Super Bowl Sunday marks not only an important occasion for football, but also wing consumption. In 2016, Americans ate an incredible 1.33 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday — en route the biggest eating day of the year outside of Thanksgiving. Will you be doing your part to keep that number increasing?
Chicken wing flavors, ranked from Buffalo to garlic parmesan
Don’t worry, we’ll also address the bone-in vs. boneless wing debate.
Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for Saveur
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The meat is only part of the story though, as any avid wing consumer will tell you. The experience also includes an array of sauces and condiments designed to take the simple fried meat and turn it into something transcendent. This doesn’t help answer the major question on everyone’s salivating lips: What sauce should you use this Sunday? We’re here to help.
Chicken wing flavors, ranked.
- Buffalo: It’s tried, true and tested. The thing about the basic stock-standard Buffalo sauce is that nobody can confuse it with anything else. Nobody has room to complain, because you either like Buffalo wings or you don’t. This is one of those things where less is more, and classic remains the king.
- Jerk: If you want to amp-up your wing game a little more than standard but retain the basic concept then you really can’t go wrong here. You’ve got the heat, the sweet — and both enhance the chicken. If you don’t like jerk seasoning then you’re just wrong.
- Korean BBQ: I get that some people don’t like spice. I mean, they’re wrong — but I get it. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t like heat then please, for the love of all things, don’t do boring-ass BBQ wings — at least expand your palette a little. Gochujang is the name of the game here, and when combined with traditional BBQ seasonings adds a slight, non-oppressive heat that makes these amazing.
- Mango Habanero: On the other end of the spectrum we have a sauce that’s almost all heat. The mango is here to play, the habanero is here to stay. The sweetness of the mango is the only thing saving you from destroying your palette, and that’s totally fine. If you like the heat then this is No. 1.
- Lemon Pepper: OK, so I won’t keep pushing heat on you. If you’re averse to the idea of heat you don’t need to rob yourself of flavor. Lemon and pepper are classic chicken seasonings that work in almost any application, and wings are no different. If you think pepper is spicy then you’re beyond saving, however.
- Chipotle Anything: I’m a sucker for chipotle peppers. In a wing application, they add much-needed smokiness that is reminiscent of a cookout, but still tastes at home on a fried item. Chipotle is good, whether it’s a hot sauce, BBQ variety, or a dry rub.
- Thai Curry: The concept of blending Thai green curry and wings is a more recent addition to the wing repertoire, but a solid choice nonetheless. Big bold flavors of coconut, green chiles, lemongrass, and coriander are the hallmarks — which are all great. I’d put this one higher, but in my experience after five or so Thai curry wings you kind of feel overloaded on the pungency.
- The Nondescript “Asian” Flavor Menu Option: Order enough wings from enough places and you’ll see a bunch of different gimmicky, but ultimately generic, names like this. They tend to have the same basic hallmark: a mix of sweet with some soy and five spice notes. Not incredible, not bad.
- Bourbon BBQ/ Bourbon Honey Mustard: Lumping these together because they fit a similar flavor profile. The bourbon is really there just to indicate a degree of smokiness, because it’s typically lost in the flavor itself. I’m convinced this exists just to make adults feel fancier about ordering BBQ or honey mustard.
- BBQ: It’s stock-standard, ordinary, and reliable. Eat them if you want, but I think you can do better.
- Plain: Look, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life. If you want to sit there and watch the game while eating some plain-ass chicken, then you do you. Chicken is good, and at least plain wings don’t detract from the experience — like we’re going to get to here in a sec.
- Teriyaki: In concept this should be amazing. In practice it’s an excuse to turn chicken into candy. Most teriyaki wings are so cloyingly sweet that the experience is just bad. The worst part is that most teriyaki sauces are loaded with soy sauce too, so not only are you blowing out your mouth with sugar, but taking in a truckload of sodium in the process. Bad news all around.
- Garlic parmesan: Tons of people stan for this flavor and I just don’t get it. If you want garlic and parmesan then literally eat any other food. The combo doesn’t work together, people keep trying to make it happen — and believe it or not, you can eat a food item without a cheese element. I love garlic, I love parmesan ... I don’t want them near my wings.
Bone-in or boneless?
We can settle this one quickly, and then with science. For the simple version: Are you a child? If yes, then boneless. If no, bone-in.
So, now in a non-insulting way. I know that there’s a place for wings that don’t get your fingers messy — but really you’re robbing yourself of the experience. Boneless wings aren’t really wings at all, they’re breaded breast meat more akin to a chicken nugget for adults. All that breading adds nothing except calories that could be spent on more meat.
There’s scientifically no evidence that the bone enhances flavor, despite misconceptions. However, there is no doubt that they’re less processed. This makes for a better experience.
Drums or flats?
This one is really tough to determine. A drumette gives you a higher meat ratio, but flats offer more skin and sauce potential. Honestly, it’s a tossup.
My advice: Don’t go for all one or the other. Both have their benefits, and offer very little commensurate drawback. Sometimes I’m in more of a meat mood, other times I need that sauce. A healthy mix ensures your wing experience is even and perfect.
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