Hot Wings with Blue Cheese Yogurt Sauce

In the Jan/Feb issue of Food Network Magazine there is an entire section with different hot wings recipes from some of the top food network chefs. So far we have tried Alton Brown's and Bobby Flay's. Alton Brown's recipe was a really good basic hot wings recipe, and we really enjoyed them. Just recently we tried out Bobby Flay's. These were amazing! Not too spicy, and just a little bit of sweetness. The yogurt dipping sauce was the kicker, it matched the flavor of the hot wings perfectly!

We are big hot wings fans in our house, so my goal is to make all of the hot wing recipes in the next few months.

Hot Wings with Blue Cheese Yogurt Sauce

For the Blue Cheese Sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (recommended: Cabrales)

2 tablespoons finely grated red onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Hot Wings:

Peanut oil

1 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons ancho chili powder, plus 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 pounds chicken wings split at the joint, wing tips removed and discarded

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 to 2 tablespoons pureed chipotle chile in adobo

1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

1 to 2 tablespoons honey

1 stick unsalted butter, quartered

Finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Jicama sticks (instead of celery)
 
For the Blue Cheese Sauce:
Stir together the yogurt, blue cheese, red onion, cilantro and salt and pepper in a bowl. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

For the Hot Wings: 
Heat 2-inches of the oil in a large, high-sided pan until it reaches 375 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer.

Stir together the flour, salt, pepper, to taste, 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder and garlic powder in a shallow bowl. Season the wings with salt and pepper and add the wings in batches to the flour mixture to lightly coat and tap off excess flour. Add the wings in batches and cook until golden brown and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with paper towels.

Bring the vinegar, chipotle puree, 2 tablespoons chili powder and New Mexico chili powder to a simmer in a large high-sided saute pan over medium heat. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the mustard, salt, honey, and butter until smooth. Add the wings to the mixture and toss to coat. Garnish with cilantro and serve with jicama sticks and blue cheese sauce
.