catsfagbyky is right about most criteria, except the "thick sauce that coats the wing". A thick sauce leaves a gloppy coating on the wing, which makes it go soggy. On a perfect wing, the sauce and the skin become one; it will be bright orange, but if you run your finger over it, very little sauce will come off. In fact, in Buffalo, people order their wings "crisp and dry" -- this means well drained, so the wings aren't swimming in sauce (again, loses crispness). Only the Anchor Bar serves them drowning, and the fact is most Buffalonians don't like Anchor Bar wings that much. Also lso, NEVER bread a Buffalo wing. In fact, don't add garlic powder, chile powder, or other "extras". These things almost all ahdere to the skin in a way that makes it go soggy. And breading is just morally wrong. A Buffalo wing is all about the crisp and spicy skin of the chicken.Two things have changed in 20 years. First, Franks Hot Sauce, which was bought by Durkee years ago, is just not as spicy as it used to be (and neither is Tabasco for that matter). Chalk it up to homogenization. I've found you need to add some neutral habanero sauce to get a really hot wing. Just make sure it is not a thick sauce.Second, most wing places outside of Buffalo use miniscule wings. This throws the flavor out of balance -- the wings taste too greasy. Use fairly large wings if you can get them.The rest is easy. Cut the wings into two peices. Throw out the wing tip. Toss a handful into a deep fryer (don't crowd them) for 12-14 minutes. While they are cooking, melt a few tablespoons of margarine. Dump it in a big bowl. Add Franks Hot Sauce or hotter similar sauces to taste. (For extra hot, some places use no margarine, but I find a little promotes a good seal on the skin -- it seems the vinegar in hot sauce alone causes sogginess). Mix the hot sauce and margarine. When the wings are cooked, drain them, and dump into bowl. Stirl and Swirl with slotted spoon, then lift the wings to the edge of bowl, allowing excess sauce to drain off. Plate. Save the remaining hot sauce for the next batch of wings out of the fryer, and replenish as necessary.For traditional style Buffalo Wings, I agree that it's all about frying the wings up to just that perfect deep golden brown crispiness without any breading of any type. If they are cooked right they are crisp on the outside and juicy inside. If they have shrunk about 40% they are about right. The sauce should be just the hot sauce with maybe a tiny bit of butter. Garlic, soy, and all my other favv normal food add ins just don't do good wings up right and in this case simplicity is the way to go. You toss the cooked wings right from the fryer into an empty pot or covered container, pour over the hot sauce, add the splat of butter, put on the lid and shake and toss gently for two minutes. There should only be a tiny bit of sauce in the bottom of the pot and the rest should be a thin layer that has cooked onto and into the wings. Then of course some decent blue cheese dressing on the side and some celery for crunch and to meld with the vinegary burn. If folks need their wings wet then you can always put the excess drained into a bowl for them to dip I find that Trappey's Red Devil Louisiana Hot Sauce has more flavor, heat, and that vinegary tang than Frank's / Durkee's. They come out nicely hot n spicy with that tang that is soooo good. For the past 15+ years this has been my wing sauce and no others just do the job.