Ah, the rare winged buffalo. Native to those elusive parts of the range where unicorns coalesce. For as few people who’ve spotted them, it’s a mystery how we manage to devour so many of their delicious wings.
Alright… you got us. Why are buffalo wings called buffalo wings? Turns out, buffalo wings have nothing to do with the more accurately named bison who roam around South Dakota looking like they’re wearing big furry hats and neck scarves.
A popular bar food and appetizer, wings can be ordered mild or spicy, and boneless varieties are also common. The name comes from Buffalo, New York, where the dish was created. Several origin stories exist, but the basic recipe is the same.
Going Beyond Buffalo, New York
If you guessed they’re named after Buffalo, New York, you wouldn’t be wrong. Rumor has it an eating establishment called Anchor Bar in Buffalo invented them—or rather, their owner Teressa Bellissimodid—after being accidentally shipped wings instead of other chicken parts and, as such, the now-famous snack was invented out of a desire not to waste perfectly good poultry. Food born from necessity is a common theme in these 14 dishes with surprising origins.
A reported spin-off of this story is that Teressa’s son, Dominic, in true college-kid-visiting-home form, asked his mom if she’d whip up a snack for him and his friends late one night. After all, isn’t this when all the good recipes come about? The most likely exhausted mom probably suggested the kids make themselves some PB&Js, but my guess is they showered her with compliments about her exceptional cooking skills, and she folded, throwing some unbreaded chicken wings into a deep fryer and then dousing them in hot sauce before retiring to bed to watch HGTV, or whatever the equivalent to that was in 1964.
Unfortunately, there is no immediate family member of Teressa Bellissimo alive today to verify these stories, so a bit of mystery still shrouds the elusive buffalo wing.
At the same time, sports bars with multiple TVs and satellite dishes were becoming more and more common in America thanks to rapidly developing technology; and the most popular sporting event to watch with friends in bars is football. Wings were easily shareable and affordable, a great “group food” to eat with other people, and are the perfect pairing with a pitcher of beer. And so the pigskin-chicken wing bond was born.
The rise of the chicken wing and its correlation to American football all had to do with timing.
Cooking the whole bird was trendy in the sixties and seventies, but in the eighties U.S. consumers started preferring boneless-skinless breast meat, and wings became an inexpensive byproduct for chicken producers. Restaurants and bars realized they could charge low prices for the relatively inexpensive protein, and due to the spicy/salty nature of the sauce, they discovered that beer sales would go through the roof when customers ate wings.
Deep-fried chicken wings have long been a staple of Southern cooking. But the concept of cooking wings in peppery hot sauce was born in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, when co-owner Teressa Bellissimo cooked leftover wings in hot sauce as a late-night snack for her son and his friends. The guys liked them so much that the Bellissimos put them on the menu the next day. Served with celery slices and bleu cheese sauce, “Buffalo Wings” were an instant hit.
Dick Winger, who sold hot sauce to the bar, went on the road with Dominic Bellissimo, the owners’ son, to promote the item and sell hot sauce, and the item gradually caught on with restaurant operators around the country. The concept hit the big time in 1990, when McDonald’s began selling Mighty Wings at some of its restaurants. KFC rolled out Hot Wings a year later, and Domino’s Pizza introduced its own wings in 1994. They’ve remained hot ever since. McDonald’s was back in the wing business in 2013, and its Mighty Wings were featured nationwide at most restaurants through the first quarter of 2014.
The History of the Buffalo Chicken Wing || Thrillist Investigates
FAQ
Why are wings called buffalo wings?
What’s the difference between chicken wings and buffalo wings?
Why does buffalo mean hot?
What is meant by buffalo chicken?
Why is chicken called buffalo wings?
It also became a popular condiment for hot dogs and hamburgers. In fact, it is now a staple of many American fast food restaurants. So, as it turns out, the answer to why chicken is called buffalo wings is a bit of a chicken and buffalo story.
Are buffalo wings fried chicken?
When you order buffalo wings, you’re really just ordering fried chicken wings coated with a spicy sauce and usually served with a blue cheese dressing. The buffalo refers to the sauce used. Buffalos were never actually buffalo, nor did they ever fly.
Are buffalo chicken wings spicy?
Buffalo chicken wings are a tasty, spicy snack that many people enjoy. You can find them in many restaurants, but they’re also easy to make at home. They’re often served with a blue cheese dressing or other dipping sauce.
Are buffalo chicken wings the country’s favorite football-watching Food?
With the Super Bowl around the corner, it seems that buffalo chicken wings may have become the country’s favorite football-watching food. While the annual rumors that we’re running out of wings simply aren’t true, wings have indeed become the most expensive part of the chicken due to their popularity when fried and covered in buffalo sauce.