Move over KFC, McDonald’s is expanding their talonprint on the chicken world. The fast food giant is strutting Mighty Wings into test markets. One of those cities is Chicago, the other being Atlanta, so I felt obligated to try them for you. No need to thank me. I’m happy to go the extra treadmill mile for the Guyism readers.
As you can see from the box, Ronald is advertising these new chicken wings as “big, crispy, spicy, meaty, juicy, bone-in chicken.” And for the first time in recorded history, a fast-food item is exactly as advertised. While mine weren’t propped up nicely like those on the box, they hit the actual description right on the chicken-head.
Call me a skeptic, but I was planning to open the box and see wimpy, soggy little chicken wings with the meat falling off the bone not due to tenderness but laziness. Yes, I’m assuming dead animals can be lazy. Instead what I got was big, piping hot, well-fried drummettes and flats that could have come from Chicken Boo himself.
“You guys have chickens? Oh, I love chickens. Are they extra crispy or original recipe?” Even Pauly Shore would be impressed by how incredibly crispy these wings are. It’s not all breading though, there is plenty of juicy chicken underneath that glorious skin. As for flavor, I wouldn’t quite call these hot wings, but there is noticeable kickin’ to this chicken. I don’t usually go for dry – too much friction – but the spiciness made me not even miss my standard of slathering buffalo sauce. That’s a good thing too because the McDonald’s sauces are useless.
The dipping options are the one place where the Mighty Wings lose an arbitrary amount of points. WacArnold’s hasn’t added any new sauces, nor have the re-constructed the packing of those already in existence. Thanks to the size of these tasty morsels, you can’t effectively get any ranch, buffalo, or BBQ on them. Sure you can dip a corner here or there, but you aren’t eating the corner of a wing so what good is that?
I really hate to say this, as do my stomach and arteries hate to hear it, but I loved these wings. I’d take them over KFC and Popeyes, any pizza joint, and plenty of restaurants. Yes, they’re that good. At a buck a piece they aren’t the best deal in the world, but you probably owe McDonald’s some McDollars from all those under-priced double cheeseburgers you’ve eaten.