Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

We love buffalo wings but I don't like to deep fry at home.  This is a great technique for chicken wings without frying. While a bit time consuming, the process produces crispy yet tender and falling of the bone good wings. Refrigerating the wings as directed is key to drying out the skin and making it crispy. You will not miss deep fried wings once you try this one!  

Blue Cheese Dip-Recipe follows

Alton Brown's Buffalo Wings

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown for Food Network Magazine

Prep Time:  25 min

Cook Time:  50 min

Level:  Easy

Serves:  6 servings (more like 2-3 servings)

Ingredients

• 12-16 whole chicken wings (about 3 pounds)
• 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter (or use salted butter and omit kosher salt)
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup hot sauce (I like Frank's hot sauce)
• kosher salt

Directions

Place a 6-quart saucepan, with a steamer basket and 1 inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.  Remove the tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Use kitchen shears or a knife to separate the wings at the joint. Place the wings in the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam 10 minutes.

Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay out the wings on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator to dry, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the rack and paper towels on the pan and replace with parchment paper. Place wings on parchment and roast on the middle rack of the oven, about 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook 20 to 30 more minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.
While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl with the garlic. Pour this along with the hot sauce and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine. Remove the wings from the oven, transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

Blue Cheese Dip:

• 4oz. cubed blue cheese (Treasure Cave)
• 1/2 cup good mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoons milk (more if you want to thin it out for salad dressing)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Celery sticks, for serving

Directions:

Place the blue cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until almost smooth.

Serve the chicken wings hot or at room temperature with the blue cheese dip and celery sticks.