I’ll Never Buy This Crap Again!

[Panhead John]

I just cooked probably the worst tasting chicken wings I’ve ever made. While they weren’t horrible, they were definitely bad enough that I threw out the extra wings I cooked and what was left in the bag. I had no desire for any more. I bought a bag of frozen H‑E‑B Hill Country Fare chicken wings. I’ve only bought frozen chicken wings in the bag maybe once or twice before. If I remember correctly, I wasn’t that impressed with them then either….won’t be making that mistake again.

First off, it clearly states that it contains 1st and 2nd wing sections. The whole bag was all drumettes, except for 1 wingette! There were even a few pieces in there I couldn’t tell what the hell it was! That would have been ok if they would have tasted halfway decent, but the wingette is my favorite part of the wing. I cooked these as usual on the kettle with the vortex and a chunk of mesquite. Sprinkled on some SPG beforehand and I even brushed them at the end with some Texas Pete’s BBQ sauce. Even all of that wasn’t enough to mask the mediocre to crappy taste of the wings.

In closing, I’ll never buy any frozen chicken wings in the bag again! While I usually always buy fresh whole chicken wings, they’ve always been pretty decent, but I’ve never had any as good as I can get at The Wingstop. Wish I could get some great chicken wings like some restaurants can…..any suggestions?



All drumettes and a few mystery pieces…..



Top left is the only wingette in the bag, I have no clue what piece the bottom right is…..

[Mark V]

Now I finally understand you! The drumette is the only piece I eat. The frozen ones I have found have been the best.

[realdocBBQ]

Agreed! The drumette is the part I look for! lol

[texastweeter]

Wingette or the flats as I call them are vastly superior...

[MBMorgan]

Can't find the "Well, That Sucks!" button ... so I'll just say it: Well, that sucks!

[Elton's BBQ]

Words of wisdom!

[tstalafuse]

I feel your pain. I had a KCBS judge say my brisket tasted like it fell out of one of the other judge's ass (I might be paraphrasing), BUTT getting a bag of wings that are that bad is really bad..

[Michael_in_TX]

You're not wrong! I had the same experience. There must be something about the freezing process they use that just totally wrecks these wings. I only do the fresh whole wings and cut them up myself now.

(See everyone, we're not a cult....we can criticize HEB when it is warranted!)

[J-Melt]

Impressive on critiquing HEB. It is probably top 3 in the things I miss about living in Texas.

[Panhead John]

This was the only bad product I can remember getting from HEB. And Michael, you’re dead wrong! We are a fricking cult!…..😂

[smokenoob]

maybe shoulda paired it with Coors Lite?

[Panhead John]

I did, still didn’t help.

[RonB]

Lookin' at the bag, it sez "contains up to 12% water, salt, and sodium phosphate". If chicken has more than 5%, I don't buy it. I'm not paying that much for water and salt...

[Jerod Broussard]

That's the right thing to do. The stores are the customers, the consumer "votes," if you catch my drift.

[Michael_in_TX]

You know, you might be on to something there. These things are basically injected.

[Jerod Broussard]

Can you find the plant number on the bag?

P-3552, for example.

Mechanically filled bags of IQF product tick off more capita per year. I remember the LAST bag of frozen breasts, HUGE and horrible.

[Huskee]

I've had bad ones before so I know that taste you're talking about. FWIW Sam's Club Member's Mark frozen wings are awesome, they taste fresh and very good, like the wings you get at a restaurant.

[Panhead John]

Huskee Thanks for the suggestion! Maybe down the road I’ll try them, but I’ve still got a bad taste from the frozen ones.

[Porkies]

There are Sam's Club breaded nuggets, and tenders (which are sometimes good), which tasted like fast food joint nuggets. chic-fi-a especially.

[Panhead John]

Jerod Broussard Does this help?

[Panhead John]

Thank you so much Donw Would it be ok if I keep you on speed dial for any future interpretations?

[Porkies]

:P :8

Trying out manual emote faces

[texastweeter]

I understood just fine

[Bruce Z]

I have had the same experience with frozen wings. Something in the taste is off putting. I have some in my freezer now that I am going to soak in buttermilk to see if that counteracts the frozen effect. I don't know why I even try to cook these but for some reason every now and then I seem to forget the last time I was dumb enough to put a bag in my cart.

[Jerod Broussard]

I've done that at least twice with bagged spicy chicken tenders. I hate food shopping so I'm typically scanning instead of reading.

[acorgihouse]

I have learned same lesson. I love wings, my fav is actually the wing tip (that crunchy bit is the best part) but the middle phalanx/wingette is next best. I cannot bear tendons or joint cartilage in my food, so the drumette (like regular drumsticks) is awful for me. Dog food, basically. Even Costco has gone to the "party wings", it seems, that have the wing tip chopped off altogether, and bigger drumettes. Wings are really the only meat thing I buy at Sprouts or my little neighborhood WinnDixie, because they have the whole wing and are just plump, not bodybuilder style. I don't even want to think about the soup they are injected or soaked in. I know it has it's purpose, but I don't get it either. I buy supermarket fresh on sale, and vac/seal packages for the freezer.

[Donw]

Glad to learn that there are actually others out there that like the tip the best too. Growing up wings were my favorite part of the bird and then came along that fad from Buffalo. Then everyone wanted wings and for some reason they decided to start cutting off the tips.

[Mosca]

That effin’ sucks. It’s not just the money and the food, it’s also the wasted time and anticipation. That’s what REALLY hurts.

I used to be all in on the drumettes, but now I’m equal on the wingettes; I prefer an even mix over all of one or all of the other!

[Panhead John]

Thanks Tom, you’re right….Going to all the trouble for a cook and anticipating a good meal and ....then it sucks! When I opened the bag and looked at all the irregular shaped pieces, which I couldn’t identify half of them, I started feeling uneasy about the outcome.

[Finster]

I get probably 90% of the wings I buy from the Amish at the local farmers market.
I like the flats better than the drums, and request accordingly. One place will give me 2 to 1 flats to drums.
The other place will give unlimited flats (last batch I bought I think there were 5 drums out of about 30 pieces). No way I can get that ratio buying prepackaged wings, so I don’t.
I do pay a premium for quality (current prices are “down” to $4.99/lb), but the last batch of 4lbs that I bought, I was able to stretch into 2 meals, so not completely unaffordable.
I have on occasion bought whole wings from the local grocery, but usually only when my wanting wings is spur of the moment, and the farmers market isn’t open..

[58limited]

I've had good luck with the wings from Wild Fork but I usually just buy the fresh wings locally. Any trim that I don't use gets made into broth for soups.