Wings of the World
Wings were the cheap part of the chicken until a Buffalo bar fried them, tossed them in hot sauce and butter and served them with celery and blue cheese, sometime around 1964 (who did it first is still argued about). Nagoya was frying its own peppery wings by then, and cooks from Seoul to Kingston to Hong Kong have their own. Here is every style, step by step.
Buffalo Wings (Anchor Bar Style)
Unbreaded wings fried crisp and tossed in a buttery cayenne pepper sauce, served with celery, carrots and a chunky blue cheese dressing, the way Buffalo's Anchor Bar made them famous.
Atlanta Lemon Pepper Wet Wings
Crisp fried wings tossed in melted butter with a little hot sauce, lemon and honey, then showered with a homemade lemon pepper seasoning: Atlanta's favorite way to order wings.
DC Carryout Wings with Mambo Sauce
Whole wings dredged in seasoned flour and fried hard, then drenched in mambo sauce, the sweet, tangy, red carryout sauce Washington calls its own.
Garlic Parmesan Wings
Oven-baked wings with crackly skin, tossed in melted butter with fresh garlic, Parmesan and parsley and run under the broiler: the no-heat wing found on many American wing menus.
Hot Honey Wings
Wings in a light seasoned-flour coat, fried crisp and tossed in melted butter, chili-infused honey, cider vinegar and red pepper flakes: sweet first, heat second.
Nagoya Tebasaki (Sweet Soy Chicken Wings)
Wings dusted in potato starch, fried twice, coated in a sweet soy, mirin, garlic and ginger glaze and finished with sesame seeds and pepper, the bar snack Nagoya is famous for.
Korean Soy Garlic Wings (Double Fried)
Wings dusted in cornstarch, dipped in a thin, crackly batter and fried twice, then brushed with a glossy glaze of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and honey: Korean fried chicken that isn't red.
Thai Fried Chicken Wings (Peek Gai Tod)
Wings rubbed with a pounded paste of garlic, coriander root, white pepper and soy sauce, dusted with flour, fried golden and served with crisp fried lime leaves and sweet chili sauce.
Chinese Coca-Cola Chicken Wings (Ke Le Ji Chi)
Wings browned with ginger in a skillet, then simmered in cola, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine until the liquid cooks down to a sticky, shiny glaze: a Chinese home-cooking classic.
Jamaican Jerk Wings
Wings marinated in a blended paste of scallions, Scotch bonnet, thyme, garlic, allspice and soy, grilled slowly on the cool side, then brushed with fresh paste and charred over the fire.
Filipino Adobo Chicken Wings
Wings marinated and simmered in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper and bay leaves, then tossed in the cooking liquid boiled down to a glaze with onions and served with sweet homemade banana ketchup.
Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings (Baking Powder Method)
No fryer and no fuss: wings tossed with baking powder and salt, roasted on a rack in a very hot oven, broiled for extra crunch and tossed in a quick hot sauce, butter and molasses sauce.
Creamy Parmesan Garlic Wings, Inspired by Buffalo Wild Wings
Inspired by, not official: plain fried wings tossed in a creamy sauce of roasted garlic, mayonnaise, Parmesan, lemon and dried herbs, in the style of the sports-bar chain's Parmesan Garlic flavor.