According to the National Chicken Council’s 2024 Wing Report, Americans devoured an estimated 1.45 billion wings while watching this year’s Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.
That’s four wings for every single man, woman, and child in the United States!
Few finger foods are as beloved as chicken wings in the United States.
Chicken wings are far from just a finger-licking, go-to game-day snack. This staple of American cuisine has its roots in the middle part of the 20th century. That’s when the previously cheap disposable cut of meat began to forge a reputation as a new all-American favorite.
The Birth of the Buffalo Chicken Wing
In the 1960s, chicken wings were often discarded or just used to make chicken broth. Yes, fried chicken was a staple of Southern soul food, but individual chicken wings fell to the wayside, barely featured on American restaurant menus.
But in 1964, Teressa Bellissimo, owner of Anchor Bar, a Buffalo, New York dive bar, received, by accident, a shipment of chicken wings instead of their usual meat order. Not knowing what to do with them, she eventually cooked them slathered in a unique hot sauce blend. The rest is delicious history.
From Humble Finger Food to National Sensation
Bellissimo’s son traveled the country to various restaurants in the following decades, promoting the family’s chicken wing and hot sauce recipe.
In 1966, Alabama native John Young opened Wings ‘N Things, bringing a mix of his passion for Southern soul food with the nascent wing industry to Buffalo. He later opened a wide range of soul food eateries in Buffalo and took his signature wings all the way to the West Coast.
Chicken wings’ popularity steadily increased, leading many restaurants to create their own specialized chicken wing seasoning and experiment with other flavors.
However, it wasn’t until the start of the 1990s that chicken wings became a prominent American protein, when McDonald’s, KFC, and Domino’s introduced them to their menus.
Over time, more and more people began cooking chicken wings at home. Consumers eventually linked the practice with another burgeoning trend: ballooning television coverage of live sports. Eventually, game days became synonymous with at-home barbecued or smoked chicken wings.
The Anatomy of a Chicken Wing
Whole chicken wings have three distinct parts, each with its own characteristics. If you aren’t sure how to separate the parts, here’s a handy guide on how to cut chicken wings. For those new to chicken wing prep, fret not: butchers and grocers commonly offer chicken wings that are already separated.
The different parts of a chicken wing are:
Chicken Drumettes (“Drums”)
This is the top part of the chicken wing, the piece nearest the whole bird. As it’s connected to the chicken breast, it has leaner meat. Drummettes contain a large bone through the middle and some small joints and cartilage at either end.
Drumettes are typically the most popular part of the chicken wing.
Chicken Wingette (“Flats”)
Known as “flats” or “wingettes,” depending on who you ask, the middle part of the chicken wing comprises darker, more tender meat with two thin, flat bones and connective tissue in the center.
Chicken Tips
This part of the chicken wing has very little meat; wing tips are predominantly skin and bone. Most people throw chicken tips away, though they make flavorful additions to homemade chicken broth or stock.
Chicken Wings Continue To Soar
The chicken wing has journeyed from humble beginnings to its position as a game-day favorite and American staple.
According to the 2023 Datassential’s Midyear Trend Report, chicken wings are the fastest-growing item on American menus, up an incredible 373% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects wholesale wing prices to reach their second-highest annual average at the end of 2024.
Despite all that’s changed, one thing is for sure: America’s favorite finger food is now as American as apple pie and the Super Bowl. And what’s more, as creative foodies and restaurants put their own spin on the classic dish using exciting marinades and custom spice blends, the popularity of chicken wings continues to rise to new levels and reach an entirely new dimension of flavor.
