Quick Answer
What kind of butter should you use in buffalo sauce?Use unsalted butter. Hot sauce (Frank's RedHot) already contains significant sodium — salted butter adds more sodium without giving you control over how much. Unsalted butter lets you adjust salt at the end to your preference. For most home cooking: standard American unsalted butter (Land O'Lakes, generic store brand) works excellently — the fat content (80%) is appropriate for stable emulsification. European-style butter (82–84% fat) produces a slightly richer, creamier sauce and emulsifies more easily, but the difference is subtle. The quality of the hot sauce base matters more than which premium butter you use.
Salted vs. Unsalted: The Decision That Actually Matters
The choice between salted and unsalted butter is the one that has genuine impact on buffalo sauce quality. Here's why:
Why Unsalted Is Better
Frank's RedHot Original contains approximately 190mg of sodium per teaspoon. A standard buffalo sauce recipe using 1/2 cup of Frank's provides roughly 2,280mg of sodium from the hot sauce alone — before any salt from butter. Salted butter typically adds another 80–100mg of sodium per tablespoon. Using 4 tablespoons of salted butter in a standard batch adds ~320–400mg of sodium to an already sodium-intensive sauce.
This matters for two reasons: the sauce can become unpleasantly salty, and you have no control over the salt level if you're using a fixed-recipe sauce. Unsalted butter gives you precision — you can adjust sodium by choosing a lower-sodium hot sauce, reducing the sauce, or adding a pinch of kosher salt at the end. Salted butter locks in a sodium floor you may not want.
When Salted Butter Is Acceptable
If salted butter is all you have: use it, but taste the sauce carefully before adding any additional salt, and consider using a lower-sodium hot sauce base. Crystal Hot Sauce has slightly less sodium than Frank's; Cholula has significantly less. Combining a lower-sodium hot sauce with salted butter produces a balanced result in most cases.
European vs. American Butter: Does Fat Content Matter?
The key difference between European-style and American butter is butterfat content:
- American butter: Minimum 80% butterfat (USDA standard). Common brands: Land O'Lakes, Challenge, store brands.
- European-style butter: 82–84% butterfat (legally required minimum in EU). Common US options: Kerrygold, Plugrá, Organic Valley European-style.
The extra 2–4% butterfat in European-style butter means slightly less water content. For buffalo sauce:
- Emulsification: Higher fat content butter emulsifies slightly more readily and creates a slightly more stable emulsion. The difference is noticeable but not dramatic — American butter emulsifies perfectly fine with proper technique.
- Flavor: European-style butter is often richer and more dairy-forward in flavor. In the context of assertive buffalo sauce, this added richness is subtle but present — the sauce feels slightly creamier and rounder.
- Cost: European-style butter typically costs 2–3x more than American. For most home cooks making a cup or two of buffalo sauce, the difference is a few dollars per batch. Worth it if you're making a sauce you want to be excellent; unnecessary for everyday wing nights.
Butter Type Comparison
Butter Types for Buffalo Sauce
| Butter Type | Fat Content | Flavor Impact | Emulsification | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ American unsalted (standard) | 80% | Neutral, clean | Good | $ |
| European-style unsalted | 82-84% | Richer, creamier | Slightly better | $$-$$$ |
| Grass-fed unsalted (US) | 80-82% | More complex, yellowish | Good | $$ |
| American salted | 80% | Neutral + salty | Good | $ |
| Whipped butter | 65-75% (diluted) | Lighter | Worse — avoid | $ |
| Clarified butter (ghee) | 99% | Nutty, dairy-forward | Different — see ghee guide | $$ |
Alternatives to Butter
If butter isn't available or you're cooking dairy-free:
- Vegan butter (Miyoko's, Earth Balance): Plant-based butter substitutes with similar fat content to dairy butter. Most vegan butters (especially those made from cashews or coconut oil) emulsify reasonably well in buffalo sauce. The flavor is slightly different — less dairy richness — but the overall structure is similar. See the vegan buffalo sauce guide for vegan formulations.
- Ghee (clarified butter): Has nearly all moisture and milk solids removed, leaving pure butterfat. Because lecithin (the primary emulsifier in whole butter) is partially removed with the milk solids, ghee emulsifies differently and less stably than whole butter. Requires additional emulsifiers. The ghee buffalo sauce technique guide covers the specific approach needed.
- Olive oil: Doesn't emulsify with hot sauce in the same way butter does — produces a looser, separated mixture rather than a creamy sauce. Can work as a coating oil but won't create classic buffalo sauce consistency.
- Coconut oil: Similar issues to olive oil at high temperatures. Solidifies completely at room temperature, making a sauce that's either solid (cold) or watery (warm) rather than creamy.
For the full guide to non-butter options in buffalo sauce, see buffalo sauce butter alternatives.
💡 Kerrygold for Special Occasions
Kerrygold Irish butter (made from grass-fed cows) is the most widely available European-style butter in US grocery stores. Its naturally yellow color (from beta-carotene in grass) gives buffalo sauce a slightly more vibrant orange-red appearance. The flavor is notably more dairy-rich and complex than standard American butter. Worth using when you want to impress — for a dinner party buffalo chicken spread or a recipe you're serving to people who appreciate food quality. For everyday wing nights, standard Land O'Lakes unsalted works beautifully.