speakeater.
Preview This is a new page in the Speakeater sauces collection. The ratio and method are verified against the classic public-domain source cited below. Final kitchen testing and original food photography are still in progress.
Hot sauce . Buffalo 1964 . butter does the work

Buffalo Sauce.

The most famous sauce in American bar food is a two-ingredient whisk.

Type
Butter emulsion
Base
Hot sauce + butter
Ratio
2:1
Time
5 min
Yield
3/4 cup
Quick answer

To make buffalo sauce, warm half a cup of cayenne hot sauce (the Frank's style) and whisk in four tablespoons of butter a piece at a time off the heat until glossy. Toss with fried wings immediately. A teaspoon of vinegar sharpens it, a dash of garlic powder rounds it.

What it is

What is buffalo sauce?

Buffalo sauce was born at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo in 1964, and the invention was not the hot sauce, it was the butter. Cayenne hot sauce alone is thin, harsh, and slides off fried chicken. Mounted with butter it becomes an emulsion: glossy, clinging, its heat rounded and its vinegar tang carried instead of shouting.

The ratio is the whole craft. Two parts hot sauce to one part butter is the classic wing-joint balance, more butter drifts mild and rich, less leaves it sharp. Whisk the butter in off the heat like any mounted sauce and it stays emulsified through the toss.

The recipe

What goes in buffalo sauce?

1/2 cup
Cayenne hot sauce
×
4 tbsp
Butter
×
1 tsp
Vinegar (optional)

Two to one hot sauce to butter by volume. This scales linearly for wing night: a cup of hot sauce and a stick of butter coats about four pounds of wings.

Method

How do you make buffalo sauce?

  1. Warm the hot sauce in a small pan until it steams, not boils.
  2. Pull it off the heat and whisk in the butter a piece at a time until glossy.
  3. Whisk in the vinegar and garlic powder if using.
  4. Toss with hot fried wings in a bowl until every surface is coated.
  5. Serve immediately, extra sauce on the side stays whiskable for an hour near the stove.
The Frank\u2019s question Any cayenne-and-vinegar hot sauce works, but the reference flavor of buffalo is specifically the Frank\u2019s profile: mild heat, loud vinegar, salt. Sriracha or chipotle sauces make good sauces that are not buffalo.
Cook's notes

What should you know before making buffalo sauce?

History

Where did buffalo sauce come from?

Teressa Bellissimo tossed the first plate at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo in 1964, deep-fried wings, cayenne hot sauce, margarine in the first telling, celery and blue cheese from the appetizer cooler. The dish colonized the country within twenty years.

Derivatives

What can you make from buffalo sauce?

Honey buffalo
A tablespoon of honey, the sweet-heat crowd-pleaser.
Garlic-parm buffalo
Extra butter, minced garlic, and a shower of parmesan after tossing.
Nuclear
Halve the butter, add cayenne and a minced habanero. Label it honestly.
FAQ

Common questions.

What hot sauce do I use for buffalo sauce?

A cayenne-vinegar sauce, Frank\u2019s RedHot being the canonical bottle. Tabasco works but is hotter and thinner, adjust butter up.

Why did my buffalo sauce separate?

It boiled, or the butter went in too fast over heat. Whisk in a teaspoon of warm water off the heat and it usually comes back.

Is buffalo sauce spicy?

Medium by default, the butter tames the burn. The ratio is the heat dial: more butter mild, less butter hot, extra cayenne for the brave.

Kyle Schulgen Founder, Speakeater
Builder of Speakeater, the cooking app that reads your fridge. Writes the recipe reference pages by hand, anchored in public-domain culinary sources.
Last updated: 2026-05-29

Open your fridge. We'll figure out dinner.

Speakeater reads what you already have and tells you what to cook, sauce included. Photo your shelf, get a recipe back.

Save me a seat