History of the Hot Wing - A Football Food Favorite!

Many of you are excited about the NFL championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming up this Sunday. Here at The Barn-B-Que Smokehouse in Lake Ozark,  we're looking forward to an exciting game but we're equally as excited about all of those delicious foods that go so well with watching the game. (We're willing to bet more than a few of you are pretty excited about that part too!) 

One of the most popular foods to enjoy while watching football is undoubtedly the chicken wing. Well, it just so happens that our Lake of the Ozarks BBQ restaurant & smokehouse cooks up an irresistible wing right here at The Barn! 

We'll take a closer look at our version of those mouthwatering morsels of meat a bit further down the page. First, here's a brief look back at the origins of this fantastic food.  

History of the Hot Wing

Chicken wings are often referred to as "hot wings" due to the fact that they are usually tossed in a hot sauce, or they can be called "Buffalo wings" because the most popular histories of the wing put their origin story in Buffalo, New York. We say histories, plural, because there are a few different tales that may or may not have been the original debut of the wings we love today.

Three of these stories all give credit to Teressa Bellissimo of the Ancho Bar in Buffalo for serving the first hot wing in the mid-1960s. The first story says that Teressa needed a quick, easy snack to serve late at night for a surprise visit from her son Dominic and his college buddies. She decided to deep-fry some chicken wings, which were normally thrown away for reserved for stock, and then toss them in some cayenne hot sauce. 

The way Dominic tells the story, he says that on a Friday night he wanted to do something nice for the many patrons buying drinks. Most of them were Catholic and not eating meat on Fridays. His mother came up with the chicken wing idea and they were served at midnight when everyone could once again eat meat. 

The third story claims that Teressa's restaurant received a delivery of wings instead of the chicken backs and necks they were expecting, which were used to make the bar's spaghetti sauce. In this tale, it was her husband Frank that asked Teressa to create a dish to use up the unexpected delivery. 

There is one story about the origin of the Buffalo wing that does not involve Teressa Bellissimo. This one gives credit to John Young. He decided to specialize in selling chicken wings after someone told him that there was a restaurant in Washington D.C. that was having a lot of luck selling wings. While John began serving his uncut, breaded, deep-fried wings with a tomato-based "Mumbo sauce" in 1961, he claims that the Anchor Bar didn't offer Buffalo wings as a regular menu item until 1974.  

Smoked Wings From The Barn

Here at The Barn-B-Que, we choose not to deep-fry our wings but instead prefer to add them to the long list of our delicious smoked meats at the Lake of the Ozarks. Our juicy, jumbo wings are first seasoned with our house rub and then slowly smoked to perfection fresh every day. They come in orders of 6, 12, or 24 and are served with your choice of Blue Cheese or Ranch dressing. 

If you happen to join us during Happy Hour, appetizers are half-price, which includes orders of our savory wings. Also, we offer 50-cent wings all day every Wednesday. This special comes in orders of 6 for dine-in customers only and sorry, but no doggie bags at that price! 

More Football Food Favorites 

Wings aren't the only food that's perfect for chowing down on while you watch the final football game of this season. Here are a few suggestions for some of our favorite football foods. 

Of course, we'll have our full menu available for both dining in and carryout orders during the game plus some incredible Easy Carry-Out Combos made especially for to-go orders. (Don't forget, we serve breakfast early every Friday-Sunday from 8-11 am too!)

  • Nachos
    Our Farm Nachos come with a bed of tortilla chips covered in camp beans, queso cheese, sour cream, our house sweet sauce, and your choice of pulled pork or chicken.
  • Ribs
    Our ribs can be ordered in a variety of ways, from a 4-rib dinner to a half or full slab meal of smoked BBQ goodness. 
  • Pulled Pork Sliders
    All of our smoked sandwich meats (pulled pork, brisket, turkey, ham, and sausage) are perfect for piling on a bun with one of our 5 flavorful BBQ sauces. When you serve them as sliders instead of full-sized sandwiches, you can eat more and space them out throughout the game! 
When you start finalizing plans for what you'll be doing on game day, make sure that something from the menu at our Lake of the Ozarks family restaurant is a part of those plans! You can come in to dine with us and while you're here, take advantage of our all-day Sunday Happy Hour or order BBQ to-go online or by calling us at 573-693-9959. A few tasty treats from The Barn-B-Que is bound to make your game-watching experience even more "super!" 


Lake of the Ozarks’ Best Craft BBQ Smokehouse

14 Ravenwood Drive
Lake Ozark, MO 65049

573-693-9959

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