How Many Chicken Wings in a Pound
How Many Chicken Wings are in a Pound? What you need to know before buying chicken wings for a party!
How many chicken wings are in a pound is a very fair question to ask! Will you have enough wings to host your party like a champion?!
HOW MANY CHICKEN WINGS IN A POUND?
Quick answer: the average uncooked whole chicken wing weighs in at about 3.5 ounces of meat. Therefore, 3-5 is the number of chicken wings you’re looking for to make up a pound.
But, this question has a lot of answers and other questions you might need to know!
So, here’s your guide to buying raw chicken wings AND cooked chicken wings for the big game day party! Read it before you make your purchase – I promise it will save you a mid-grocery mind-mapping session!
First, let’s chat about all the different types of wings…
You’ve got your usual “chicken wings” – these are typically the whole wing, NOT separated. When we talk about wings in a pound, to serve to people, we’re talking about separated wings. Not whole wings. The drumette and the flap are connected with a tip. This wing tip doesn’t have much meat, but makes great stock! If you buy the whole wing and separate them yourself with a sharp knife, save the tip! It makes a wonderful chicken broth.
Next, you might find “party wings” in the grocery store. These are SEPARATED wings. Not the whole ones – these are what you would count in the package to see how many people you can feed on one package! If you want one pound of chicken wings per person, you would want to count up 3-5 wings per person, then see how many that package would feed.
“Frozen chicken wing pieces” – these are ice-coated individually frozen wings. They are usually priced much less than a package of fresh chicken wings. But, you’ll need to account for thawing time – so not as quick as a pick-up and go situation the other wings offer!
Boneless Wings, these aren’t wings. They are chunks of chicken breast labeled chicken wings. Boneless chicken wings are on most sports bars menus, and they can be sauced however you want usually.
I do need to mention that you might see “jumbo chicken wings” in the store. These are just ‘juiced up’ chicken wings. While there might be more meat, it’s usually more difficult to cook without drying out. Average-sized wings cook easier and are more readily available.
So, you might be asking yourself…
How Many People will 10 Pounds of Chicken Wings Feed?
Usually, a 10-pound bag of wings has 40-50 wings inside of it. You can feed around 8-10 people with this bag, depending on their wing eating habits! (We’ll get to that later!)
Sometimes you can find a 4-pound bag of chicken wings, and that has 16-20 wings. This is the package I keep on hand in the freezer for use throughout the month.
What’s the difference between Chicken Wings and Buffalo Wings?
Absolutely nothing!
They are the same thing, however, Buffalo Wings refer to the hot spicy sauced wings made famous in Buffalo, New York.
If your store sells raw Buffalo Wings, just know there is nothing special about them. They’re the same chicken wings everybody else sells!
Now! When you head over to your Deli section, you will probably see Buffalo Wings on their menu board. And those are most likely pre-fried or baked Buffalo Wings. With a little bit of spice to them.
These are delicious chicken wings, sold in weight by the drumette ((The one that looks like a mini chicken leg!)) and flap ((The flat one, which in my opinion is superior!)).
I cannot tell you how much I love Publix Wings! They are some of the tastiest wings, pre-fried, so I don’t have to mess up my kitchen too much… And! I can sauce them however I want.
While these pre-fried wings have a little bit of spice to them, it’s nothing that “shines” through too much that another flavor of sauce makes it gross.
If reading “pre-fried wings” made your skirt fly up, give this Garlic Buffalo Chicken Wing Recipe a try!
How Many Wings Do I Make for a Party?
We’re going to base this equation on average appetites. You know the portion size your people like to eat, and the type of wings they like!
If you’re serving wings as the main appetizer – the number of wings is 3-5 per average person is plenty! Remember, 3-5 chicken wings are a little under/over a pound. So, a good ratio is a pound of chicken wings per person.
However, if your wings are the main dish, I would recommend 6-10 cut chicken wings per person. This means you’ll want 1.5-2 pounds of wings per person.
Chicken wings are on the list of common super bowl snacks
Especially if you are hosting a Super Bowl Party and serving chicken wings, you’ll most likely need 6-10 per person. Did you know the National Chicken Council says we eat 1.42 BILLION wings on Super Bowl Sunday?! Cluck cluck!!
When I pick up the 20 wings from Publix, this usually serves 2-3 people on Game Day. If I’m using it as an appetizer, it will serve 3-6 people.
Need some Chicken Wing Cooking Tips?!
If you buy your chicken wings fresh from the market when you get home immediately take them out of the foam/plastic covered package. Dry them off with a paper towel and salt + pepper them. Plop them into a large Ziploc bag, and store them in the fridge until the next day when you are ready to cook. You can do this up to 3 days before, without freezing. If you need to freeze them, still salt + pepper the wings, then freeze them in the bag.
This might be your first time cooking wings, and fair warning, it’s easier than you think!
You can bake your wings in the oven, using this method that uses Baking Powder as a chemical reactant to the chicken skin. You won’t believe how crispy these wings turn out!!
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I love using an Air Fryer to make wings during the week. I follow the same Baking Powder magic mixer, and air fry at 370 for 20 minutes, then 400 for 10 minutes.
Frying your wings at home is so messy, I do not recommend it. Ha! But, if you want to do it, go for it! I might suggest this countertop deep fryer… seems a little less messy!
While you can stock up on store-bought sauce, I highly recommend making your own! Buffalo Sauce is this popular sauce + butter… that’s it! I like to add a touch of honey for a little sweetness!
If I’m going to buy sauces, these are the ones I’ve tried and like!
Be sure to have plenty of blue cheese and ranch dressing!
