still in their infancy and a local treat.

The first time that I actually realized theywere a regional delicacy was in a music store in Nashville in themid-1980’s. I was buying a cassette and mentioned to the clerk thatI was from Buffalo. His eyes lit up and he asked me two things: if Iwas familiar with the band The 10,000 Maniacs and if I liked Buffalowings. Before this I had never heard of them referred to as “Buffalowings.” Shortly there after while in the student center at theCulinary Institute of America (of all places) a classmate asked me ifI wanted to order Buffalo wings. Up until this time it still hadn’toccurred to me that chicken wings—as a fried food—were unique toour region. I just assumed everyone ate them, like fries, or hot dogsand hamburgers.

A couple years later I landed a job ascook at a French restaurant in the Garden District of New Orleans.One day the house butcher brought me a bowl of raw wings. Normallythey went into the chicken stock but this day he had saved them uponthe sous-chef’s request. The sous-chef, who I feared more than thechef (primarily because the chef never spoke to me, or screamed at melike the sous chef), wanted me to make the staff wings forlunch. Most of the kitchen crew were Cajun and loved the greasyspiciness of the sauce.

“Take some to the chef, he’s in hisoffice,” suggested one of the cooks. Terrified, and with handsshaking, I walked into the office and set down a plate of steamingwings, complete with celery, carrot, and made-from-scratch bluecheese dressing. I rarely had the opportunity to talk to the chef letalone feed him. “Qu’est-ce c’est?” he inquired. Thesous-chef told him in his native French that I was from Buffalo andthat these were our delicacy. He also said they were tréspiquant. Speaking in English (a language, I was told, hedetested and spoke only in necessity) the chef told me he’d been toNiagara Falls, then picked up a drumstick and bit in. About 10seconds passed before he pushed the plate away, and in what seemedlike desperation, chugged the remainder of his ever-present glass ofwine. Panting, he questioned “Shit, why so #!&¢!# hot.”

Hey, I thought, he was warned they weretrés piquant, and I only made them medium.

The phrase “Buffalo style” has ofcourse taken on a life of its own when referring to recipes. In thesame way Paul Prudomme’s blackened foods scarcely resemble the foodhe likely ate as a child, “Buffalo style” is of course nolonger simply for wings. A simple Google search yields more than 7million hits. The resulting recipes offer everything from frogs legs(Buffalo legs) to vegan tofu. There was even a mention of “BuffaloStyle ice cream,” with pieces of sugared blue cheese. Buffalo Style has finallyjumped the shark.

Chicken wings of course are not onlysuited to be fried and tossed in butter and hot sauce; nearly anyflavor combination or cooking technique works for these delectablepoultry morsels. They are also not solely destined as a snack food.Chicken wings are a viable protein that can be utilized in a myriadof recipes. This was illustrated to me some years ago while trainingunder an Italian chef, who learning I was from Buffalo, told me thatfrying wings was only one way to cook them, and that his favorite wasto stew them in rice. He made the dish for staff lunch and it wasdelicious.

I made roasted honey-soy wings for my son tonight for dinner (those pictured). I coated them in honey, soy, ginger, garlic, and a sprinkling of cornstarch. They were delicious (I had a few, too). But I couldn’t help but wonder, seeing that I am a born and bred Buffalonian, and I made these in Buffalo…are these Buffalo Style.

Preheat enough vegetable oil to 375degrees Fahrenheit to fry as many wings as you see fit. While thewings are frying melt a good sized piece of whole butter in a largebowl and swirl in Frank’s Hot Sauce. When the wings float and arecrispy and cooked throughout, remove from the hot fat. Drain them andtoss with the butter and hot sauce.

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons granulated onion

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup honey

24 wings

Combine the spices and honey togetherin a large bowl and mix together. Add the wings and toss to coat themthoroughly. Refrigerate the wings to marinate for 1 hour. Preheat anoven to 325F. Stir the wings then arrange them on a wire rack over abaking sheet (if you do not have a wire rack parchment paper may beused). Bake the wings for about 25 minutes, turning them after 15minutes. The wings are done when they are deep golden brown, no pinkremains around the bone when cut open, and their juices run clear. 

4 green onions

5-7 jalapeño peppers

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

24 chicken wings

Combine all the ingredients except thewings in a food processor and purée until smooth. Toss the chickenwings with the marinade and refrigerate 1 hour or over night. Roastor grill the wings 30 minutes, or until fully cooked. 

6 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon ground oregano

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

24 chicken wings

Combine all the ingredients except thewings in a food processor and purée until smooth. Toss the chickenwings with the marinade and refrigerate 1 hour or over night. Roastor grill the wings 30 minutes, or until fully cooked. 

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup lemon juice

2/3 cup olive oil

24 chicken wings

Combine all the ingredients except thewings in a food processor and purée until smooth. Toss the chickenwings with the marinade and refrigerate 1 hour or over night. Roastor grill the wings 30 minutes, or until fully cooked. 

1 cup plain yogurt
4 garliccloves

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 jalapeno peppers

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 smallonion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro
24 chickenwings

Combine all the ingredients except thewings in a food processor and purée until smooth. Toss the chickenwings with the marinade and refrigerate 1 hour or over night. Roastor grill the wings 30 minutes, or until fully cooked.

Urban Simplicity.