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Did You Know?

The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness or piquancy of a chili pepper, as defined by the amount of capsaicin (a chemical compound which stimulates nerve endings in the skin) present.

Some hot sauces use their Scoville rating in advertising as a selling point.

The scale is named after its creator, American chemist Wilbur Scoville, who developed a test for rating the pungency of chili peppers. His method, which he devised in 1912,[1] is known as the Scoville Organoleptic Test. An alternative method for quantitative analysis uses high-performance liquid chromatography, making it possible to directly measure capsaicinoid content.

Chicken Wings: Making the Sauce

I don't think the mystery to a great chicken wing is in the sauce alone. It is a combination of several steps in the preperation of chicken wings that make them great. Poorly baked or fried wings cannot be improved with a good sauce. Just as well cooked wings won't help support poor sauces.

Franks RedHot
This is the base for my sauce. For several years I used a cheaper Louisiana Hot Sauce that I felt was quite similiar. The one day I used Franks again and WOW! I really noticed the difference. So to this day I always use Franks RedHot as my base sauce as it is worth the little extra money.

I should mention I only use the Original, not the buffalo, not the extra spicy, not the lime, just the original. Remember, this is the base sauce. We'll dress it up here in a moment.

Dave's Insanity
This is my fire. Made from the hottest of peppers, the Habenero. This stuff is hot enough for anyone on the planet and usually FAR too hot for most mortals. I'll add just enough of this to give me the kick that I want and to suit the taste of those that will be sharing this batch of wings with. Note, for many, a 1/4 teaspoon of this in 1 cup of Franks RedHot could make the sauce too hot. So be careful and be warned!

Butter
Something about butter makes everything taste good. If you don't want to use butter then don't and for goodness sake don't substitute anything. Margarine is like adding water. So if you are tempted to use it, don't. Oh, and salted or unsalted - does not matter. Use what you got.

Brown Sugar
This is the ingredient that adds a bit of sweetness to the sauce and makes those who try it stand up and take notice. We'll add just enough to give it some sweetness, but not so much that the sauce becomes sweet.

Chicken Wing Hot Sauce Recipe
1 cup Franks Red Hot
1/4 cup of butter
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
Extra Hot Sauce (Dave's Insanity recommended) to taste

Add all ingredient to a large glass bowl, stir, and then microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir again and microwave for another minute (or longer if butter and sugar have not melted).