United States

Buffalo Chicken Wings (Drumettes)

Unbreaded chicken drumettes fried to a puffed, ultra-crispy texture, tossed to order in a buttery emulsified hot sauce, and served with crunchy celery and blue cheese dressing.

4 servings20 min prep25 min cook
4 servings

Ingredients

free-range chicken wing drumettes1.6 kg (3.5 lb)base
aged Cayenne pepper hot sauce, such as Frank's RedHot180 ml (3/4 cup)base
pasteurized unsalted butter, 82% butterfat100 g (3.5 oz)base
refined peanut oil for frying1.5 l (6 1/4 cups)pantry
distilled white vinegar, 8% acidity1 tbsppantry
Worcestershire sauce1 tsppantry
dehydrated garlic powder1 tsppantry
fine table salt1 tsppantry
fresh celery stalks300 g (10.6 oz)garnish
blue cheese dressing200 g (7.1 oz)prepared_component

Steps

  1. Thoroughly pat each chicken drumette dry with paper towels to remove any trace of surface moisture, then rub them with fine salt.
  2. Pour the peanut oil into a large Dutch oven or deep fryer and heat to 180 °C (350 °F), which is indicated when an immersed wooden chopstick immediately releases a continuous ring of lively, small bubbles.
  3. Carefully submerge the chicken drumettes in the hot oil in batches to avoid dropping the frying temperature, then fry for ten to twelve minutes, stirring occasionally, until the skin takes on a deep mahogany color and sounds very crispy when tapped with metal tongs.
  4. Place the cooked drumettes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to let the residual oil drain for two minutes without softening the crust.
  5. In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt the unsalted butter without browning, then remove the pan from the heat and add the Cayenne pepper hot sauce, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder.
  6. Whisk the warm mixture vigorously to bind the butter and peppers into a glossy, homogeneous, and deep orange emulsion.
  7. Place the piping hot drumettes in a large stainless steel bowl, pour the warm Buffalo sauce over them, then toss with a repeated circular motion until every piece is evenly coated.
  8. Remove the tough strings from the celery stalks with a vegetable peeler, then cut the stalks into uniform sticks about seven centimeters long.
  9. Immediately arrange the steaming, coated drumettes on a platter, add the crunchy celery sticks on the side, and serve with a bowl of well-chilled blue cheese dressing.
The cuts in this recipe

Poultry: Whole wing · Drumette

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