Buffalo wings!

Hot Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

Since the closure of Luigi Malones in Limerick I have severely missed their legendary Buffalo wings so I decided to try making my own. I have searched the web looking for the ingredients of the wonderful sauce that is over them but with no success apart from a few guesses and most people recommending 'Franks' sauce. I tried Franks sauce but it just didn't hit the spot the way Luigi's did or The Elephant & Castle restaurant in Temple Bar in Dublin. So my mission was to piece together some of the guesses and add my own trials and errors. I came up with this and for me and those who have sampled, this is pretty damn close, if not bang on the money. For those who haven't tried these you should really try these... they weren't kept secret for no reason!!!

Serves 2 (as part of a main course)

serves 4 (as starter):

1 tray of chicken wings (normally contains 16)

A light sprinkle of cayenne pepper (optional)

50g butter

6 tablespoons of cider vinegar

3 tablespoons of tobasco sauce (4 if you like it hotter)

3tablespoons of tomato puree

Half a lemon

A few sticks of celery

For the Blue Cheese Dip:(you can buy this dip made up but this version is so good)

3 tablespoons of Mayonnaise 

3 tablespoons of sour cream

1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice

Finely chopped parsley

Small clove of garlic minced

3 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese

Sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients for the dip and place in the fridge for an hour before needed.
2. The chicken wings need to be cut at the 2 joints (into 3 pieces but discard the wing tip) with a heavy sharp knife. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne pepper if using it.

1. Deep fry in batches for about 10 mins per batch until cooked through and nice and crispy, they can be kept in a warm oven until all batches are deep fried (i usually do them in 3 batches).
2. In the meantime in a saucepan gently melt down the butter then add the cider vinegar, tobasco sauce and the tomato puree and whisk it together until combined. Squeeze in the half a lemon at the end.
3. In a large bowl place the cooked wings and pour over the sauce and toss to give a good even coat. 
4. Serve with the cooling Blue Cheese Dip and a few sticks of celery.