Buffalo Wing Sauce
Ingredients
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- 1/2 cup unsalted butter – cut into pieces
- 1 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce
- 1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until mostly melted but not sizzling, 2–3 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and immediately whisk in the cayenne pepper hot sauce until smooth and emulsified.
3. Return the pan to low heat and whisk in the distilled white vinegar, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and kosher salt. Simmer gently, whisking, until glossy and the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon, 1–2 minutes.
4. Use right away to sauce hot, freshly cooked wings, or keep warm over the lowest heat, whisking occasionally. If made ahead, cool, refrigerate up to 1 week, then rewarm gently and whisk to re-emulsify before using.
Buffalo wing sauce is a bright, tangy, buttery hot sauce that clings to fried or baked chicken wings in a glossy, fiery coat. The balance of vinegar-forward cayenne pepper sauce and rich butter creates a smooth, craveable heat with a clean finish. It’s bold yet streamlined, designed to be tossed with hot wings so the sauce emulsifies and grips every nook and cranny without being overly thick or sweet.
Created in Buffalo, New York, the sauce is inseparable from the origin story of American bar wings in the 1960s. The now-iconic profile—cayenne pepper hot sauce enriched with butter—spread from local taverns to national menus, football Sundays, and backyard cookouts. While brands and tweaks vary, the defining character remains a simple emulsion of vinegar-chile heat and dairy fat, a hallmark of Western New York’s culinary identity.