What's better than buffalo wings? Buffalo skate wings !! Made from the tastiest, ugliest, and most abundant fish in our waters, skate wings are a great starter dish for evenings spent with unsavory company.

Skate, as we've waxed poetic on before, have a striated pattern to the wing meat. Once winged, skinned and taken off the cartiladge, use a sharp filet knife to cut along the striations to render strips of meat that look like calimari. Rinse and then dredge in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper. (You can even freeze them at this point and break out whenever) Fry at 350 degrees until they float (about 3 minutes - keeping in mind they are small strips so they don't take very long) remove, drain on paper towels and keep warm. (if you are using a deep fryer - shake the basket immediately and often to keep them from sticking together. If you are frying in a pan, try to keep individual pieces seperated.) Break out your 1/2 cup of Frank's Hot Sauce, 1/3 cup of butter, 1/3 cup of Sam Adams Boston Lager or even a cheap white wine will make you look like a fancy boy. Melt butter in pan, deglaze with beer or wine and let beer cook down, turn off heat, stir in hot sauce, and mix in your fried skate. I like to put skate in a freezer bag, then pour the hot sauce mixture into the bag and shake it around to coat everything. Top with chopped green onions and serve with bleu cheese dressing. Better for you than chicken wings and tastes equally good. "Looks like crap, tastes like chicken."