This is a recipe I’ve now tried a few times and had a chance to modify.  The dredging in flour/spice rub makes these superior to any I’ve made before.  Refrigeration for 1 hour with the rub is also key.  But these are well worth the work.  Modify the recipe as needed for quantity.

Preparation Time:  2 hours

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 chicken wings (whole – makes 24 wings)
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce (such as Frank’s RedHot)
• plus 1/4 cup butter & 1/4 cup hot pepper sauce (extra for dipping)
• cut celery stalks and carrots
• Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing (such as Marie’s)

• Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil to avoid a mess.
• Place flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and salt into a resealable plastic bag and shake to mix.
• Cut the Wings into 2 pieces and discard the wing tips.  Pat the cut chicken wings with paper towels to dry.
• Place the chicken wings into the bag, seal, and toss until well coated with the flour/spice mixture.

• Place the wings onto baking sheets leaving plenty of space between them.

• Put them into the refrigerator for at least 1 hour until chilled through.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Whisk together melted butter and hot sauce in a small bowl. It is important for the butter not to be scalding hot.  You want to create a thick mixture that sticks to your chilled, rub coated wings.

• Dip the wings into the butter mixture and place back on the baking sheets.

• Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken is crispy on the outside, about 45 minutes. Turn the wings over after about 25 minutes to ensure even crispiness.
• The hight heat and grease creates bit of smoke.  If you live in an NYC apt, unplug the fire alarm and open your windows for air flow!  Put them on the bottom rack.
• Make a small batch of hot sauce and butter mixture as extra dipping sauce with equal parts butter and hot sauce.
• Arrange your carrots and celery on a serving plate, provide individual bowls of blue cheese dressing to avoid double dippers, and pile those wings on a platter.