John Phipps: Why a Startling New Trend with Chicken Wings is Worth Watching

The decades-long story of U.S. meat consumption can be summed up in the question “How many nuggets can kids eat anyway?” Propelled by deep-fried cooking speed and an entire menu of sauces, chicken’s inoffensive taste made it a perfect fit for picky kids or eating on the run. Of course, the fact that in the past chicken was consistently priced well below red meat has something to do with it too.

This is what pork and beef producers have been staring at - and poultry producers celebrating - for my entire life. On top of this trend, wings happened, and chicken consumption dove into a brave new sauce. I’m not dismissing the remarkable feats of the chicken industry, but I never really understood the appeal of wings.

For example, they rank with ribs for messy eating. They have a low ratio of nutrition obtained to work involved – right up there with blue crabs. I didn’t even know where the “buffalo” name came from until I read about a bar in Buffalo, where they were supposedly invented in 1964. Then the pandemic triggered an explosion in deliverable foods. Wings could travel well so to speak. They became linked to major ball games since they could wait patiently in a warming pan while a 60 minute game is crammed into a four-hour television marathon.  They became the priciest part of the chicken after languishing below breast prices for years. At one time they were simply ground into animal feed. But maybe all the hot sauce has caught up to us because wings are coming back to earth.

This is a tiny light in a long dark tunnel for other protein producers, but maybe we’re exhausting the ways to flavor up chicken to compete with red meat.

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