Until about 50 years ago, the only images that buffalo brought to mind wer the Western New York city and the wooly mammal that roams the Plains. Then the proprietor of the Anchor Bar in Buffalo doused hot sauce on some wings, deep fried them, and added sides of celery and blue cheese salad dressing, according to The Smithsonian. And a favorite nosh for spectator sports fans was born. Until then, wings were the least desired part of the chicken, often used only to make stock.

Although wonderful to eat, deep-frying wings can be a pain, so we’ve kept the buffalo part, combining the flavors into an easy dip. Just stir together cooked chicken, blue cheese, hot sauce, cream cheese, and celery seeds and bake until the mixture is hot and bubbly. Then dig in with your vehicle of choice, anything from celery sticks to crackers. You can keep your eye on the ball the whole time, if you choose.One rotisserie or roasted chicken will yield roughly the right amount of meat for this recipe. Try these two other bar foods re-imagined into delicious dips: Pepperoni Pizza Dip and Spicy Chicken and Chile Taco Dip.

  • Yields: 6 to 8 servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 45 mins

Ingredients (6)

  • 12 ounces cream cheese, cut into large pieces
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s RedHot sauce, plus more for serving
  • 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds
  • 1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese (about 6 ounces)
  • 4 cups small-dice cooked chicken (from about 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 1 [4- to 5-pound] whole chicken)
  • Carrot sticks, celery sticks, saltine crackers, thick-cut potato chips, or toasted bread, for serving

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
  2. Place the cream cheese, hot sauce, and celery seeds in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 7 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the blue cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch pie plate and spread it into an even layer.
  3. Sprinkle the remaining cup of blue cheese over the dip and bake until it’s bubbling around the edges, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve with extra hot sauce and carrot sticks, celery sticks, saltines, potato chips, or bread for dipping.