Buffalo Wing Day: Chicken Wing Facts And Trivia

Buffalo chicken wings are one of America’s favorite snacks as billions are eaten each year. To celebrate its national day on Tuesday, July 29, some fun facts and trivia about the spicy treat have been listed below, courtesy of National Chicken Wing Day.

Buffalo, New York, is believed to be the birthplace of the chicken wing treat. Legend has it that Teressa Bellissimo created the favorite bar snack at Anchor Bar after her son Dominic and his college friends wanted a late-night bite to eat. She wanted to make something fast and easy so she deep-fried some chicken wings, which until 1964 were usually used for soup stock, and tossed them in a sauce of butter and hot sauce. She paired the dish with some celery and bleu cheese to cut the heat, and the dish was a hit!

The craze soon caught on with competitors and Buffalo wings got their own day when the town’s Mayor Stan Makowski claimed it in 1977 because “thousands of pounds of chicken wings are consumed by Buffalonians in restaurants and taverns throughout the city each week.” Today, Anchor Bar in Buffalo sells more than 70 thousand pounds of chicken per month, according to About.com.

More than 27 billion were eaten in 2013 and 1.23 billion wings were consumed during Super Bowl weekend alone, according to the official site for Chicken Wing Day. If weighed, that would be over 100 million pounds of wings.

The sauce transcends chicken wings, and even applies to shrimp, pizza and practically anything that would taste good with Buffalo-style sauce on it. Different variations have caught on throughout the nation, with some restaurants selling jerked wings and Asian-style flavors.

Buffalo’s Café, which has various locations in Georgia and California, provided International Business Times with a recipe for their poblano pepper wing sauce. Check it out below for a sauce that is a little spicy, and has the tang and texture of fire-roasted poblano peppers:

Poblano Pepper Wing Sauce

1/2 cup Frank's Hot Wing Sauce 1 large Poblano Pepper

1 Tablespoon Cayanne Pepper

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 Tablespoon Black pepper 1/4 cup White Vinegar

1. Remove the stem from the pepper and place is on grill or in oven. Roast it until the pepper starts to darken and become tender. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. Tip: turning the pepper frequently while cooking will prevent it from burning.

2. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend it on med/high speed for 30 seconds.

3. Toss with wings or place in a storage container until needed.

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella