The Funny Thing About the Wing

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It's National Chicken Wing Day today, and of course, it made me think back to something I've thought for a long time. How well chicken wings were marketed. When I was growing up, no one wanted the wings. There was little meat on them, and you could typically buy them for next to nothing. It was the cheapest part of the bird and people mostly used them for making soup stock or broth. Few people considered them to eat. Somewhere along the line that all changed and suddenly wings became a very popular hors d'oeuvre, and party favor. And before you know it, it was a main dish. With that came higher demand of course, and that made the price higher, and now when you see chicken wings in the store, a lot of the time, especially depending on the time of the year, wings can be the most expensive part of the bird. That's a complete reversal. And now, of course, wings are so widely popular, there are entire chains devoted entirely to them like Wings and Things, Wing Stop and Buffalo Wild Wings among others. Of course, along with that came finding ways to make the wings meatier. Especially the drummies. They accomplish that by injecting the birds with steroids. Amazing how a little bit of marketing can turn what was essentially a waste product into a highly desirable product.