The Great Chicken Wing Debate .

[T master]

As i sit here eating some left over wings from a Christmas get together we had last week at our home and having to take all the fat off the wing to enjoy the actual meat on the wing, i wondered if there were those of Bills Mafia out there that have a different view of wings & there size mostly .

 

I know there are a ton of ways to fix them i'm just mostly talking about how dang big every one thinks they need to be . The bigger the better mentality for wings doesn't work for me .

 

I grew up in WNY in the 70's & 80's every bar we use to play at had wings as a late night snack accompanied by a few beers of course ! But for the most part the wings were never huge & in most cases with out a lot of breading . Over time though with the chains like B Dubs & just the popularity of the mighty Buffalo Wing the wing it self has grown to the size in some cases of a chicken leg which again i'm not a fan of .

 

We use to get them in 2 different ways either with the traditional Franks Red hot & butter sauce (possibly a added bit of tabasco or cayenne to heat them up) or a dry wing that consisted of chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne which was sprinkled on after coming out of the fryer & put in a skillet in the restaurant kitchen stove then you always served them with celery & blue cheese and that is what i grew up on .

 

Today every restaurant you go in in the south or out west think that the bigger the wing the better & some serve celery & carrots .  If i want a chicken leg i'll buy chicken legs & put Buffalo sauce on them but a wing need not be that big .

 

Oh and the flats are the best by the way !! 

 

But i was wondering if outside the Buffalo/WNY area do ya'll notice the same thing about wings as far as what you grew up on in that area or do you like a really large more southern chicken wing approach to chicken wings ?

 

Also what are your thoughts on the breading ? It's hard now to find wings with out breading on them or better know as naked wings . I grabbed some the other day from a road side gas station & to my surprise they were really good ! No Breading, crispy out side & done inside which is always a plus and plenty of Buffalo sauce some of the better wings i've had down here in a while .

 

The ones i just finished i guess because of the amount of fat left on them never seemed to be done enough . I had a bad encounter once with some under cooked wings from a restaurant that we won't go into but it was not fun !! Which has also made me lean toward the extra crispy wings or cooked a bit longer than most restaurants do today .

 

So what's yawl's take on the great chicken wing debate ? Are you a breading wing person or a naked wing eater, do you like big wings and you cannot lie or are you more of a smaller i guess for lack of a term a more traditional wing person, sauce or dry what your preference ?? 

[yall]

Naked.

Medium size (jumbos are getting out of control).

Traditional Buffalo sauce, as hot as you can make it.

[NewEra]

4 minutes ago, yall said:

Naked.

Medium size (jumbos are getting out of control).

Traditional Buffalo sauce, as hot as you can make it.

This works for me.

 

although I’ve been smashing the Char BBQ wings (dipped in “holy s***” hot sauce and blue cheese) at moondoggies (LV) over the last month.  Great mix of sweet and HEAT with great texture.

[teef]

as long as they keep selling 10 wings for $18...i'm not buying them out.  

 

when i make them, i do it in a pizza oven.  they're rolled in vegetable oil, salt, seasoning (usually garlic chipotle) and cooked on a cast iron plate.  they come out a bit crispy and very tender.  not a great as when they're perfectly fried, but better and easier than when i do them on the grill.

[Bray Wyatt]

 

24 minutes ago, T master said:

As i sit here eating some left over wings from a Christmas get together we had last week at our home and having to take all the fat off the wing to enjoy the actual meat on the wing, i wondered if there were those of Bills Mafia out there that have a different view of wings & there size mostly .

 

I know there are a ton of ways to fix them i'm just mostly talking about how dang big every one thinks they need to be . The bigger the better mentality for wings doesn't work for me .

 

I grew up in WNY in the 70's & 80's every bar we use to play at had wings as a late night snack accompanied by a few beers of course ! But for the most part the wings were never huge & in most cases with out a lot of breading . Over time though with the chains like B Dubs & just the popularity of the mighty Buffalo Wing the wing it self has grown to the size in some cases of a chicken leg which again i'm not a fan of .

 

We use to get them in 2 different ways either with the traditional Franks Red hot & butter sauce (possibly a added bit of tabasco or cayenne to heat them up) or a dry wing that consisted of chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne which was sprinkled on after coming out of the fryer & put in a skillet in the restaurant kitchen stove then you always served them with celery & blue cheese and that is what i grew up on .

 

Today every restaurant you go in in the south or out west think that the bigger the wing the better & some serve celery & carrots .  If i want a chicken leg i'll buy chicken legs & put Buffalo sauce on them but a wing need not be that big .

 

Oh and the flats are the best by the way !! 

 

But i was wondering if outside the Buffalo/WNY area do ya'll notice the same thing about wings as far as what you grew up on in that area or do you like a really large more southern chicken wing approach to chicken wings ?

 

Also what are your thoughts on the breading ? It's hard now to find wings with out breading on them or better know as naked wings . I grabbed some the other day from a road side gas station & to my surprise they were really good ! No Breading, crispy out side & done inside which is always a plus and plenty of Buffalo sauce some of the better wings i've had down here in a while .

 

The ones i just finished i guess because of the amount of fat left on them never seemed to be done enough . I had a bad encounter once with some under cooked wings from a restaurant that we won't go into but it was not fun !! Which has also made me lean toward the extra crispy wings or cooked a bit longer than most restaurants do today .

 

So what's yawl's take on the great chicken wing debate ? Are you a breading wing person or a naked wing eater, do you like big wings and you cannot lie or are you more of a smaller i guess for lack of a term a more traditional wing person, sauce or dry what your preference ?? 

 

You found good wings down here in middle TN?? Moved here in 2020 (Murfreesboro) and have yet to find a good spot!

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

1 minute ago, T master said:

As i sit here eating some left over wings from a Christmas get together we had last week at our home and having to take all the fat off the wing to enjoy the actual meat on the wing, i wondered if there were those of Bills Mafia out there that have a different view of wings & there size mostly .

 

I know there are a ton of ways to fix them i'm just mostly talking about how dang big every one thinks they need to be . The bigger the better mentality for wings doesn't work for me .

 

I grew up in WNY in the 70's & 80's every bar we use to play at had wings as a late night snack accompanied by a few beers of course ! But for the most part the wings were never huge & in most cases with out a lot of breading . Over time though with the chains like B Dubs & just the popularity of the mighty Buffalo Wing the wing it self has grown to the size in some cases of a chicken leg which again i'm not a fan of .

 

We use to get them in 2 different ways either with the traditional Franks Red hot & butter sauce (possibly a added bit of tabasco or cayenne to heat them up) or a dry wing that consisted of chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne which was sprinkled on after coming out of the fryer & put in a skillet in the restaurant kitchen stove then you always served them with celery & blue cheese and that is what i grew up on .

 

Today every restaurant you go in in the south or out west think that the bigger the wing the better & some serve celery & carrots .  If i want a chicken leg i'll buy chicken legs & put Buffalo sauce on them but a wing need not be that big .

 

 

 

But i was wondering if outside the Buffalo/WNY area do ya'll notice the same thing about wings as far as what you grew up on in that area or do you like a really large more southern chicken wing approach to chicken wings ?

 

Also what are your thoughts on the breading ? It's hard now to find wings with out breading on them or better know as naked wings . I grabbed some the other day from a road side gas station & to my surprise they were really good ! No Breading, crispy out side & done inside which is always a plus and plenty of Buffalo sauce some of the better wings i've had down here in a while .

 

The ones i just finished i guess because of the amount of fat left on them never seemed to be done enough . I had a bad encounter once with some under cooked wings from a restaurant that we won't go into but it was not fun !! Which has also made me lean toward the extra crispy wings or cooked a bit longer than most restaurants do today .

 

So what's yawl's take on the great chicken wing debate ? Are you a breading wing person or a naked wing eater, do you like big wings and you cannot lie or are you more of a smaller i guess for lack of a term a more traditional wing person, sauce or dry what your preference ?? 

A lot to break down here, but I will try to take piece by piece. This is an academic matter I have put some thought on.

 

First is my platonic idea of what a chicken wing should be, or "Buffalo Chicken Wing" if you want to be fancy. To this end, I will tick off what I want it to accomplish. In my mind, a proper chicken wing should:

• Be crispy enough that when I bite into it while fully sauced there is some crunch of the skin
• Have an interior that is fully cooked but not dry
• A hot wing should be cayenne based as the backbone, but other supporting seasoning and peppers are welcome.

 

Quote

Oh and the flats are the best by the way !! 

Facts

 

Quote

Big vs small wing

Personally, I go to smaller wings. What makes the chicken wing special compared to other cuts and animals is the high surface area ratio and subcutaneous fat under the skin that makes it so crispy. Smaller wings get the interior cooked and fat rendered faster so hotter oil can be used and thus crispier skin can be accomplished. Otherwise, as you mentioned, you might as well fry a drumstick. That is all well and good, but it ain't a chicken wing. 

 

Quote

Breaded vs naked

Generally, I go with naked. I cannot stand southern style chicken breading on my wings. It is fine for fried chicken, but it glugs in the sauce in the least appetizing combo I can think of. One local place by me that was supposedly good for wings was literally thick breaded southern fried chicken wings on a plate with a glug of hot sauce over it. Never again.

 

That said, I am open to other ideas. I have played around with different flours and starches over the years. Wondra flour in particular in finely milled so it's not clumpy and pregelatized so it quickly turns crispy. I have tempura fried enough over the years that I know rice flour and potato starch can do magic things when fried so if someone has a home blend they stand by I would give it a try without judgement.

 

Other topics not in OP, but are of personal notes:

Quote

Best wing cooking technique

https://www.seriouseats.com/ultimate-extra-crispy-double-fried-confit-buffalo-wings

Has to be the double fry: cook in oil low, 225-250 for about half an hour. Drain and cool, freeze batches in advance. This cooks the meat inside without overcooking it and dries out the skin.

 

Heat oil to 375-400 F and fry until golden brown.

 

Best crunch and sauce adhesion I have even seen.

 

Quote

Non-traditional flavors

I will stand by BBQ wings. I don't quite know how every place does it, but a wing finished with some bbq sauce and smoke can be a thing of beauty.

 

Other than that, things in the "B-Dubs" catalog like garlic parm and spicy asian chili aren't my bag. If they are, I might suggest baking your wings instead. You don't get quite the crunch, but since sauce adhesion is less of a problem, it's easier to handle seasonings. A personally favorite of mine was I made lemon garlic confit from another projects. I toss some into my raw wings with some fresh rosemary and roasted away. It wasn't the best crunch but the flavor was heavenly. I have also had luck boiling teriyaki sauce with honey and corn starch and glazing wings as they bake.

 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, I think way too much about wings.

4 minutes ago, Bray Wyatt said:

 

 

You found good wings down here in middle TN?? Moved here in 2020 (Murfreesboro) and have yet to find a good spot!

The hunt for good wings outside of WNY is real

[theAteam]

16 minutes ago, yall said:

Naked.

Medium size (jumbos are getting out of control).

Traditional Buffalo sauce, as hot as you can make it.

 

This is the way. I also prefer grilled over fried, at least when I am the one making them.

[HIT BY SPIKES]

Naked.

 

I don’t think the jumbo roaster chicken wings up here in Canada are anywhere near as enormous as the ones you have south of the border due to different poultry regulation regimes.  The ones I had last time at Gabriel’s Gate were ridiculously gigantic.

 

I am a flat guy and always order flats only — “we will try…” — unless the wife is with me since she likes the drums.

 

When I make wings at home, I look for fresh wings not even cut up and simply cook them that way whether on the grill, smoker, air fryer, oven or slow stewed stove top Caribbean stylee.

[Straight Hucklebuck]

Wings the size of Dominos are inedible garbage. 

 

Breading is disgusting, and just an avenue these places take to hide the low-quality of the poultry. 

 

Places outside of Western New York have no idea how to make a crispy wing. 

 

In almost all cases they are under cooked and rubbery. Always have to ask for Blue Cheese, otherwise the default is Ranch 🤢. 

 

And teef nailed it - the combination of these places thinking their wings are good and then selling them for absurd prices makes me only get them when I come back to WNY. I eat the $30 it takes to get 15-20 of them, and then don't have them again for months. 

 

There is place down here, Pies & Pints, has a good tasting char-grilled wing, served with Gorgonzola cheese. You get 6 of them for $14.  

 

 

[DCOrange]

The main things I've discovered in my wings journey is I prefer wings to be smoked and prefer either a buffalo sauce or various dry rubs.

 

I also tend to prefer dunking wings in a side of sauce rather than the restaurant drowning them.

[Ray Stonada]

Breading? No.

[I'm Spartacus]

I'm not a fan of the breaded wing, however a place in Buffalo suburb called Sal's has outstanding wings and they have a breading (don't get the hots if you don't want a major burn!). I also prefer medium sized wings. The jumbo size is overkill. In the old days they came with celery and carrots. Now it's just the celery. Duff's is still my go to because they are always consistent.

[JJGauna]

Wings shouldn’t be too big or too small. With or without breading is fine. Tossed in Buffalo sauce with bleu cheese on the side, tossed in bbq with ranch on the side, lemon pepper, garlic parm, Cajun seasoning, hot or mild. I guess I love wings no matter what lol.

[NickelCity]

Do not bread them for chrissake

[zow2]

24 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

 

I will stand by BBQ wings. I don't quite know how every place does it, but a wing finished with some bbq sauce and smoke can be a thing of beauty.

 

 

My teenage son is more partial to BBQ wings (hickory smoked flavor) than traditional Buffalo sauce.  I have to say, when dipped in blue cheese the BBQ wings are darn good.  It's a nice change of pace.  When we get wings nowadays I'm always including an order of BBQ.  

[I'm Spartacus]

I made wings at home for the Eagles game. Did them in the air fryer for the first time. Damn they came out great! Crispy but tender inside. Went traditional with Franks, butter and garlic paste. Always bleu cheese, NEVER ranch!

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

13 minutes ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Wings the size of Dominos are inedible garbage. 

 

Breading is disgusting, and just an avenue these places take to hide the low-quality of the poultry. 

 

Places outside of Western New York have no idea how to make a crispy wing. 

 

In almost all cases they are under cooked and rubbery. Always have to ask for Blue Cheese, otherwise the default is Ranch 🤢. 

 

And teef nailed it - the combination of these places thinking their wings are good and then selling them for absurd prices makes me only get them when I come back to WNY. I eat the $30 it takes to get 15-20 of them, and then don't have them again for months. 

 

There is place down here, Pies & Pints, has a good tasting char-grilled wing, served with Gorgonzola cheese. You get 6 of them for $14.  

 

 

 

Pretty much what I've found. I have to ask for extra crispy or well done and THEN put sauce on them or they are flabby.

 

I didn't think it was a big deal until about two years ago I drove back for a funeral and stopped at Bar Bill. Whatever you say about them locally, having real WNY wings was a shock to the system and nothing local has tasted right since.

[teef]

9 minutes ago, I'm Spartacus said:

I'm not a fan of the breaded wing, however a place in Buffalo suburb called Sal's has outstanding wings and they have a breading (don't get the hots if you don't want a major burn!). I also prefer medium sized wings. The jumbo size is overkill. In the old days they came with celery and carrots. Now it's just the celery. Duff's is still my go to because they are always consistent.

is it a sal's bridland?  years ago there were a few around here in rochester, and they were the only place that i remember that had breaded wings.

[zow2]

17 minutes ago, Straight Hucklebuck said:

Wings the size of Dominos are inedible garbage. 

 

Breading is disgusting, and just an avenue these places take to hide the low-quality of the poultry. 

 

Places outside of Western New York have no idea how to make a crispy wing. 

 

 

I don't live in WNY anymore, but a couple weeks ago my daughter and wife wanted Dominos pizza.  Well whatever, i ordered a couple pizzas and they had a Wings special add-on so I got their wings.  I wanted to do a taste test.  Not good.  The skin was mushy and chicken wing lower quality, but the habanero hot sauce was decent.  So after eating one,  i decided to fix them and threw the rest of the bunch in the air fryer for about 8 mins.  I got those things real crispy.  It was a good move.  Of course nowhere near restaurant quality, but they were 50x better than what i ate out of the box.

[I'm Spartacus]

1 minute ago, teef said:

is it a sal's bridland?  years ago there were a few around here in rochester, and they were the only place that i remember that had breaded wings.

No, it's Sal's in Depew. Private pub. Pretty unique place. It's right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Old house converted to a bar. Been there for years.

[Buffalo Junction]

39 minutes ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

 

I will stand by BBQ wings. I don't quite know how every place does it, but a wing finished with some bbq sauce and smoke can be a thing of beauty.

 

The hunt for good wings outside of WNY is real

Best BBQ wings I’ve ever had were jumbos smoked with hickory and cherry at 270° until an internal temp of about 145°, pulled, patted dry, fried hot and fast to crisp the skin and finish cooking, tossed in sauce that was kept warm in the smoker, and then the wings were returned to the smoker till the sauce tacked up. Sauce was a Piedmont style sweetened with Cheerwine. 

[Buffalo716]

19 minutes ago, I'm Spartacus said:

No, it's Sal's in Depew. Private pub. Pretty unique place. It's right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Old house converted to a bar. Been there for years.

I've been there ... They were fine , not the best imo but I'm not big on breaded wings 

 

I also got pulled over by the entire depew force after lmaooo

[I'm Spartacus]

 

1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said:

I've been there ... They were fine , not the best imo but I'm not big on breaded wings 

 

I also got pulled over by the entire depew force after lmaooo

Gotta be careful in Depew! Almost as bad as Kenmore cops! Haven't been to Sal's in years, but it's cool going to a different wingery occasionally.

[Breakout Squad]

1 hour ago, yall said:

Naked.

Medium size (jumbos are getting out of control).

Traditional Buffalo sauce, as hot as you can make it.

Agree on the size. I heard great things about Wing Nutz…very disappointing. They were like turkey legs and the sauce didn’t penetrate the wing. Bigger isn’t always better as long as their high quality. 

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, I'm Spartacus said:

 

Gotta be careful in Depew! Almost as bad as Kenmore cops! Haven't been to Sal's in years, but it's cool going to a different wingery occasionally.

Ofc it is I try everywhere in the area

 

Have not been back because as I said I got pulled over by the entire force.. for going 40 in a 30... Which I didn't realize it was 30

[Breakout Squad]

8 minutes ago, Buffalo Junction said:

Best BBQ wings I’ve ever had were jumbos smoked with hickory and cherry at 270° until an internal temp of about 145°, pulled, patted dry, fried hot and fast to crisp the skin and finish cooking, tossed in sauce that was kept warm in the smoker, and then the wings were returned to the smoker till the sauce tacked up. Sauce was a Piedmont style sweetened with Cheerwine. 

That’s bougie AF and I love it 😂

[Wacka]

Back in Jan  had wings at  Old School Tavern on Clinton in Buffalo (across from Elk Provisions). Average wings but  we  had some that had a salt and vinegar sauce on them.Tasted just like salt and vinegar potato chips.

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

Also as a Public Service Announcement:

 

Boneless Wings are not wings. They are breasts meat covered with breading and fried and tossed in sauce. 

 

If you want sauced nuggies, that's fine, let's not mistake them.

[yall]

6 minutes ago, Breakout Squad said:

Agree on the size. I heard great things about Wing Nutz…very disappointing. They were like turkey legs and the sauce didn’t penetrate the wing. Bigger isn’t always better as long as their high quality. 

I've tried Wingnutz twice. 

 

First time was at their location on the boulevard and I loved them.

 

2nd time a group of us went to the brewery they operate in, and they were kinda terrible. Not sure I could articulate exactly why, but one thing that stood out was how they were served; a flat tray which caused the grease to pool around them. Unappetizing to say the least.

[Ojolaffub]

1 minute ago, yall said:

I've tried Wingnutz twice. 

 

First time was at their location on the boulevard and I loved them.

 

2nd time a group of us went to the brewery they operate in, and they were kinda terrible. Not sure I could articulate exactly why, but one thing that stood out was how they were served; a flat tray which caused the grease to pool around them. Unappetizing to say the least.

Coaches Eastgate grill in Lebanon Tn right off of 109 and 40 has some good wings.

[ALLinALLEN]

Made some in the air fryer last night....local wings down where I am all suck for the most part plus I love the process. 

 

Little baking POWDER on them prior, and then putting the sauce in the fridge before tossing them are two tricks.

 

Still nothing like Buffalo's.

[Einstein]

Whether big, small, spicy, or not... the skin has got to be crispy.

 

Can't stand a fatty/mushy/flabby skin on a chicken wing.

[WhoTom]

We buy frozen wings when they're on sale. They're very large and have the skin on. Since I grill or air fry, I leave the skin on so the fat keeps in the moisture.

 

I've been thawing them, coating them with Frank's, and grilling them. The key is to take them off the grill, add a fresh coat of Frank's, and put them back on the grill for a few minutes. They crisp up nicely without sauce dripping from them. A meat thermometer tells you when they're just right so they don't overcook and dry out. 

 

Last week I tried air-frying them. Our oven has an air-fry setting (basically, an air-fryer is a convection oven), so I set it for 400F. First, I parboiled the wings to cook them through. This also takes out some of the fat when you drain the water. Then I coated them with Frank's and stuck them in the oven for about 10 minutes. Since the leftover sauce didn't touch raw meat, it can be used as a dipping sauce. (Blue Cheese is for celery and carrot strips, not wings.) I like this method and when grilling season is back, I plan to parboil them before coating and grilling. 

 

 

[Buffalo Junction]

25 minutes ago, Breakout Squad said:

That’s bougie AF and I love it 😂

Not too bougie. The bougie part was that the wings were an add on to fill space in the smoker…. That was the “snack” 😂 

[Bray Wyatt]

18 minutes ago, Ojolaffub said:

Coaches Eastgate grill in Lebanon Tn right off of 109 and 40 has some good wings.

 

I am putting this on my list of places to try! Have family that lives in Mt Juliet so I am out there sometimes not far away

[Juice_32]

Big wings are terrible, terrible. You want a small to medium sized wing cooked at 375 for 14-16 minutes. If cooked correctly pulling the fat from the wing like you mention is not even a concern. The fat should be completely rendered giving the wing a crispy exterior texture while maintaining some juiciness inside.

 

You also need to sauce them and eat them very quickly after pulling from the fryer, to avoid sogginess. 

[TurfToeJam]

I remember going to Randazzos (or Randazzols) (black rock area I think) when I was a child with my cousins.  Wings were super cheap (nickel each).  And I'm only 44 years old.  There was this back room behind the bar where food was served.  But thing I remember most was the wings still had "feather stalks" on them and I wasn't so sure they were ok to each.  Never got sick as far as I recall.

 

[The Avenger]

Can't really find decent wings here in Massachusetts and everything is so expensive. 

 

I get fresh wings at the grocery store (large to XL) - enough to make 16 wings for about $8. I cut the drums from the flats from the tips and boil them in super hot vegetable oil until brown and crispy. I use a sauce from Moore's which us good and heat it up with some habanero sauce. 

 

Rules:

 

No breading

No baking - deep fry

No under-cooking - gotta be crispy

Buffalo sauce - don't hit me with some weird pineapple sauce

Blue cheese if desired - ranch is for toddler's chicken nuggets

Wings should not cost $2 each

 

 

 

[Augie]

Take out wings can get soggy on the way home, at least they are less than ideal. I don’t want to deal with all the oil, so I’ve done a simple s/p then onto the grill. The top rack or indirect heat to avoid flare-ups, then toss with some Frank’s and it’s not bad eating. 

[Buffalo716]

My go to Rn is hot char bbq

 

Pit bbq sauce mixed with Frank's and thrown on the pit