Balsamic Soy-Glazed Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

Do you love wings but always feel a little guilty after eating fried food? Try these roasted wings. They're roasted for great texture and the glaze is loaded with flavor. Make your own Blue Cheese dipping sauce for an added treat.

Balsamic Soy-Glazed Chicken Wings
Gourmet | December 2006

Roasting the wings before tossing them with this tangy glaze is our secret to getting crisp skin.

Yield: Makes 4 (main course) or 6 to 8 (snack) servings
Active Time: 10 min
Total Time: 55 min

Ingredients:
4 pounds chicken wingettes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preparation:
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Line 2 large shallow baking pans (17 by 11 inches) with foil. Put pans in oven and preheat oven to 500°F.

Pat wings dry, then toss with oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and divide between preheated pans, spreading wings in 1 layer. Roast, without turning, until golden and tender, about 35 minutes.

While wings roast, simmer vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1/3 cup, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted.

Remove roasted wings from oven and let stand in pans 1 minute (to make wings easier to remove from foil), then transfer with tongs to a clean large bowl.

Pour balsamic mixture over wings and toss to coat well. Let stand 5 minutes, then toss again.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

Yield: Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
8 ounces blue cheese (such as Maytag), finely crumbled (about 2 cups)
1 16-ounce container sour cream
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation:
Whisk blue cheese crumbles, sour cream, ranch dressing, and parsley in medium bowl until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl. DO AHEAD: Dipping sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.