July 29th is National Chicken Wing Day.

There’s a recipe for America’s favorite chicken wing preparation, below. Wings have become a favorite American snack since their unintentional creation in 1964. We have a number of chicken wing recipes below. But first, a bit of food history.
 
 
1. THE HISTORY OF CHICKEN

Mankind has been eating chicken wings since the first chicken was caught.

Chickens were domesticated from the Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus), possibly crossed with the Grey Junglefowl. Both are members of the pheasant family.

Back in the day before man settled down to farming and animal husbandry, some 13,000 to 10,000 years ago, our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate what they caught.
er
The modern domesticated chicken is the subspecies Gallus gallus domesticus. So thanks to everyone who helped to domesticate the chicken. Where would we be without it?

Wild chickens were domesticated in Asia, possibly as far back as 7000 B.C.E. Certainly, the Chinese had domesticated them by about 5000 B.C.E., as had East Asia neighbors such as Thailand and Vietnam.

India, home to such delicious chicken dishes, didn’t domesticate the fowl until about 3000 B.C.E.

Here’s more chicken history.

 
2. BUFFALO WINGS HISTORY

Buffalo wings, America’s favorite wing recipe, were invented in 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. Today’s a good day to enjoy a plate.

Co-owner Teressa Bellissimo fried the wings—a typical preparation. But then, she covered them in her homemade hot sauce and served them with a side of blue cheese and celery—because that’s what she had on hand. Here’s more of the story.

Many popular dishes, including the Caesar salad and the Cobb salad, were invented because “that’s what was in the fridge.”

So the next time you’re faced with putting a dish on the table with a diverse group of ingredients but no recipe: Create it and give it a name.

 
3. MORE CHICKEN WINGS RECIPES

 
Plus:

[2] Asian Chicken Wings (photo © L’Adresse | NYC).

[3] Get creative with a Buffalo Wings Parfait (photo © Hungry Girl).