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How to Cook · Sauces

Hot Wing Sauce

Makes enough for 12 wingsPrep 5 minCook 10 minTotal 15 minChickenSauces
A bowl of vivid orange-red buffalo hot wing sauce

The classic Buffalo sauce: cayenne hot sauce warmed and whisked with cold butter until glossy, rounded, and clingy. Frank's RedHot is the standard for its balance of vinegar, heat, and salt. Made on its own it's a quick emulsion of hot sauce and butter; built in the pan the wings cooked in, the rendered fat and browned bits give it an even deeper, roastier flavor.

Makes enough for 12 wings

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Ingredients

Sauces

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Concentrating Flavor

Method

Build the emulsion

For a standalone sauce, warm the hot sauce and water in a small saucepan over low heat, then remove from the heat and whisk in the cold butter a piece at a time until glossy and emulsified. For a pan sauce, pour off all but about 1–2 tablespoons rendered chicken fat from the wing pan, add the hot sauce over low heat, scraping up the browned bits, then remove from the heat and whisk in the cold butter a piece at a time.

Taste and adjust

Taste and adjust with more hot sauce for acidity and heat, or another small piece of butter if it needs rounding out.

Pairs with: Pan-Roasted Chicken Wings with Hot Wing Sauce

Part of Sauces in the How to Cook series.