Buffalo and ranch, without the wings

The chicken wing is the default game day food in the United States, but the home cook pays a tax for it. The deep fryer takes up counter space, the oil is a one time use cost, and the smell sticks to the kitchen for two days. Most of the wing experience comes from two ingredients, the buffalo sauce and the ranch. The wings themselves are mostly the delivery vehicle.

Once you accept that, the cuisine opens up. Buffalo flavored anything works. A buffalo chicken mac skillet is the dish you make when six people show up unannounced. Buffalo chicken tacos are the dish you make when you remembered tortillas exist. A buffalo chicken grilled cheese is the dish you make when you want to be indulgent without the cleanup.

The ranch is the half of the equation people get wrong. Bottled ranch is a sweet, gummy approximation of the real thing. Real ranch is a four ingredient dressing. Buttermilk, mayo, garlic, dill. Whisk it in a bowl ten minutes before you need it, let it sit. The garlic has to bloom in the dairy before it tastes like ranch.

The heat scale is yours to choose. Frank's RedHot is the canonical buffalo sauce, but the ratio of butter to sauce is the lever that controls heat. More butter, milder. Less butter, hotter. A teaspoon of vinegar at the end keeps the sauce sharp regardless of which side of the ratio you land on.

Six dishes that hit the buffalo and ranch crave without a single wing.