Buffalo Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

1. 1Mash half the blue cheese into the soured cream, mayonnaise and milk, then stir the rest through so there are still lumps to find. Chill while you cook — it wants at least 30 minutes for the flavour to spread.
2. 2Dry the wings thoroughly and toss with the cornflour and salt. A thin coating, not a batter: it is there to give the sauce something to cling to.
3. 3Heat the oil to 175°C. Fry the wings in three batches for 8–10 minutes each, until pale gold and cooked through. Rest them on a rack for 5 minutes.
4. 4Raise the oil to 195°C and fry each batch again for 2 minutes. The second fry is what makes them shatteringly crisp — a single long fry gives you a wing that has gone soft by the time it reaches the table.
5. 5Melt the butter gently in a small pan, then take it off the heat and whisk in the hot sauce, vinegar and Worcestershire. Whisk until it goes glossy and slightly thickened rather than separating into an orange pool with fat on top.
6. 6Keep the sauce warm but never let it boil. Boiling splits the emulsion, and split buffalo sauce slides straight off the wings.
7. 7Tip the wings into a big bowl, pour the sauce over and toss for a good 20 seconds so every piece is coated. Serve at once with the blue cheese dip and celery.

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