Quick Answer
What's the best buffalo sauce for cooking (not just for wings)?For most cooking applications (slow cooker chicken, dip, pizza, pasta), Frank's RedHot Original hot sauce (not the pre-made wing sauce) is the best choice — it's more concentrated than pre-made wing sauces, holds up well to heat, and lets you control the butter and fat content separately based on the recipe. Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce (pre-made) works well for quick applications but has butter already incorporated, which can behave unexpectedly in some cooked dishes. For high-heat applications: avoid cream cheese-based or dairy-heavy prepared sauces, which can break.
Cooking vs. Wing Tossing: Different Requirements
The best wing-tossing sauce isn't always the best cooking sauce. Here's why:
- Pre-made wing sauces (Frank's BW Sauce, Moore's, etc.): Already contain butter/fat. When used in slow cookers or baked dishes, the fat can separate from the sauce in ways that create greasy, uneven results. Better for finishing (tossing cooked meat) than for long-cook applications.
- Frank's RedHot Original (plain hot sauce): No fat content. Behaves predictably in cooking. You control the fat addition separately, which integrates better with cream cheese (dip), shredded cheese (pizza), and other dairy components.
- Heat retention: Volatile flavor compounds in hot sauce evaporate during long cooking. Sauces with higher capsaicin concentration (more cayenne) retain heat better in long-cook dishes than delicately flavored ones.
| Application | Best Sauce | Why | Amount per Lb Chicken |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow cooker chicken (shredded) | Frank's Original | Concentrates during long cook | 1/2–3/4 cup |
| Buffalo chicken dip | Frank's Original or Crystal | Mixes cleanly with cream cheese | 1/2–3/4 cup per 8oz cream cheese |
| Buffalo pizza | Frank's Original (reduced) | No butter to make crust soggy | 3–4 tbsp per 12" pizza |
| Buffalo pasta sauce | Frank's Original + butter added | Control richness separately | 1/3–1/2 cup + 2 tbsp butter |
| Buffalo mac and cheese | Frank's Original | Integrates with cheese sauce | 1/4–1/3 cup per recipe |
| Wing tossing (classic) | Frank's Wing Sauce or homemade | Butter already incorporated | Per wing batch |
By Application
Slow cooker buffalo chicken: Frank's Original outperforms pre-made wing sauces for this application. Add 3/4 cup Frank's Original directly to the slow cooker with the chicken — no butter needed during cooking. After shredding, add butter or cream cheese to finish and create the right richness. The long cook concentrates the Frank's flavor nicely.
Buffalo chicken dip: The dip is essentially a cream cheese base with hot sauce and cheese. Frank's Original integrates with cream cheese more cleanly than butter-containing wing sauces. A typical ratio: 8oz cream cheese + 1/2 cup Frank's + 1/2 cup ranch dressing + shredded chicken + 1 cup shredded cheese. The Frank's sharpness cuts through the cream cheese richness.
Buffalo pizza: The challenge with buffalo pizza is that standard wing sauce (containing butter) makes the crust soggy. Frank's Original (no butter) is the right choice for pizza applications. Apply a thin layer directly to the par-baked crust as the sauce layer, top with cheese and other toppings, and bake normally. The pizza's heat finishes the sauce.
💡 Reducing Frank's for More Intense Flavor
For applications where you want an intense buffalo flavor without extra liquid (pizza sauce, pasta reductions): reduce Frank's Original in a small saucepan over medium heat by 25–30% before using. A 1/2 cup becomes ~1/3 cup with a more concentrated flavor and thicker consistency. This reduction also mellows the raw vinegar sharpness slightly, producing a more rounded flavor for cooked applications. Add any butter or fat after reduction, not before.