the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Buffalo Sauce Number One

Betraying my Texas Panhandle, more-or-less authentic redneck roots, I have to admit that now and again the folks eating around our campfire absolutely clamor for and eventually devour piles and piles of buffalo chicken off the grill.

Though we don’t tend to hang around with ‘em, I’m told there are lots of foodies out there that turn their collective noses up at such pedestrian food as buffalo chicken, perhaps in some way related to the sauce’s origins (read up on the history if you’re into that sort of thing – I am personally, but didn’t have the time this week to rehash the story in sufficient detail) in a humble northeastern bar.

And I will grant buffalo sauce critics one unfortunate reality – that fact being that many of the commercially prepared, pre-mixed buffalo sauces are filled with absolute crap ingredients (soybean or canola oils being probably the worst of the lot), many of which are added in to attempt to recreate the particular flavor of the original despite using an array of ingredients not even close to the original recipe.

Please note that the recipe following is one that we’ve using around our camp for years; it’s very close to the “original”, though I always reach for a good Louisiana-style hot sauce – we just like the flavor profile better, and a hint of Worcestershire and garlic powder to round out the flavors a bit.

And yea, it uses butter, real, glorious butter, and there’s nothing in the commercially prepared buffalo sauce game that tastes anywhere close to this good.

Chef Libby in Austin convinced us to add a bit of vinegar back in, as most Louisiana-styled hot sauces aren’t quite as vinegary as Frank’s (the sauce ostensibly used in the original), and she most often sweetens hers when cooking commercially in her catering business down in Austin.

Of course the classic use of a great buffalo sauce is basting chicken on the grill, though I’ve brushed this one everything from redfish to pork chops to shrimp to skirt steak with great results.

This is one of those recipes that makes you look like a genius with roughly 5 minutes of effort; you’ll never buy another bottle of commercial sauce again.

1/2 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 to 1.5 tbsp vinegar, optional(1)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Good salt to taste

Optional additions:
Up to a tsp of good paprika
Sweetener of choice (brown sugar or honey)(2)

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and heat over medium heat until the butter has melted and you’re able to easily whisk until smooth and well combined.

Heat to a gentle simmer (do NOT bring to full boil or the sauce will separate), remove from heat, and let cool.

I personally think it’s best the day it’s made, though this one will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks (it’ll never last that long).

Notes:
1 Your call on the vinegar, try white, ACV, or even Chinese vinegars
2 We’ll sometimes add up to a tbsp of brown sugar or honey to sweeten things up a bit, but it’s not in the classic recipe.

Enjoy.