Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 2 pounds chicken wings, split at the joint, wingtips removed and discarded
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup hot sauce, or to taste
• Blue Cheese Dressing, recipe follows
• Celery sticks

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and cayenne.

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, pour in the oil to a depth of 2 inches. Place over medium heat and heat until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 375 degrees F. Working in 3 batches, dredge the wings in the flour mixture and fry until lightly browned, about 10 to 12 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wings to a paper towel-lined plate. (Make sure the oil returns to the proper temperature before frying each batch.)

In a large bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice, and hot sauce. Toss the fried wings in the hot sauce mixture. Transfer the wings, with the sauce, to a large foil-lined baking sheet, or 2 small ones, and bake, turning the wings occasionally, until crispy and they have absorbed most of the sauce, about 35 minutes.

Transfer the wings to a serving platter and serve with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

• Blue Cheese Dressing
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup crumbled Maytag blue cheese (about 3 ounces), divided
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, 1/4 cup of the blue cheese, half-and-half, sour cream, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and salt, until smooth. Gently stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of blue cheese and season with pepper, to taste. Use now or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Yield: 2 1/4 cups

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