BUFFALO, NY — Americans are set to consume 1.45 billion chicken wings this Super Bowl weekend. So says the National Chicken Council. And some of them will be boneless — and thus not actual chicken wings.
The “boneless wing” is a thriving and delicious deception. It's part of a subset of foods that are popular but also aren't really what they say they are. Think baby carrots or mock crabmeat or plant-based burgers.
In the case of “boneless wings,” though, there's a reason behind it — they've been more cost effective. And yet, some say, they're an interesting example of marketing manipulation.
