Flats or Drums? There is a right answer to the great chicken wing question
When we say that a certain day is the Super Bowl of something, it’s usually a day much less impressive.
But the Super Bowl of Buffalo wings happens to be the actual Super Bowl, a day of football, perhaps, but also a day of sauced-up ecstasy.
Though Buffalo missed out on the Super Bowl yet again, the city’s greatest culinary export will be the centerpiece of a million parties this weekend. Fried, grilled or baked, dry-rubbed or baptized in tangy, spicy sauce, Buffalo Wings are to the Big Game what turkeys are to Thanksgiving.
If you care anything at all about Buffalo wings, you have an answer to a simple question.
Flats or drums?
Chicken wing lovers are split like a wishbone into two camps: fans of the flats, the two-bone, forearm section of the wing; and the drumette devotees, partial to the part that looks like a miniature drumstick.
Here’s what to know about each.
Team Flats
Flats are prized in the wing world and have something of a reputation as the connoisseur’s pick.
They have a few things going for them:
- More skin and fat means more flavor.
- Texture is more like dark meat chicken.
- Nearly impossible to overcook or dry out.
Here are the drawbacks:
- Can be hard to eat around the bones.
- Shape makes it awkward to dunk in blue cheese (maybe someone could invent a rectangular cup?).
- Great when crispy, but can be prone to flabbiness.
Team Drums
These itty bitty drumsticks are easy to love and easy to eat.
Here’s the case for drumettes:
- Develops more of a crunch than a crisp.
- Meatier, with lots of skin, not a lot of fat.
- Texture is more like white meat chicken.
- Easy to hold, easy to eat, easy to dunk.
The bad news for drums:
- Prone to overcooking and drying out.
- Can be chewy.
- Sometimes meh on the flav-o-meter.
Regardless of flat or drum allegiance, every self-respecting wing lover knows one thing to be true: keep the ranch away.
