I’ve been covering the Chicago food scene for over 15 years. And I’ve never met a man more obsessed with perfecting the mighty hot wing than Pete Naughton.
Naughton was a member of the marine corps and an ex-high school football coach. He has a very broad-shoulders Chicago manner to him. He’s spent much of his professional career in managing rental properties.
But the pull of the chicken wing was always strong. Until it became too strong to ignore.
Over the last few years, Naughton embarked on a pilgrimage (both physical and spiritual) that brought him to dozens of restaurants serving hot wings and to Buffalo, New York.
His theory is this: Most restaurants selling hot wings aren’t focused on the hot wing. Chicken is a side act to beer, the real moneymaker. And so the act of cooking the hot wing is reduced to its most basic functions—bread, fry, sauce, serve.
Naughton said he fastidiously researched how to cook chicken wings, from selecting the right pieces, to the flour ratio, to the cook and resting time.
After many years of trial and error, the fruits of his chicken labor are manifested in a takeout-only joint dubbed Big Sauce, located at 831 North Sedgwick near the former Cabrini Green site.
What’s certain is that Naughton’s wings are a highly caliber than most versions. These are jumbo wings, fried hard to a crunchier exterior, and using beef tallow as the fry oil, giving the wings a vaguely Popeyes flavor.
And while standard-fare Buffalo hot sauce is available, the signature sauce here is a Chicago mild sauce, the type you’d find at Harold’s Chicken or bottled as mumbo sauce. Think a cross between ketchup, barbecue, and sweet & sour sauce.
What I enjoy about Big Sauce is that they only serve two things: Wings, and potatoes.
Dubbed Big Potatoes, these aren’t so much fries or wedges as they are potato shards—creamy on the inside, crunch on the outside. Dipped into their house-made ranch, I think the potatoes are even better than the wings.
If you want to experience the high-water mark of a good wing? Order a dozen wings here and eat them on the street, on the curb or the hood of your car. There might be no higher Chicago dining experience.
