To me, this buffalo sauce recipe is the MVP when it comes to jazzing up a chicken dish, baked or fried. This fermented sauce is beyond easy and only takes a few minutes to put together. Then all you need to do is let it sit for a week.
After that, just blend everything, strain it, and you’ll have a wonderful homemade hot sauce. Let’s enjoy this flavorful sauce and get ready to feel the heat!
What Is Buffalo Sauce?
Buffalo sauce is a mixture of melted butter and hot sauce. It has a satisfying balance of rich and spicy flavor with a smooth texture.
1. Why Is It Called Buffalo Sauce?
The good news is neither the origin of the name nor the ingredients have anything to do with an actual buffalo. The sauce was named after a restaurant in Buffalo, New York, where chicken wings were first served with this sauce. Until then, chicken wings were regarded as waste and used to make soup.
The original sauce is ridiculously simple to make; you only need five essential ingredients: chili, butter, vinegar, water, and salt. You can make your version of this buffalo sauce recipe by adding other ingredients to enhance its flavors.
2. Is This Sauce Vegan?
The short answer is no.
Original buffalo sauce is a chili-based hot sauce with melted butter. As butter is a dairy product that is made from milk, it’s considered a non-vegan product.
Recently, many brands have replaced the butter in the sauce with plant-based fats to make them vegan friendly and lengthen the shelf life. You can check the label carefully to get the kind of buffalo sauce you want.
Is Buffalo Sauce Healthy?
Buffalo sauce is a fermented food. This means it is full of healthy bacteria, grown during the fermentation process, which help with digestion and strengthen your gut microbiome.
The chili peppers used contain a large number of fundamental minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins (especially vitamin C). Vitamin C can aid in preventing colds and might even help lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.
It is important to note that spicy peppers don’t agree with everyone; they can increase acidity and lead to inflammation of the stomach. A recent study found that adults over 55 who consistently consumed more than 50 grams of chili per day had an increased risk of memory decline. So how much buffalo sauce can you use daily? Ideally, no more than 3 tablespoons.
Buffalo Sauce Ingredients
This homemade buffalo sauce recipe gives a kick of pleasant heat and tang. It can be used as a dipping sauce or coating for chicken wings.
What Is This Sauce Made Of?
All the ingredients to make this amazing sauce are really simple: chilies, vinegar, butter, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings of choice. You can choose your favorite chilies and change the ratio of them to control the heat of the sauce.
How To Make Homemade Buffalo Sauce
Step 1: Prep chilies
Remove the ends of the chili peppers and cut them into 2-inch pieces.
Step 2: Make the brine
Add water, rice vinegar, and salt into a glass container. Then transfer chili peppers into the container.
Step 3: Ferment
Store it in a dark place at room temperature.
Step 4: Blend
After 5-7 days, it will have some small bubbles floating on the surface. Transfer the chili mixture from the jar into a high-speed blender for 1 minute to get more liquid out of them.
Step 5: Strain the mixture
Strain the blended mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to create a smooth sauce.
Step 6: Melt the butter and add seasoning
In a small pan, melt the butter, then add in the paprika, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce.
Step 7: Make the buffalo sauce
Pour the butter mixture into the chili sauce and stir to incorporate. Keep the sauce in a food container.
Step 8: Store
Store the buffalo sauce in the fridge for 2 months and in the freezer for up to 6 months.
How To Thicken Buffalo Sauce
If you want to thicken your buffalo sauce, simmering is the easiest way. Pour the sauce into a small pan over low heat, use a spoon to stir gently to ensure that the liquid doesn’t burn.
You can choose to omit other ingredients which will result in a more concentrated sauce.
Creamy ingredients like sugar or butter can also thicken the buffalo sauce. Try to add some sugar or melted butter into the sauce and then bring the mixture to a boil. You should keep a close eye on it during this process since overcooking the sauce might cause a change in consistency and flavor.
Buffalo Sauce Nutrition
Each tablespoon of our buffalo sauce recipe contains 10 calories and fat accounts for most of them (9 calories). Other elements are present in small amounts:
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Carbohydrate: 1 gram
- Protein: 1 gram
- Potassium: 19 mg
How Long Will This Sauce Keep?
The shelf life of fermented foods is dependent on low temperatures and high-quality packaging. Without any preservatives, the homemade version has a significantly shorter shelf life than the commercial sauce.
This homemade buffalo sauce can easily be kept around 2 weeks in a cool, dark location (like a low cupboard) or the refrigerator for even longer. It’s all about the acidity.
Technically shelf-stable food has a pH level below 4.6 pH. If you’re concerned, adding more vinegar can lower the pH and might enable the sauce to be shelf-stable for up to a year.
From my experience, as long as the vinegar in it doesn’t smell bad and there are no signs of mold, you can use it.
If you are in the mood for another homemade sauce, our tomato sauce is also a great option.
Buffalo Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 oz bird’s eye chili
- 3 oz jalapeno chili
- 1/2 cup white rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; Purchases made via these links may benefit us at no additional cost to you. Read our Affiliate Disclosure.
Instructions
- Remove the ends of the chili peppers and cut them into 2-inch pieces. We suggest using rubber gloves for this step since your skin might get burned or irritated cutting them without gloves.
- Add water, rice vinegar, and salt into a glass container. Then transfer chili peppers into the container.
- Store it in a dark place at room temperature.
- After 5-7 days, it will have some small bubbles floating on the surface. Transfer the chili mixture from the jar into a high-speed blender for 1 minute to get more liquid out of them.
- Strain the blended mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to create a smooth sauce.
- In a small pan, melt the butter, then add in the paprika, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Pour the butter mixture into the chili sauce and stir to incorporate. Keep the sauce in a food container.
- Store the buffalo sauce in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Try to keep everything as clean as possible because you do not want to introduce any harmful bacteria which could ruin the fermentation.
- Having the right proportion of salt (2 percent over the weight of chilies) to water is essential. Unhealthy bacteria can grow in a lower-salt environment, however, these bacteria might be killed when there is more salt.
- You can add a few sweet peppers, like bell peppers, to the jar to temper the spiciness of your sauce.
Nutrition
Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. Thank you!
Leave a Reply