Pizza Today_February 23 - 45

Keeping chicken wings on the menu
T
he debate about whether to
offer chicken wings is a hot
topic among operators and not
just a post-pandemic issue. Pricing and
availability of chicken wings has been a
long-standing issue for pizzeria operators.
Chicken wings may very well cost more
per pound than a high-quality chicken
breast, and that's on a typical day. Don't
even think about stocking up the week
of the big game, you'll be hard-pressed to
find chicken wings. And if you do, you'll
have to take out a second mortgage on
your family home just to buy them.
So why offer wings at all? Wings are
hot! The people want wings! They are, in
most cases, gluten-free, high protein, and
naturally low carb, and there are so many
ways to make them uniquely yours! From
traditional hot to sweet and tangy, hot
wings are here to stay. But are they right
for your operation?
Here are some things to consider
when deciding to put wings on the
menu:
Storage
If you are working with a raw chicken
wing, they must be stored below any
ready-to-eat ingredients in your cooler.
This can present some challenges in
a kitchen with limited space. IQF
(individually quick frozen) wings on the
other hand may be easily stored in your
freezer, but, well, they're frozen so you will
need to factor that into your cook time.
Size Matters
Assuming that you are looking to
provide value to your guest, you will want
a wing with some substance, some meat
on the bone, so to speak. A jumbo wing, 6
to 10 per pound, makes for a hearty, eyecatching
wing. Depending on your choice
of preparation methods, it could take up
to 20 minutes for a jumbo wing to reach a
safe internal temperature and be nice and
crispy on the outside.
Preparation
Perhaps one of the more common
methods of preparation is the deep fryer,
which yields a nice crispy texture on the
outside. Deep frying your wings can take
longer than other methods. On average,
deep fryers are set to 300-350 F, which
may be great for French fries or chicken
Parm, but makes for longer chicken wing
cook times. Beware, deep frying can
sometimes cause the meat to shrink and
pull back from the bone... but delicious
nonetheless.
If you are considering the deep fryer
method, ask yourself if you have the fryer
space to devote to wings. If you're selling
great wings, you can assume that at least
one fryer basket will be devoted to wings.
How will this affect your ticket times
for other menu items? Another thing to
consider is that wings are hard on fryer oil.
You will be cleaning and replacing fryer oil
more often, increasing the expense of labor
and product.
I turned to my teammates, World
Pizza Champions Anthony DeSouza of
Antonio's Real New York Pizza in Estes
Park, Colorado, and Jeff Smokevitch of
Brown Dog Pizza in Telluride, Colorado,
to see what they are doing to solve the
challenges of the chicken wing. Anthony
invested in an infrared broiler and reduced
his cook time from 20 to 8 minutes. This
was a significant investment but a total
game-changer for him. Jeff offers wings
prepared two ways, deep fried from raw,
with a prep time of about 20 minutes, or
his Jerk wings, which are par grilled ahead
of time, finished on the griddle to order,
and are hot and ready in 10 minutes.
If neither of these methods works for
your operation, you can run them through
a conveyor oven or even bake them off in
a deck oven. Neither are lightning fast,
nor do they provide the crispiness that the
some other methods offer, but they get the
job done!
Pricing
Price fluctuations in the wing market
are the nature of the beast. It is nothing
new, although it is more pronounced these
days. Many operators have adopted digital
menus using QR codes instead of print
menus, which has led the way to dynamic
pricing. There are no menus to reprint, just
update the digit file and upload it!
QR codes and digital menus allow
operators to update menu prices based on
the market price and is a great way to keep
your target cost of goods in line. While
many guests have adapted to viewing
restaurant menus this way, some have not,
so digital menus may only be a solution
for some concepts. Beware that there are
people who can't read the mobile version
of your menu on their phones or just like
to hold and look at a print menu. At best,
digital menus could be an inconvenience
for them, at worst, this could lead them
to not return - but you know your
customers best.
If dynamic pricing and QR codes aren't
for you, know that your food cost is going
to be an average of your entire product
mix. While your food cost on wings could
be upwards of 40 percent, you can balance
that with your pizza and pasta dishes in
the neighborhood of 10-12 percent.
Sauces and Rubs
Wings can be an outlet for your culinary
creativity or to add variety to your menu.
Use fresh ginger, chili sauce, honey, brown
sugar and dark soy sauce to make sticky
sweet Asian wings, or blend balsamic
reduction, minced garlic, and minced
Serrano pepper to make a hot and sweet
Italian-inspired wing sauce.
If you fancy dry rubs, you can purchase
an IQF frozen rotisserie wing that comes
pre-seasoned and then toss them in the
desired sauce after they're fully cooked. If
you decide to make your own dry rub, it
is best to par broil, grill or bake the wings
before frying as the dry rub tends to come
off in the deep fryer. The possibilities are
endless! With all of this said, I always try
to minimize adding skews to my inventory,
so I like to use ingredients that I already
have on hand.
In summary, if you are going to wing it,
be aware of your storage space, the impact
that adding a new menu item will have on
your ticket times.
Don't forget to have fun and stay true to
your brand!
MELISSA RICKMAN is co-founder of
Wholly Stromboli in Fort Lupton, Colorado,
and member of the World Pizza Champions.
Pizza Today_February 23

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