Spicy Fried Chicken Wings

Instructions Cut off the wing tips. Halve wings at joint. Separate the "drumstick," or first-joint, pieces (the thick ones) from the second-joint pieces. Beginning at the narrower end of each "drumstick," with a sharp knife cut the tendons and , holding the exposed end of the bone with a kitchen towel, scrape the skin and meat down the bone as far as possible toward the thicker end to make a plump drumstick shape. Cut through the cartilage at one end of each second-joint piece, separating the bones, scrape the skin and meat down the larger bone to make a plump drumstick shape, and pull out and discard the smaller bone. Arrange all of the "drumsticks" in a shallow dish, sprinkle them with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste, and let them marinate, covered and chilled, for 1 hour. Make the batter while the chicken is marinating: In a bowl whisk together the flour, the salt, the paprika, the cumin, the pepper, the thyme, and the cayenne and make a well in the center. Add the beer and the oil in a stream, and whisk the batter until it is smooth. Let the batter stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Stir the batter before using it. In a large deep fryer or large deep kettle heat 2 inches of the oil to 375 degrees on a deep fat thermometer. Dip the chicken in the batter and fry in oil, 5 pieces at a time, turning it, for 3 minutes, or until it is cooked through and golden. Transfer the chicken with a slotted spoon as it is fried to paper towels to drain and make sure the oil returns to 375 degrees before adding each new batch. Sprinkle the drumsticks with salt to taste, arrange them on a platter, and garnish the platter with the parsley sprigs.