Dry brine the legs

• Place the legs in a large bowl that can easily hold them all.
• Sprinkle generously with the salt, toss to coat and distribute. You may not need all of it. 
• Sprinkle in 1 tsp of the baking powder at a time, tossing to coat between each addition. 
• Move the legs to a rack set in a rimmed sheet pan. refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight, uncovered.

Bake the legs

• Preheat your oven to 325°F (163°C).
• Insert a needle probe into the thickest chicken drumstick in the deepest part of the meat. Set your ChefAlarm to 170°F (77°C). 

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• Bake the chicken wings until the high-temp alarm sounds. 
• Verify the temperature of the chicken with your Thermapen ONE when the high-temp alarm sounds. 

Make the sauce and heat the oil

• While the chicken is baking, gently heat the hot sauce and minced chilies up to 110°F (43°C). Use your Thermpaen ONE to verify the temperature. 

• Remove the sauce from heat and whisk in the cold butter pieces, all at once. Set aside, away from heat, on the counter.

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• Start heating 3–4″ of fry oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (do not fill it beyond halfway full).

Fry the chicken!

• When the high-temp alarm on your ChefAlarm sounds (about 20–30 minutes later), check the temp with your Thermapen and remove the legs from the oven. They will look a little powdery from the salt and baking powder. 
• Set up your ChefAlarm as a deep-fry thermometer with the high-temp alarm set to 375°F (191°C). 

• When the oil is ready, use tongs to put 4 or 5 chicken legs in the hot oil.
• Fry until the chicken is golden and crisp on the outside, then remove to a rack to drain.

• Fry another pot of wings.
• Toss the fried legs with about 1/2 C of the sauce per 5 legs.
• Serve with a dipping sauce like blue cheese dressing, or even drizzle on more of the “wing” sauce!