Question of the Day: Boneless Buffalo Wings—Do They Fly?
Have you tried them? What's your take?
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20 Comments:
OMG! So good, so much better than regular Buffalo wings because you don't have to deal with bones and veins. Also, way more bite bang for your buck, and less work. Sometimes I think regular chicken wings are a negative calorie food, there's just too much work. Plus, BBW have the added "benefit" of being deep fried (a procedure original Buffalo wings do not undergo) and so are like eating a yummy spicy fried nugget dipped in blue cheese. BBWs are perhaps my favorite junk food in the entire world!
megnut at 11:03AM on 12/08/06
The reason I asked is that I too find the meat-to-effort ratio a bit too uneven on bone wings, although I did learn a new technique for eating them that makes it more efficient. I like the boneless wings, but they seem like Buffaloed chicken tenders than "wings."
Adam Kuban at 11:23AM on 12/08/06
Adam, you are absolutely right, they are tenders. If you are going to have wings you gotta have the bones, its just a way of life, deboning wings is a futile effort at best. you should just use chicken tenders from Perdue and lower the cooking time.
nelson5757 at 11:58AM on 12/08/06
They're tasty and certainly less messy, but they're still too much like mcnuggets dipped in buffalo sauce. I vasty prefer real wings, I find them crispier and usually moister.
DM at 12:22PM on 12/08/06
I prefer real wings too, you definitely need the bone. The funnest part of eating buffalo wings is trying to pick out all the little bits of meat in between the bones.
foodite at 1:41PM on 12/08/06
Ok...being originally fron Buffalo, I may be biased, BUT real wings have it. Yes, boneless are easier, less messy, but just not the same taste....wings are dark meat, while boneless are either a mix of white and dark if they are cheap, or, most likely, white if they are from a better source. And when can you request having your boneless done ' extra-crispy'?
( I disagree with the comment above saying that "BBW have the added "benefit" of being deep fried (a procedure original Buffalo wings do not undergo)".....I have NEVER had a Buffalo wing in Buffalo that has not been deepfried! Even the 'grilled ' ones down at Nova's are deepfried first....)
Besides, with boneless, you don't have the after-dinner satisfaction of admiring the mountain of bones on your plate as you rub your belly!
instant coolguy at 2:16PM on 12/08/06
I, too, prefer real wings. The bones are all part of the deal. And my understanding also is that buffalo wings are deep fried, yum.
megc at 2:18PM on 12/08/06
Wings.
The other things should be called Wing-flavored Chicken Fingers. I will eat those, too, but not as a substitute for wings.
Myszka at 2:32PM on 12/08/06
Wings.
I like to do a little bit of gnawing when I eat chicken. I'm with Myska. The other things should be called wing-flavored chicken fingers.
Ed Levine at 2:46PM on 12/08/06
well you definately miss out entirely on the best parts of the fried chicken wing when you go boneless. The crispy skin and the fresh-chicken-stock-drenced meat (from the roasted bones) make for a far superior (if messier) product. In addition, experienced wing "suckers" can get all the meat off in one bite. (Insert wing in mouth, bite far end, drag teeth while pulling wing. chew. repeat)
Honestly, I see a day where buffalo tenders are replaced by 30 second microwaveable, blue cheese and buffalo sauce filled chicken sticks.
Until then, I'll keep my bone-in variety.
Gentleman Gourmand at 3:03PM on 12/08/06
@ instant coolguy: Hmm, I'm originally from Buffalo too, and when we make wings at home, my family uses the original Anchor Bar Buffalo wings recipe that was printed in the Buffalo Evening News in the seventies. That calls for (and I don't think I'm mis-remembering this, I will double-check when I get home) margarine and Tabasco sauce slathered on plain old wings, then they're baked and served with blue cheese and celery. I thought the frying was a more recent adaptation at places like Chili's and Applebee's.
megnut at 3:37PM on 12/08/06
Hmm, so according to Origins of the Original Buffalo Chicken Wing on the Anchor Bar's website, the wings are fried.
I will check the recipe when I get home. Maybe it was simplified for the home cook when they printed it and they figured it was too complicated to deep fry at home? Anyway, I stand corrected. Apparently Buffalo wings are deep fried.
I still prefer boneless. :)
megnut at 3:42PM on 12/08/06
instant coolguy's last sentence sums up the experience quite nicely. last year, i co-hosted a weekly wings night. we averaged 16+ people for nearly 10 months. we have pictures of emptied beer pitchers brimming with bones.
and yes, eating a wing in 1 swift motion is a skill that one acquires when faced with a plate of 20 that need to go down before they become cold and unappealing. as you may have guessed, i'm of the boned-contingent. the other is a throwback to the days of campus dining halls, though. they each have their place, but if an establishment has both, you can bet dollars to donuts i'm going for the legit ones: wings!
quantum at 10:10PM on 12/08/06
Instant Cool Guy, wings are NOT dark meat! Wings are (mostly) white meat.
While I will agree that the bone adds flavor to the wings, they are on the tiresome side. Boneless wings, on the other hand, are easier to eat but lack that delicious bone-in flavor.
Bottome line: they are good either way.
Calichef at 7:59PM on 12/09/06
i think a very important factor in wings is being ignored here, the skin. the fat, flavor, and texture of the skin is what makes wings so good. i agree with DM - boneless wings are basically mcnuggets, good but just not as good as the real thing.
hungerpain at 2:32AM on 12/10/06
I like the wings at Hooters even though they're, gasp, battered. OK, be honest...have I lost all cred on this site? Did I have any to begin with...noooo...
Myszka at 10:56PM on 12/10/06
I think they (boneless) are ok, but when you have a craving for wings only the real deal will work. I like gnawing the meat and skin from the bones and I think that the wing eating experience can only happen with real, bone-in wings.
I once revieved boneless wings instead of regular from Buffalo Wild Wings in a carryout order. When I got home I discovered the mistake. You wouldn't believe how unsatisfying it was to eat the boneless wings when I was craving the real deal all day long.
EatWisconsin at 12:35PM on 12/12/06
Wings are most definitly white meat. I don't think there will ever be a boneless version that captures the flavor, texture of the bone in wings. The skin is a big factor. Deep frying is the only way to go. Just try any of the big pizza chain versions of wings to see what a mess baking them in an oven does. The result is a soggy, goopy mess. You can throw them in the oven or on the grill after deep frying and tossing them in sauce, to get the grilled on sauce result. They are very good and remain crispy on the outside, tender on the inside due to deep frying first. Buffalo Wild Wings have some of the smallest wings I've ever seen in a restaurant. I love the sauce variety at BW3's, but the puny wings are a dissapointment. The boneless variety is the best I've ever tried. Again, they can't compare to the bone in wings, but they are pretty good if you're not in the mood to pick apart a bunch of wings. I usually get the boneless wings at BW3's these days, because I only go there when jonesing for their sauce. Otherwise, I go to a couple locally owned spots that have the big bone in wings, done oh so nice, for a lower price.
DaveO at 2:05PM on 03/27/07
I love "real" wings, but I have a major problem with biting into a vein so I always end up picking them apart. Boneless aren't awful as long as their prepared right. Most important thing to me me is making sure the chicken is FULLY cooked! I had wings once in a carry out order that were undercooked, even though they replaced them, I ended up throwing them out. Major psycholigical block I guess.
huney_bumper at 3:31PM on 03/27/07
Being from the buffalo area and frequenting the Anchor Bar and sucking on those wonderful wings I know this: the wings are deep fried and then upon cooking completion they are drowned in a sauce of red hot sauce and melted butter (ratio: 1- 12 oz. jar of Frank's Red Hot and 1/2 stick of BUTTER). The longer they soak, the better the flavor. The wings need to be completely cooked so that the skin is crackling crisp, this absorbs the sauce. Now on baking Buffalo wings, it can be done as deliciously and perfectly as the deep fried. The trick is never ever marinade the wings, never marinade any wings no matter the sauce. Bake them at a high degree until the skin is very crisp, usually between 45-60 minutes. Immediately scrap from the sheet pan (never a pan with high sides-it locks in moisture) and soak in a bowl with sauce. There are many tips for keeping the wings from sticking to the pan Pam, Sprayed parchment paper etc. I cook these wings for large crowds (50-200 people) They all agree that these are the very best Buffalo wings they have ever tasted. But then they have never had the Anchor Bar's Wings. The best trick-bake beyond golden brown, the skin then has the ability to absorb the sauce quickly.
SAS at 6:05PM on 07/17/07