Deep-fried chicken wings have long been a favorite of Southern cooking, but the idea of cooking chicken wings in peppery hot sauce was born in the North. What food can claim to be both southern and northern? Why, it’s the Buffalo Chicken Wing and it is true American cuisine, perfect for picnics on special occasions such as the Fourth of July.

One (there are several) of the most popular and accepted stories of this culinary creation goes like this: In Buffalo, New York, in 1964 at the Anchor Bar, co-owner Teressa Bellissimo decided the case of chicken wings which had been mistakenly delivered were going to be used for something other than making stock. Her son Dominic with some friends had arrived at the bar. They had been drinking, so he asked his mother to whip up something for them to eat. Out came the chicken wings which she deep-fried without breading and then coated with hot sauce made from a base of vinegar, butter and cayenne pepper. Teressa served them with celery sticks an...