So, as it turns out, the following are currently out of season: mutated ghost peppers, hot magma extract, and black widow venom. As such, I was unable to render a truly accurate facsimile of what's come to be known as the "Inferno Challenge" amongst those who 'take their wings super-seriously'. Which I do not.

 

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • 10-15 fresno chili peppers

  • About 40 habanero peppers

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 cup white vinegar

  • Pinch of salt

  • Pinch of sugar

  • Pinch of MSG

For the chicken

  • About 20 chicken wings

  • A lot of vegetable oil for frying

For the blue cheese dressing

  • 1 cup mayonnaise

  • ¾ cup sour cream

  • Sprinkle of garlic powder

  • 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

  • Sprinkle of kosher salt

  • Sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper

  • ½ tsp white sugar

  • Squeeze of lemon juice

  • 4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

Method

  1. Apply gloves and glasses before cutting the peppers on a cutting sheet or board. Remove the stem from each pepper and cut the rest of the pepper into one inch segments. You want to end up with about a pound of peppers total. I used a lot of habanero for heat, but you can try whatever combination of peppers you’d like.

  2. Put the peppers in a blender along with four cloves of garlic and a cup of white vinegar. Blend on low speed, stopping to push all the peppers down, then blend on high speed for at least one minute until smooth. Pour into a mason jar or safe container and cover with plastic wrap to let sit out at room temperature for three days to ferment. Little bubbles rising at the surface means it is in fact fermenting.

  3. Strain the sauce through not too fine a mesh strainer. We want some pepper solids to make it through so it thickens the sauce.

  4. Cook sauce in a sauce pan for 10-15 minutes at a bare simmer before tasting for seasoning -- adding salt to taste, a pinch of sugar to help round out the flavors, and a little MSG.

  5. Fill a large high-walled pot or dutch oven a quarter of the way with vegetable oil and bring to 225°F. Rinse and thoroughly pat down about 20 chicken wings, then cook in vegetable oil for about 20 minutes. Remove the (pale) wings and place on a cooling rack for at least one hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

  6. Once chicken is cooled, put a small amount of chicken wings in oil that is heated to 400°F and fry for 10 minutes. Chicken will be sticky for the first few minutes so try to pull them apart. Repeat process until all chicken is fried, placing on cooling rack set in a rim baking sheet and keep in a low oven to keep warm.

  7. In a medium bowl combine 1 cup of mayonnaise, ¾ cup sour cream, a sprinkle of garlic powder, 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar, big sprinkle of kosher salt, a few twists of freshly ground black pepper, ½ tsp of white sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Then add about four crumbled ounces of blue cheese and mix together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to be used.

  8. Take wings out of oven, the sooner after frying the better, and toss with heated sauce in a large bowl until wings are covered. Put on plate and serve with carrots, celery, and blue cheese dressing. Enjoy!