Bonnie's Buffalo Chicken Dip: Questions

[akp]

Been reading lots about this dip on the boards recently and have decided to make it for the Super Bowl next week-end.

At the store yesterday, I saw that Frank's Hot Sauce also comes in a Buffalo Chicken version. Which one is preferable for this recipe? Also, has anyone tried substituting the Ranch for Blue Cheese dressing? Thanks!

Here is the cut and pasted recipe:
Bonnie's Buffalo Chicken Dip

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, about 2 pounds, poached and shredded with 2 forks (my crockpot is great for this but however you want to cook them is fine)

1 - 12 ounce bottle Frank's Hot Sauce

2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese

1 - 16 ounce bottle of Ranch Dressing

1/2 cup celery chopped

8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese or combo thereof

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 13x9x2 inch baking pan, combine the shredded chicken and entire bottle of Frank's sauce, spreading to form an even layer. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream cheese and entire bottle of Ranch dressing, stirring til smooth and hot. Pour this mixture evenly over the chicken mixture. Sprinkle celery evenly over all. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Then, add the shredded cheese and bake for another 20 minutes uncovered or til bubbly...don't let the top get too browned or it will be hardened. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes and serve with celery stalks or sturdy corn chip dippers (or spoons, like my 20 year old son says..lol!) Men in particular seem to go wild over this dip.

[berkleybabe]

Well the idea is Buffalo chicken, which is always served with blue cheese. So I always use blue cheese dressing, never ranch. I also about triple or quadruple the amount of celery (at least 3- 4 tall stalks) in the original recipe, mix in half with with the ingredients -- works better mixed together, not layered. And after it's cooked with the cheese on top, I toss the rest of the fresh diced celery on the hot dip. A great contrast of hot and cold and more crunch and freshness. I use whatever hot sauce is on sale -- doesn't have to be Frank's and certainly doesn't have to be buffalo sauce. I've even used Sririracha to good effect. I am a total hero in my life with this dip, a legend in my own time...people are crazed for this! Minor effort, maximum rewards for all.

[igrace]

Any idea why mine came out soooo oily???

[ChristinaMason]

Sounds like you may have overcooked it and the cheese broke/separated?

[The Best]

Bonnies looks amazing...we were in search for the best buffalo chicken dip recipe and found hers. Franks looks awesome toooo!!!

[michele cindy]

What's "Franks" recipe? There's a big Jets game on Sunday and this would be perfect to add to our menu, but te only thing that keeps me from making this is the bottle of ranch dressing. Do you really need it? I just hate bottled ranch. Unless it's like Deenso's/Paula's coconut cake recipe where it calls for cool whip (which I don't like) but cool whip works for it for some reason.

[Val]

Michele, I think The Best is referring to the Frank's Hot sauce, an ingredient in the dip. I believe you COULD substitute bleu cheese dressing for the ranch dressing--I've never done it but I think I've read of others doing so.

[southernitalian]

I hate ranch too and always use my own blue cheese instead.

[Tucsongal]

I use the posted recipe but use a refrigerated high quality blue cheese and the franks red hot-serve it with pita chips and corn chips- It is always a hit and am asked to bring it over and over- to the point that I"m pretty tired of making it.

[ctflowers]

Oh, this recipe sounds great! Only problem...I'm a vegetarian. Any suggestions on how to make a vegetarian version of this?

[rmperry]

I suppose you could leave out the chicken. Or substitute some cubed tofu.

[bear]

I'd fry up some tempeh til crispy, cut it into bite-sized pieces, liberally salt both side while hot, then toss with the hot sauce and continue.

[michele cindy]

Morning star makes "chicken" strips. I think these would work well.

[RJJR]

I do not know what everyone else will feel about this, but I gave the recipe to a good friend after I made it for him and he is now making it as a dinner meal and serving it over noodles or rice, he liked it that much. I think that much would be a little rich for my blood, but to each his own.....

[Val]

Whoa! I do love the dip but I can only eat a few bites of it due to the richness factor....I'd be sick as a dog if I ate it for dinner, I think!

[ivyleigh]

How many people does this recipe feed? It will be served as a dip and not a main dish...we'll be having BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and many many other items!

Thanks!

[Val]

It depends...with your other hearty dishes, it will probably feed a lot...but at one gathering I brought it to, one guy totally loved it and told others about it and it was gone in 1/2 hour, even though there were other delicious dishes available. It's really quite rich and filling, so it usually goes a long way, but there was that one time, as I told you, that it disappeared. Remember, it makes a 13x9x2 inch pan, so that's a pretty big dip.

[rock57]

I am sorry - but how do you cook the chicken in the crock pot to shred it? any spices? for how long? THANKS - I am new to this! ha!

[Alan408]

You do not have to use a crock pot, any pot you can poach chicken in will work. I add a combination of water and canned chicken stock to cover the chicken, no spices, I ~14-15 oz can of low sodium and enough water to cover. I use bone in chicken breasts, I think it takes about an hour on high. But, I have two crock pots, one cooks faster or is hotter than the other on high, so your results may not be the same. If I am going to use the stock that same day for soup, I use a crock pot, if not, I simmer on the stove.

It just has to be cooked, not overcooked. I use a instant read thermometer.

[rock57]

One hour on high in the crock pot then right not a stove top pot?

[Val]

Alan's right...you don't have to cook it in the crock pot but to me, it is a great way to do it ... I just add a little onion and celery to the water because I love having chicken broth left over to use in recipes and soups that I might also prepare the following week, nothing goes to waste. I usually cook it 6 hours on low if you do decide to cook the breasts that way.

[rock57]

and you do 6 hours on low? as opposed to one hour on high?

[jessicheese]

I cook mine on low for 6 hours as well. I don't feel that an hour on high is enough to fully cook and shred, but crockpots could be different. When I make the dip, I'll usually cook the chicken on low overnight and shred it in the morning before making the dip. I also like to make extra, so I can use the chicken in soup or enchiladas later that week.

[CityPork]

Another cooking option that I do is to cook the chicken on stove top, shred and then add all the ingredients to a slow cooker (except celery which I serve on the side), low 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours with a stir in the middle. Great for football games cause you can keep it warm while eating other food.

[rock57]

I am sorry - but how do you cook the chicken in the crock pot to shred it? any spices? for how long? THANKS

[larochelle]

I have made this dip several times and it has always been popular. I found the original recipe above to be a little to over the top and often greasy. My version is slightly more restrained....

I use Nance's Hot Wing Sauce - its just as good and has HALF the sodium of Franks (Franks is 14,000 a bottle, Nance's is 7,000) - while excess is fun, sodium just seems like a crazy place to splurge.

In addition to celery stalks & chip dippers, I also provide sliced, toasted baguette. This give people the option of lower their salt & fat intake, it also means the chip doesn't interfere with the taste of the dip.

I use a rotisserie chicken. I use blue cheese dressing instead of ranch. I tend to use 1/2 to 3/4 the amount of cream cheese/dressing mixture of the original recipe depending on the audience. In addition to the cheddar/jack topping, I usually add chunks of real blue cheese.

I know, a completely different recipe than the one above, eh? But I prefer it because its good without being completely nuts.

Oh and sometimes if I have it, I'll add some crumbled bacon on top - simply because my husband thinks everything tastes better with bacon.

[jessicheese]

I've made this a few times, always to rave reviews. As far as the ranch vs blue cheese debate, both are delicious but I found using the ranch made for a nicer consistancy.

I also have tried both layering and mixing. When I mixed it became almost too creamy and got extremely greasy when there was a lull in eating. The layering held much better and reheated nicely later.

I've never had a bad version, though! I love to serve it with the celery scoops.

[southernitalian]

I've made this many times too. recently saw a post that suggested using all blue cheese, dressing and crumbles. It was great.

[Alexx]

what's the recipe with the crumbles?

[southernitalian]

Sorry, shredded. But blue cheese really doesn't shred so I was thinking crumbles.

[yogga]

how does one go about 'shredding' chicken; how long are the pieces of chicken - do you just use a couple of forks and shred say a rotiessiere chicken? - I am a novice here ladies and gentelman

[Dax]

Chicken meat is stringy and shreds easily by fork or just by pulling it by hand. As far as length, as long as the meat allows but then again for this recipe shorter works well since it's a dip.

[cackalackie]

I like the idea of using a rotisserie chicken. And ranch dressing, with maybe some blue cheese crumbles mixed in or sprinkled on the top.

Should I layer the cheese on top of the chicken-and-Frank's sauce or should I mix it all up?

[Val]

The recipe says to mix the shredded cooked chicken breast with the hot sauce - 1st layer,
then add the cream cheese mixed with the dressing - 2nd layer
then sprinkle on the cheese - 3rd layer (celery if you're using it comes before the cheese).
I would not mix it all up, just my opinion.

[amyvc]

It's perfectly fine to mix it all up if you needed to for some reason. People still love it. However, I think I will be in the layering camp from now on.

[jaydee]

i'm in the layering camp too.

[Val]

You definitely want Frank's RedHot Original sauce (The label is red & white) but not any new-fangled flavors like "buffalo" or "chipotle"--just Frank's RedHot Original sauce.
As far as the ranch vs. blue cheese dressing, the original recipe says ranch...I've had better results & reactions with ranch but others like the blue cheese--try what you think you'll like!

[wabbitslayer]

I use a bottle of blue cheese dressing and a packet of the dry ranch dressing mix. I also "cheat" and use a rotissere or other leftover chicken. (Or, if you're going to have a bunch of intoxicated folks, save a couple of bucks and use canned!)

For anyone who says it doesn't have enough heat, throw in a liberal sprinkling of dave's insanity sauce. That'll fix it.

[bear]

Great idea, the blue cheese dressing and the packet of dry ranch. I haven't made this yet, but think I'll go that route. Best of both worlds.

[Miss Needle]

I made this years ago to bring to a pot-luck dinner. I know that this dip has received a lot of compliments on this board but I thought it was terrible. It was too vinegary with not enough heat. It was too gooey as well -- and not in a good way. There was no way I felt like I could bring this to dinner. I threw it out and ended up buying some cookies instead.

[amyvc]

This dish gets raves every time I make it. The recipe that I got from someone calls for everything to be mixed all at once. In other words CANNED chicken (yikes, i'm using rotisserie from now on) and red hot in a saucepan. Then add cream cheese and ranch dressing and shredded cheese. Mix it all and put it in a pan to serve. I baked it with more cheese on top and serve with celery sticks, carrots and corn chips for dipping.

I love the original recipe so much more. I will make it from now on. For some reason, I think the ranch is better than blue. Also, I like it with at least some white cheese like jack or white cheddar. And yes, don't get the wing sauce - the original is so much better. I agree that if you want fast wings you mix red hot and butter - yum. For tailgating, I will bake some wings in the oven and then we grill them and shake with this sauce - pretty great wings. Sometimes we bring the fryer and do it right as well.

I guess the point of my post is here's the easier version. No one noticed that it was canned chicken but i think if I made it with "real" chicken, it would be much more appreciated.

[stacylyn]

Just made this last week......used the Frank's Original Hot Sauce tossed with the shredded chicken (I poached it in chicken broth, too, for added flavor), used only blue cheese instead of the ranch mix, and topped with shredded Jack cheese. Served with Fritos Scoops.... It really was guilty pleasure food!!!

[the_MU]

Note that the Anchor Bar, originator of Buffalo wings, used a combo of Frank's hot sauce and margarine. And if you're really going for actual buffalo wing style, using ranch dressing would be just wrong.

[kloomis]

I normally use a rotisserie/deli chicken- much easier than cooking the chicken, plus it shreds really easy. And I make the sauce with some butter, then mix with the chicken and cream cheese, then bake with the cheese, then put the celery and blue cheese on last (and don't cook that part). I can't do warm celery. Rocky cat is right though,it is good any way you make it.

[CDouglas]

Frank's Buffalo Wing version is the original sauce mixed with soybean oil and "natural butter flavor". It is supposed to resemble the sauce you use when making wings but does not come close to simply mixing the original with real butter. It packs a little less heat than the already mild original version.

For this recipe I have always used Marie's Premium Super Blue Cheese and shredded Colby/Jack cheese along with the original Frank's. To really knock this out of the park use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts.

[rockycat]

I used the wing sauce and both ranch dressing and blue cheese chunks in addition to the sharp cheddar. This is one of those recipes that is really, really hard to screw up no matter how you alter it.

[poofty]

Made it for a party and did half ranch and half blue cheese (DH daughters won't eat blue cheese), used wing sauce and extra celery. Luckily they ate all the ranch side and left the blue cheese side for me to finish....heaven!

[sparkalina]

I made it last year for a SuperBowl party and people went NUTS over it! I am a blue cheese fan, myself. I personally think it is too salty to eat but it is a huge crowd pleaser!

[King of Northern Blvd]

I always use Maries Blue Cheese dressing instead of the Ranch and regular Frank's Hot Sauce.