Data source: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 172390 (Chicken, broilers or fryers, wing, meat and skin, raw).
Fun facts
- The USDA figure for wings counts meat and skin together: 100g raw has 191 kcal, 17.5g of protein and 12.8g of fat. That is nearly five times the fat of skinless breast, mostly because skin makes up a big share of such a small piece.
- A wing has three sections: the drumette (the part nearest the body, like a tiny drumstick), the flat with its two thin bones, and the tip, which is almost all skin.
- The world famous Buffalo wing was born in the city of Buffalo, New York. In Vietnam, its rival is cánh gà chiên nước mắm, wings fried and glazed in sweet and salty fish sauce.
- In the kOBE recipe library, chicken wings appear in 11 dishes.
Choosing and storing
Pick wings with taut, ivory or pale yellow skin, no tears, no sliminess and no odd smell. Flats and drumettes are meatier and easier to eat; whole wings are cheaper, and you can cut off the tips yourself to make stock. Keep them in the fridge and cook within 1 to 2 days, or split them into small bags and freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge to stay safe.
Cooking it well
The secret to crispy skin is dry skin: pat the wings well with paper towels, then leave them uncovered in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. Wing skin releases its own fat in the heat, so an oven or air fryer needs almost no added oil, and some of the fat even drips away. We have a guide to air fryer dos and don'ts if you want to use yours well. If you glaze them, go easy on sugar and fish sauce, because wings soak up flavor very quickly.
