How Do You Want Your Chicken Wings?

Damn, I love chicken wings, as do all decent people. There’s just nothing like a big pile of delicious wings.

So we’re all going out to a terrific place to have some wings. The thing is, this placed I’m taking you to can do any style or flavor of chicken wings sold anywhere.

So how do you like your wings?

What sides would you like with your wings?

What beverage?

I like ‘em deep fried and tossed in a buffalo sauce. Plenty of salt. Big ol’ glass of iced tea. Yep, that’s the ticket.

I prefer flats to mini-drumsticks. Non-breaded. First choice is classic buffalo sauce, legit hot, but I won’t object to a good garlic parmesan. No sides. A pitcher of ice cold beer, and keep 'em coming.

I had the bacon-wrapped wings at Hooters, they were pretty good. Beer with them, of course.

May I ask, for people like DCnDC, why do you prefer the flats over the drumsticks?

Just properly seasoned and roasted until the skin is crispy and caramelised. I’ll take some sauces on the side, but not on the wings themselves.

Crusty white bread that’s soft on the inside, and some butter. Maybe a little salad.

Not at all. They’re just bones and sauce. “Boneless wings” are good, but they’re not really wings. I am a garlic parm fan like DCnDC. I don’t mind soy sauce based sauces. I like some BBQ sauces, but they’re so all over the board, it really just depends on the specifc one. Breaded or non-breaded just depend on how they are done. I like both. I usually eat them with no sides. Occasionally chips or fries.

I like my wings hot, hot enough to make my ears sweat is just fine and dandy for me. As for sides, I gave this a lot of thought and decided I would like a side of wings with my wings. And some nice strong iced tea!
Now I want wings… wings and keyboards aren’t conducive…what to do?

I make awesome wings. I broil them until the skin is properly crispy on one side, turn over, repeat. The sauce is half unsalted butter, half Valentina extra hot added after broiling, of course.

Four fried chickens and a Coke.

Dusted in potato starch (pre-cook).
Deep fried twice.
Tossed in a mixture of honey and Sriracha.

Served with ice cold beer.

Wow… I don’t think I’ve had chicken wings in like, three years or so. Now I want them.

There’s a place near me that does wings char-grilled with spedie sauce. Outstanding. I’ll take an order of those with a nice cold beer.

Side of hot buffalo sauce and blue cheese.

Overcooked so the fat has mostly rendered out of the crispy skin and the meat is dry and chewy.

I find the meat on the flats to be tastier and a better texture. You also also get a nice piece of skin on them.

Korean chicken wings (twice fried) with the garlic soy glaze are seriously addicting.

Hey gang, help solve a mystery for a guy who loves to eat but is clueless about cooking. There was a Chinese/Polynesian restaurant in my town years and years ago. Their fried chicken wings would come out in a deep red color with a very unique flavor (at least to my unrefined palate). Since they closed, I haven’t been able to find any other place that serves them that way.

First off, the menu just said “Fried Chicken Wings”, and it was an appetizer, so nothing special. They had a different option for curry-fried, so it was not that (and they were not spicy at all). Also, I know it was definitely not any kind of buffalo sauce. The flavor was very different and the red color was more maroon than the orangey Buffalo color. In fact, it didn’t seem to be a sauce brushed on at all, but probably something in the oil they were fried in.

Anyone have a clue what may have been on those wings or know what I’m talking about? I’ve been jonesing for them for a decade!

Mod Hat On

Off to Cafe Society

Probably 5-spice powder. Has a very distinct flavor and tends to impart a dark red color to food.

Honey mustard mixed with medium buffalo sauce.
Something clear like Sprite to wash them down.

I prefer the drumstick-lets, because they’re easier to eat. I used to feel guilty about taking only those whenever I had wings communally-served, until I saw a poll here that preferences are actually close to 50-50. That’s a good thing, because it means that everyone can get the kind that they want, so I won’t try to convince anyone who disagrees with me.

For sauce, my preference is somewhere spicier than the standard Frank’s Red Hot-based Buffalo sauce, but less than the spiciest available at most places. I can generally take the spiciest available, but it’s hotter than I prefer. Novelty flavors like garlic parmesan or whatever are fine for a change of pace, but for the most part, I like good old hot-sauce-and-melted-margarine.