Do you like hot wings? If so, how many chicken wings do you think a person eats in their lifetime? Let me add, an American lifetime. There are estimates out there. Ready for the answer? It's 17k. On average. 17 thousand wings. I'm only in my mid 30's and I've probably average that per year. Just kidding. I'd be dead. Think of all that ranch as well. Maybe I'd still be alive if I ate the carrots and celery that comes with an order. You know, for balance.
Unlike its close cousin, the classic fried chicken, the humble fried chicken wing has a surprisingly recent and well-documented history. While deep-frying chicken wings has been around for centuries, the iconic Buffalo wing, slathered in a hot sauce mixture, emerged just a few decades ago. The perfect game-day companion, it was estimated that 1.45 billion chicken wings were going to be consumed during Super Bowl LVII. Let’s delve into the fascinating story of the fried chicken wing, exploring its humble beginnings, its disputed birthplace, and its meteoric rise to national fame.
But before all that, I have to say something. There are few things in my life that I love more than watching sports and eating chicken wings with an ice cold beer. My wife. My family. A couple of my friends. Just a couple. But not much else. In my eyes it doesn’t get much better than a plate of crispy wings doused in a garlic buffalo sauce, a side of ranch and a pitcher of frigid cheap beer. I don’t know man, wings just taste better with a cold, uncomplicated, pitcher of beer.
Now that the NBA playoffs are in full swing I’ve got the craving more than ever. I need buffalo wings! Like yesterday. It’s been a while. And there are few more perfect times to head to a bar, order a batch of crispy, fried golden to perfection, wings and down a couple cold ones than right now.
But this craving got me thinking, “what’s the history of this ubiquitous game day snack, this delicacy fit for Kings, foreign dignitaries and polite society?” And I learned, unexpectedly, that the journey started not in a Michelin starred restaurant kitchen, but (maybe) in a humble family-run Buffalo, NY bar, where a late-night craving and some creative thinking led to the birth of a legend and a staple of bar food and game days everywhere - the Buffalo wing.
I know there is a large contingency out there absolutely disgusted by the thought of buffalo wings, what with all the sticky, fiery, don’t touch your eyes (or weiner) until you wash your hands, mess. I mean typically, at some of the fancier and more refined establishments, they give you a Wet-Nap to clean yourself up with afterwards, so it’s not that big of a deal. But I get it. I know the absolute horror they must feel when they see the pile of gnawed, discarded chicken bones strewn about on sauce soaked and viscid plates. As if they’ve stumbled into the lair of some mythological beast who’s just finished dinner and is licking its fingers clean. And for these reasons they may choose to go the boneless wing route. A route that I, quite often, travel down myself. To the purest out there, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. Boneless wings have their advantages. They’re often cheaper, easier and less messy to eat. They’re more dippable in a cup of ranch or bleu cheese or even a delicious buttermilk dill dressing (shoutout Brew Kettle). And in many cases they are more consistent in their preparation. It’s not hard to toss chicken chunks into a deep fryer and have them turn out good. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever had a bad boneless wing. They’re always pretty good. Even if they’re just fine, they get the job done. Again there's nothing wrong with that, people like what they like. But for me there’s something about eating meat from off the bone, with my bare hands that scratches an ancient, primitive, calling. And the heights reached when finding the perfect buffalo wing, the perfect crispy, crunchy, slathered in sauce bite far exceeds the greatest boneless wing experience.
But we’re an evolved species so if that’s not for you, no problem. Let’s just forget for a moment that buffalo wings are by far one of the messiest, most unattractive foods a person can eat and let’s talk about the surprisingly interesting origin story of these fiery, messy morsels.
As with nearly everything there are two sides of the story. Of course, the story of buffalo wings couldn’t be a simple cut and dry tale of serendipity. When I thought about writing this post, I did assume that would be the case. Someone saying welp, I had some hot sauce and butter decided to mix it together and dump it over fried chicken wings and, there ya go.
It turns out the story is a much more complicated one. One filled with deceit, sex and murder…
Just kidding, this isn’t Investigation Discovery. But seriously, the story of the fried chicken wing and how it came to be such a cultural phenomenon is a bit of a spicy tale and involves two Buffalo, NY establishments. Frank and Teressa Bellissimo’s Anchor Bar and Grill and John Young’s Wings N Things.
Now, obviously the story of the fried chicken wing doesn’t start in Buffalo. Why obviously? Because fried chicken isn't the invention of one person or place but rather it is a tapestry of rich history woven from multiple cultures and customs from around the world. However, here in the states, fried chicken is a cornerstone of Southern soul food. Evidence suggests deep-frying chicken wings has been around for quite a while with mentions of fried wings appearing in menus and recipes from as far back as the 1800s, particularly in Southern US cuisine where resourceful cooks looked to use less desirable pieces to stretch the use of all parts of the chicken. Fried chicken can trace its roots back hundreds of years to West Africa, coming to America exactly how you think it came to America as soon as you read “West Africa”. Enslaved Africans brought their frying techniques and love for flavorful spices to the South via the slave trade.
In Europe, however, the Scots were likely the first Europeans to deep fat fry their chicken. A 1736 cookbook entitled “Dictionarium Domesticum”, by an English philologist and lexicographer named Nathan Bailey contains one of the earliest recipes for fried chicken. And when Scots immigrated to the American south, they too brought their cooking techniques with them. These techniques were likely adopted and then adapted by enslaved people using readily available ingredients. Whereas West Africans used palm oil, the Scots were known to use lard or other fat.
Around the time of the Civil War, chicken was a common food source for enslaved people. They raised chickens and used less desirable cuts for frying, while the more choice parts went to slaveholders. After the Civil War, freed slaves brought their culinary traditions, including fried chicken, into their communities with affordable ingredients and resourceful cooking techniques becoming the hallmarks of what would be known as soul food.
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