Episode Details

The chicken wing was once a scrap cut that kitchens tossed or boiled for stock. This episode explains how it became the Buffalo wing, starting with the precise formula: unbreaded drumettes and flats deep-fried until the fat renders out, then coated in an emulsion of cayenne hot sauce and butter, served with celery and blue cheese or ranch.

We weigh the conflicting Anchor Bar origin stories told by the Bellissimo family against the claim of John Young, who sold breaded wings in mumbo sauce in Buffalo in 1961. Then we follow the wing's rise through the Buffalo Bills' Super Bowl runs and pizza chains, the supply crunch that sent prices soaring, and the boneless wing workaround.

• Why unbreaded frying and a butter and hot sauce emulsion define a true Buffalo wing
• The competing Anchor Bar stories and why John Young deserves a place in wing history
• How the Buffalo Bills' four straight Super Bowl trips put wings in the national spotlight
• Why Domino's and Pizza Hut embraced wings and how demand strained the chicken supply
• The irony of boneless wings made from breast meat and Buffalo becoming a flavor of its own