Buffalo BBQ Fried Chicken (or Chicken Wings)

For the sauce:

2 Tablespoons butter

2/3 cup basic storebought BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray s, Bull s Eye or Kraft will work just fine)

1/3 cup Tabasco sauce (if Tabasco is too hot, use Frank s or Crystal, but you might like to add just a little more vinegar)

optional: up to 1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar if needed

optional: up to 1 Tbsp of a superhot hot sauce to up the heat

optional: up to 1.5 Tablespoons brown sugar if needed (white sugar, honey, maple syrup, and agave are also fine)

For the chicken:

4 pounds chicken drums and/or thighs and/or whole wings

2.5-3 teaspoons garlic salt

1 mixture of 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup corn starch

vegetable oil for frying

FOR THE SAUCE (Steps 1 & 2): Put the butter, BBQ sauce and Tabasco in a small sauce pan and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat for about thirty seconds, stirring to incorporate the melted butter into the sauce.

Turn the heat to low and simmer for another minute or two. Taste a little bit of completely cooled sauce (I like to use a plastic spoon because it doesn t retain or conduct heat) to see if it needs more tang, sweet, or heat, and add any of the optional ingredients as necessary to adjust the flavor to your liking. Give it a stir and let simmer for another minute or so to let all the flavors meld.

FOR THE CHICKEN (Steps 3 to 8. Optional baking instead of frying instructions in Step 9): Season your chicken with the salt, giving it a gentle toss/massage to ensure that it s evenly seasoned. Let it sit on the counter, covered, for about 45 minutes, to let it come up in temperature and to let the seasoning absorb.

In whatever vessel you use to deep fry, bring 4 to 5 inches of vegetable oil up to roughly 360F over medium heat. You ll know it s ready when you throw a pinch of flour in it and it gently but immediately sizzles and rises.

Toss the flour and corn starch mixture into your chicken, coating it thoroughly, but lightly.

Fry 4 or 5 pieces of chicken at a time, about 20 minutes total, 10 minutes per side, and set aside on a rack while you finish frying the rest of the chicken. If you find your chicken browning too much too quickly, turn your heat down just a tad.

While you re frying your last batch of chicken, bring your sauce back up to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then keep it warm on the lowest heat setting.

Put all your fried chicken in a large mixing bowl, pour the warm sauce over it, and give it a few good gentle tosses (preferably with tongs, a large spoon, or cooking gloved hands to avoid capsaicin on your skin) to thoroughly coat all the chicken.

IF YOU PREFER TO BAKE YOUR CHICKEN IN THE OVEN: Preheat the oven to 425F, put it all on a rack over a pan to catch the drippings, and roast on the center rack for 50 minutes before tossing in the sauce.