I can remember when wings were just a useless part of the chicken and I didn't even bother to cook them. Now they cost more than drum sticks. I wonder if the cook that came up with the idea of making them a snack finger food had any idea how he would change the world.
@shadowcat: The story I heard, growing up near Buffalo NY, was that the wings of small chickens were scraps, and one bar started frying them up, saucing them, and putting them out like peanuts, to make the bar goers thirsty and get them to buy more beer. :)
Nowadays, the wings available even in Western NY, are far larger than the ones I remember eating at the gin mills my family frequented.
Shadow, I seem to remember something similar with the start of potato chips. Back in the late 19th century, thick-cut potatoes that were fried in oil were pretty popular among the more affluent people. One night, some customers were getting on the wrong side of a cook so he cut the potatoes very thin and fried them up that way. They became even more popular than the thick-cut potatoes, and thus the potato chip was born.
Wish I could remember where I saw that; a History Channel blurb probably.
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lbbaicnl, alas Follies is not that upscale.
BBQ, honey-mustard, other?
critical details!
Nowadays, the wings available even in Western NY, are far larger than the ones I remember eating at the gin mills my family frequented.
Wish I could remember where I saw that; a History Channel blurb probably.
Breaded or naked?
Wussy or hot enough to sit there and cook themselves?
My preference is for smoking hot naked!
Geez. That sounded kind of dirty...
Actually, I survived an order of Quaker Steak & Lube's Triple Atomic wings (about 500,000 on the Scoville scale). Then I got a second order.