No.43 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Buffalo wings

Made famous by Teressa Bellissimo (Anchor Bar, Buffalo)

Photo: JIP, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From created at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, 1964.

Americans eat more than a billion wings on Super Bowl Sunday alone. They started in a bar in Buffalo, with hot sauce and butter.

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes, tips removed
• 1 tbsp baking powder (aluminum-free)
• 1 tsp fine salt
• For the sauce: 1/2 cup (120 ml) Frank's RedHot
• 4 tbsp (56 g) unsalted butter
• 1 tsp white vinegar and 1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)
• Celery sticks and blue cheese dressing, to serve

Steps

1. Pat the wings very dry with paper towels. Toss in a bowl with the baking powder and salt until every piece is lightly coated.
2. Set a wire rack on a foil-lined sheet pan and spread the wings on it skin side up, not touching. For the crispiest wings, refrigerate uncovered 1 hour or overnight.
3. Heat the oven to 250F (120C) with a rack in the upper middle. Bake 30 minutes to render the fat.
4. Raise the oven to 425F (220C) and bake 40 to 50 minutes more, turning once, until deep golden and crisp.
5. Meanwhile melt the butter with the hot sauce, vinegar and garlic powder in a small pan, whisking until smooth.
6. Toss the hot wings in a big bowl with the sauce and serve at once with celery and blue cheese dressing.

Chef's tips

• To fry: 375F oil, 10 to 12 minutes until crisp, then toss in sauce.
• Use baking powder, not baking soda, or they'll taste soapy.

← No. 42Caesar salad→ No. 44Southern fried chicken