It’s playoff season. If you’re auditioning recipes for the Super Bowl, or (like me) believe every football game calls for snacks, may I suggest a big pile of crunchy-juicy, spicy fried chicken wings for next Sunday’s game?
These wings were inspired by the Kookaburra wings at The Outback, but are not a copycat. What I kept: the spicy but not incendiary Buffalo-style flavor profile, the breaded deep-fried coating, and the bleu cheese dressing.
What I improved on (IMHO): First, I don’t know what the restaurant really uses in their bread coating, but all the copycat versions on the internet include powdered cheese from a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I object to that on several levels (not real food, what are you supposed to do with the leftover cheese powder, and it just sounds icky). I use Lawry’s seasoned salt as the backbone of my spice mix, with onion powder and garlic powder for depth and cayenne for heat.
The other thing I like better about these wings is the crunchiness of the coating. It forms a crust that’s flaky and crisp, not at all greasy (as the restaurant version tends to be), thick enough to protect the meat and keep it nice and juicy, but not overpowering.
I like my wings to be super flavorful, zingy but not eye-wateringly hot. To build layers of flavor, I’ve woven the spices and heat into each component of the dish. In the first step, I rub the wings with half of the dry spice mix and let them sit for an hour to absorb the flavors. The other half of the spices gets tossed with the flour to form the coating. But before that’s applied, the wings take a dip in buttermilk laced with hot sauce. And last but not least, after frying the wings are brushed with more hot sauce mixed with melted butter.
The essential complement to the spicy crispiness of the wings is the cool creaminess of the bleu cheese dressing. This easy homemade dressing comes together in seconds in the food processor, but needs a few hours of chilling to allow the flavors to blend. Thin the leftovers with a little bit more milk and they’re great as a dressing for a classic salad of romaine lettuce with tomato and bacon.
Making Spicy Fried Chicken Wings ahead, and what to do with leftovers:
- Just like classic fried chicken, fried wings are best served fresh and hot. You’ll probably have to fry the wings in batches unless you have a professional fryer in your kitchen; it’s fine to hold the first batch in a warm oven while the second batch cooks, and the whole recipe can be held a little longer if needed, up to about an hour. Wait until just before serving to brush the wings with the melted butter and hot sauce.
- Second best is room temperature. If you’re serving these for a football party or other gathering where people will be nibbling off the coffee table or buffet table over a period of a couple of hours, they’ll be just fine as they cool to room temperature.
- If you have leftovers that have been chilled, either enjoy them cold, or reheat in a 300 degree oven until heated through. Leftovers of the wings will keep 5 days; the dressing will keep for 2 weeks.
Spicy Fried Chicken Wings
You can make these wings up to an hour ahead and keep them warm in a 250 degree oven. Wait until just before serving to brush with the butter/hot sauce mixture.
Ingredients
- Bleu Cheese Dressing (recipe follows)
- 2 tablespoons Lawry’s seasoned salt
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 pounds chicken wing sections (drumettes and wingettes)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon hot sauce (such as Franks), divided
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 8 cups neutral oil, such as canola
- Celery sticks, for serving
Directions
- Step 1 Make the Bleu Cheese Dressing at least 2 hours ahead to give the flavors time to blend. Chill.
- Step 2 In a small bowl, combine the Lawry’s salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and cayenne.
- Step 3 Arrange the chicken wings in a baking pan or baking sheet just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Pat them dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with half of the seasoning mixture and toss to coat the chicken wings all over with the seasoning. Spread the wings back out to a single layer. Chill uncovered for 1 to 2 hours.
- Step 4 Combine the remaining seasoning mix with the flour in a pie plate or square baking dish. Combine the buttermilk with 1 tablespoon of the hot sauce in another pie plate or a medium bowl. Combine the butter with the remaining 1 teaspoon of hot sauce in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted. Keep the butter mixture warm over low heat while frying the wings.
- Step 5 Line two large baking sheets with foil. Pour the oil into a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat until the oil registers 360 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer.
- Step 6 While the oil heats, heat the oven to 250 degrees. Prepare the wings. Working in batches, toss the wings in the buttermilk mixture and then in the seasoned flour, transferring them to one of the prepared baking sheets. Set aside the excess seasoned flour for later. When all the wings are coated, set them aside at room temperature until the oil is at the correct temperature, about 15 minutes.
- Step 7 Fry half of the wings in the first batch. Working with a few wing pieces at a time, return the wings to the reserved seasoned flour and toss them in the flour, pressing to adhere the flour to the wings. Transfer the wings to the oil. The temperature will immediately dip when the cold wings hit the oil. Raise the burner temperature to high until the oil temperature comes up to 350 degrees. Try to keep the oil temperature at or near 350 degrees, by raising and lowering the burner temperature, for the remainder of the cooking time. Cook the wings for 8 minutes, gently stirring and turning them with tongs a few times to redistribute them and make sure they’re cooking evenly.
- Step 8 Place a rack over the second foil-lined baking sheet. Use tongs to transfer the cooked wings to the rack. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven to keep warm while cooking the second batch of wings.
- Step 9 When the second batch is done cooking, remove the baking sheet with the first batch from the oven and add the second batch of wings to the rack. Use a pastry brush to brush some of the butter/hot sauce mixture on the wings, then turn them with tongs and brush the other side. Transfer the wings to a serving platter. Arrange the Bleu Cheese Dressing and celery sticks alongside. Serve hot.
Bleu Cheese Dressing
For a pourable dressing for salad, use the full 3 tablespoons of milk. For a thicker dip for chicken wings or vegetables, use just 2 tablespoons.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled (about ½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon red vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon Morton’s)
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons whole milk
Directions
- Step 1 Combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, bleu cheese, vinegar, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk. Run the processor until the mixture is smooth. Blend in the additional tablespoon of milk if you’d like a thinner dressing, or omit it if you prefer a thicker consistency.
- Step 2 Chill the dressing for at least 2 hours to give the flavors time to develop.
