Buffalo chicken wings with celery sticks and blue cheese dip

Ingredients

20-24 large free-range chicken wings
4-6 tsp Tabasco Chipotle Sauce (widely available), depending on how hot you like things
Olive oil for drizzling and oiling
100g unsalted butter
4 tsp cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce – not Thai – such as Lingham’s (widely available)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 small celery hearts, each cut lengthways into chunky wedges
4 little gem lettuce hearts,quartered lengthways, to serve

For the blue cheese dip

75g devon blue cheese
4 tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1½ tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp soured cream
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp whole milk (optional)

Ingredients

20-24 large free-range chicken wings
4-6 tsp Tabasco Chipotle Sauce (widely available), depending on how hot you like things
Olive oil for drizzling and oiling
100g unsalted butter
4 tsp cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce – not Thai – such as Lingham’s (widely available)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 small celery hearts, each cut lengthways into chunky wedges
4 little gem lettuce hearts,quartered lengthways, to serve

For the blue cheese dip

75g devon blue cheese
4 tbsp good-quality mayonnaise
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1½ tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp soured cream
1 banana shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp whole milk (optional)

Method

Cut the pointy tips off each chicken wing and discard. Make a slit in the skin on the underside of each wing, then add a drop of Tabasco sauce and rub it into the slit. Put the wings in a bowl with a little more Tabasco sauce and mix well. Chill in the fridge, covered, for at least 1 hour.
For the blue cheese dip, coarsely grate or crumble the cheese into a bowl, add 2 tbsp of the mayonnaise and the garlic, then mash with the back of a spoon until almost smooth. Stir in the rest of the mayo, lemon juice, soured cream, shallot and parsley. Stir in the milk if it’s still a little stiff. Spoon into 4 small pots or ramekins, cover and chill.
Heat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/ gas 6. Drizzle the wings with a little olive oil and put in a lightly oiled baking tray (see tip). Season all over with salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes on each side until golden brown, crisp and tender.
Just before the wings are ready, melt the butter in a large deep frying pan. Stir in the rest of the Tabasco, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and salt to taste. Drop the chicken wings into the sauce and mix well. Serve at the table with the celery, lettuce wedges and blue cheese dip.

Method

Cut the pointy tips off each chicken wing and discard. Make a slit in the skin on the underside of each wing, then add a drop of Tabasco sauce and rub it into the slit. Put the wings in a bowl with a little more Tabasco sauce and mix well. Chill in the fridge, covered, for at least 1 hour.
For the blue cheese dip, coarsely grate or crumble the cheese into a bowl, add 2 tbsp of the mayonnaise and the garlic, then mash with the back of a spoon until almost smooth. Stir in the rest of the mayo, lemon juice, soured cream, shallot and parsley. Stir in the milk if it’s still a little stiff. Spoon into 4 small pots or ramekins, cover and chill.
Heat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/ gas 6. Drizzle the wings with a little olive oil and put in a lightly oiled baking tray (see tip). Season all over with salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes on each side until golden brown, crisp and tender.
Just before the wings are ready, melt the butter in a large deep frying pan. Stir in the rest of the Tabasco, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and salt to taste. Drop the chicken wings into the sauce and mix well. Serve at the table with the celery, lettuce wedges and blue cheese dip.

delicious. tips

Chicken wings are fatty enough to stay moist when cooked for a long time. For best results, space them out in the tray or spread out over 2 trays.

To cook on the barbecue, thread the wings onto pairs of long metal skewers, so they look like the rungs of a ladder, then brush with a little oil, season with salt and pepper and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes on each side or until cooked through

Subscribe

Fancy getting a copy in print?

Subscribe to our magazine