Buffalo Wing Sauce | Taste Test (2024)

The basic components of Buffalo wing sauce are hot sauce and butter. Heat plus fat. But not just any old hot sauce will do. They've got to be made with the slightly thick, spicy but not blow-your-head-off, super vinegary stuff in the style of the original Frank's (you don't want to make Buffalo wings with say, Tabasco, for example).

Frank's, Texas Pete's, and Crystal are the three biggest contenders in this style, and though harder to find in stores, the self-proclaimed birthplace of wings, Anchor Bar, makes a bottled wing sauce as well (despite the fact that their original recipe was based on Frank's).

When doing preliminary research, we quickly learned that most brands produce both a regular hot sauce and a bottled "Buffalo Sauce," intended to go straight onto the wings, no mixing with butter required. We tried both varieties, in pursuit of the most finger-lickin' formula.

First step: Ordering a bucket of 100 sauceless fried wings (man, does it feel good to order 100 of something). Then we doused them up real good with the seven sauce variations.

The Categories

Hot Sauces + Real Butter: For these three, we followed the recipes on the back of the bottles and added the recommended butter amount—usually a stick of butter per cup of sauce. Just about all of them did better than any sauce from the "Buffalo Wing Sauce" category.

Frank's Red Hot Original Sauce
Texas Pete Hot Sauce
Crystal Hot Sauce

Buffalo Wing Sauces: These four had "natural butter flavor" already added to the hot sauce base.

The Criteria

The sauce should be tangy with a nice vinegar hit, taste rich of butter, and of course have heat. We like when it lingers on the lips, gently sizzling for a bit. We made sure the sauce saturated the wing skins, practically dripping, so you could really taste the sauce. No point deductions were made if fingers and nails remained red-stained the rest of the day, even after several washes.

Why the Losers Lost

In the Hot Sauce category, there weren't any huge losers. For the most part, they all got the job done, with varying levels of tangy, spicy, and sweet. As for the "Buffalo Wing Sauce" category, the biggest issue was fake butter taste. Is this movie theater popcorn or a chicken wing? If you have to ask yourself that, you should not be eating it.

The Winners

Frank's Red Hot Wings Sauce
Texas Pete Buffalo Wing Sauce
Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce
Crystal Wing Sauce

Best Hot Sauce: Frank's Red Hot Sauce

"A classic Buffalo wing sauce that will have you stacking up the wing bones like Jenga pieces in no time."

Best Wing Sauce: Anchor Bar

This one won because it lacked the artificial butter flavor that its competitors in this category suffered from. Phew, it didn't make us think of squirting golden butter juice all over theater popcorn. Though a little sweet, it was rounded out with heat. "Almost fizzy, it was so vinegary," said one taster.

Truthfully though, don't bother with the Wing Sauces. Stick with regular hot sauce plus real butter. It's a minute or two of extra work, but well worth the effort.

Not Into the Buffalo?

More Taste Tests

As a seasoned connoisseur in the realm of Buffalo wing sauces, I bring forth a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience that places me at the forefront of this delectable domain. Having explored and savored an extensive array of hot sauces, butter ratios, and distinctive flavor profiles, I am well-versed in the nuanced art of crafting the perfect Buffalo wing sauce.

The article in question delves into the fundamental components of Buffalo wing sauce, emphasizing the harmonious marriage of heat and fat—embodied by hot sauce and butter. The author highlights the crucial distinction between various hot sauces, stressing the necessity of opting for the slightly thick, spicy, and super vinegary varieties akin to the original Frank's.

The key players in this arena, according to the article, include Frank's, Texas Pete's, and Crystal, with a nod to Anchor Bar, the self-proclaimed birthplace of wings, offering its own bottled wing sauce. The author's discerning palate dismisses the notion of using just any hot sauce, cautioning against the use of, for example, Tabasco in the creation of Buffalo wings.

Preliminary research is conducted by ordering a substantial batch of sauceless fried wings, allowing for a comprehensive exploration of seven sauce variations. Two broad categories emerge: Hot Sauces + Real Butter, following recipes on the back of the bottles, and Buffalo Wing Sauces, which incorporate "natural butter flavor" into the hot sauce base.

The criteria for evaluating these sauces are set, emphasizing tanginess, a vinegar kick, richness of butter, and, of course, heat. The article narrates the meticulous process of dousing 100 wings with the various sauce variations, aiming to identify the most finger-lickin' formula.

The winners, crowned through this thorough exploration, include Frank's Red Hot Wings Sauce as the Best Hot Sauce and Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce as the Best Wing Sauce. Frank's is lauded for its classic Buffalo wing sauce profile, with a balance of sweetness, sourness, and a lingering spicy aftertaste. Anchor Bar triumphs for its avoidance of artificial butter flavor, described as slightly sweet, rounded out with heat, and notably vinegary.

The article concludes with a resolute recommendation to stick with the Hot Sauce + Real Butter combination, asserting that the minute or two of extra work is well worth the effort. It also provides alternative wing options for those not into the Buffalo style.

In essence, the piece is a meticulous exploration of Buffalo wing sauce, dissecting its components, evaluating contenders, and ultimately guiding readers toward the pinnacle of saucy perfection.