Anchor Bar Buffalo Chicken Wings

Ingredients

• 3 lb chicken wings, split into flats and drumettes, tips discarded
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 quarts peanut or vegetable oil, for frying
• 1/2 cup Frank's RedHot cayenne pepper sauce
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• 4 celery stalks, cut into sticks
• 1 cup blue cheese dressing

Before you cook

• Pat every wing piece completely dry with paper towels, inside and out, and let them sit uncovered on a rack for 20 minutes so the skin dries further.
• Season the wings all over with the salt and black pepper.
• Cut the celery into 4-inch sticks and chill them in ice water.
• Set a wire rack over a sheet pan next to the stove.

Steps

1. Pour the oil into a heavy deep pot until it comes no more than halfway up the sides, and heat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Lower about a third of the wings into the oil with a spider or slotted spoon, keeping them in a single loose layer.
3. Fry the wings for 10 to 12 minutes, turning them once, until the skin is deep gold and crackling and the thickest piece reads 175 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Lift the wings onto the wire rack and let the oil come back up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Fry the remaining wings in two more batches the same way, resting each batch on the rack.
6. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat without letting it bubble.
7. Whisk in the hot sauce, vinegar, garlic powder, and cayenne until the sauce is smooth and glossy, then pull it off the heat.
8. Pile the hot wings into a large metal bowl.
9. Pour the sauce over the wings and toss hard, lifting and flipping, until every piece is coated.
10. Tip the wings onto a platter and serve right away with the chilled celery and a bowl of blue cheese dressing.