Why Celery?
Celery has always been part of the Buffalo wing experience, and for good reason. When at its best, it’s fresh, cool, crisp, refreshing, and exactly what you want to be eating between fried, spicy, buttery, hot Buffalo wings. Buffalo wings and celery are about as different as two foods can be, and I believe that is exactly why they work so well together. Opposites attract.
Celery also goes great with the other member of the support team: blue cheese. Eating celery and blue cheese dressing is a great way to pass time while the wings are cooking.
Sadly, celery often gets the short end of the stick (pun intended) and is treated as little more than decoration. Part of the problem is that many restaurants do not give celery the respect it deserves. When you are served a plate of glorious wings and there are just a couple of small, limp celery sticks off to the side, warm and covered in wing sauce, they are not very appealing to eat.
Many people clean every scrap of meat from the bones but leave the celery behind. I eat mine.
Choosing Celery
When shopping for celery, choose carefully. Fresh celery almost always tastes better and has more crunch.
I look for a vibrant green color and clean, firm stalks. If they have leaves, the leaves should be healthy and not wilted, dry, or slimy. As celery ages, it becomes limp and rubbery, its color starts to fade, and it loses much of the crunch that makes celery enjoyable to eat. It also develops imperfections on the stalks, including small dry spots and other blemishes. After cutting, fresh celery will be something people actually want to eat instead of leaving on the plate.
Prepping Celery
Rinse: Cut the bottom off the bunch where the stalks meet, then rinse the stalks under cold running water.
Cut: Celery will stay freshest when left whole in the fridge, so don't cut it until it's needed. Cutting it in advance is fine, but ideally no more than a day or two.
Trim the stalks and remove any damaged sections. Cut off the wide flared end and the thin leafy ends so you are left with the uniform straight center.
The remaining center section can usually be divided into 2 or 3 equal pieces. Some stalks are thick enough that you may want to divide them lengthwise too. Try to keep them uniform in size. About 3 to 5 inches is standard.
Sometimes the outer stalks have especially fibrous strings that some people find unpleasant. You may de-fibre the celery if you like, but it’s not done often in restaurants and I don’t think it’s necessary. Fiber is good for you, and taking it out is a pain. The only downside is you might be chewing it for a while.
There are different techniques for removing the fibers that are just a quick search away, but they are beyond the scope of this article.
Store: Store cut celery in cold water in the fridge. It will stay crisp for several days. When ready to use, drain and dry before serving.
Serving Celery With Buffalo Wings
In a restaurant, celery is served on the plate alongside blue cheese dressing. When entertaining, I prefer to put the celery in its own serving dish on the table next to a container of blue cheese dressing. This way guests can snack on it as needed. I think it is best served cold straight from the fridge, so put it out as needed.
Celery sticks
Celery Sticks
Fresh, cold, crisp celery sticks provide the perfect contrast to spicy Buffalo wings and rich blue cheese dressing.
6
servings5
minutes0
minutesIngredients
1 Bunch Celery
Directions
- Separate stalks: Cut the bottom off the bunch where the stalks meet.
- Rinse: Rinse the stalks under cold running water.
- Trim: Trim the stalks and remove any damaged sections. Cut off the wide flared end and the thin leafy ends so you are left with the uniform straight center.
- Cut to length: Cut the remaining center section into pieces about 3 to 5 inches long.
- Slice lengthwise if needed: If the stalks are thick, slice them lengthwise.
- Store: Store cut celery in cold water in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Serve: Drain and dry before serving.
Reviving Limp Celery
We've all been there. People will be arriving for the wing party soon, and you realize the celery is limp. Don't be embarrassed. This can happen to anyone, and it’s really not a big deal.
How to fix it:
It's really a matter of hydration. Cut off the dry ends and place the celery in cold water, then put it in the fridge for at least half an hour. Longer is usually better.
Final Thoughts
Fresh, cold, crisp, refreshing celery is the perfect contrast to Buffalo wings and helps bring balance to the plate. It is an important part of the Buffalo wing experience and should always be close by.
