Poultry: Hot Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

By JoFClark

Ingredients

• 4 oz blue cheese, such as Maytag
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 quarts canola oil
• 2 lbs chicken wings, tips trimmed off
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup hot wing sauce (Williams Sonoma)
• 2 T unsalted butter, melted
• Celery stalks for serving

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

In a bowl, using the back of a fork, mash the blue cheese into pea-size pieces. Add the mayonnaise and buttermilk and whisk until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the dip to a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. (The dip can be made up to 2 days in advance.)
Pour the oil into a large pot, making sure the oil does not come more than halfway up the sides. Heat the oil to 375 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer.
Preheat an oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
Cut through the joint on each chicken wing to separate the wing into 2 pieces. Season with salt & pepper. Put the flour in a bowl. Dredge the wings in the flour, shaking off the excess.
Working in batches, fry the wings until golden brown and crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the wings to the paper towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the hot wing sauce and butter and heat until the butter melts. Alternatively, in a small microwavable bowl, whisk together the hot wing sauce and butter and warm in a microwave at 15 second intervals until hot.
Transfer the fried chicken wings to a large bowl. Pour the sauce over the wings and stir to coat evenly. Serve immediately with the blue cheese dip and celery stalks.