Alton Brown's Buffalo Wings See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSaR4WmVvRI

Alton Brown refrigerates his wings, then steams them, then refrigerate them again. The rationale behind refrigerating them was to dry them out so they would be crispy after baking them.

Was the first refrigeration actually needed? The wings are steamed afterwards, so pre-drying them seem pointless. Or was the first refrigeration's purpose something else?

Interestingly, that first refrigeration isn't mentioned here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/buffalo-wings-recipe.html
I don't see how refrigerating the wings before steaming them could possibly make a difference. They were initially refrigerated as he toyed with the idea of frying them or baking them directly, but then he was inspired to steam them to remove some of the fat before baking. It's artistic licence to tell a better and slightly longer story, nothing more.

If you go to the official recipe, you'll see that it skips this step: