If you are a fan of boneless chicken wings, you may be wondering if boneless wings are chicken nuggets. This is a common question as these two products are often compared to each other by customers.
It can’t be confusing when you look at all the different chicken products that are available to you. As there are so many different products under so many different kinds of names, such as chicken wings, chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, and fried chicken.
It can get very confusing considering the fact that all of these products are coming from the same thing, chicken. They are just listed under different names and may not be nearly as different as you think they are.
Many restaurants and fast food places offer both boneless chicken wings and chicken nuggets, making it hard to decide which option to get. Keep reading to find out whether or not boneless wings are chicken nuggets and how these two products are similar.
Boneless Wings Are Basically Chicken Nuggets
If you enjoy eating boneless wings, you may be wondering if these are the same as chicken nuggets. The reality is that boneless chicken wings are pretty much exactly the same as chicken nuggets when you really break them down.
This is something that the majority of people may not believe, but these two products are almost identical. They may be slightly different depending on where you get them, but for the most part, they are going to be made in the same way.
There is only so much variety that you can achieve when it comes to different parts of a chicken. This is why many chicken products tend to be very similar to each other in how they are made and how they taste.
For the most part, boneless wings and chicken nuggets taste very similarly, depending on where you buy them from. They also have an identical texture as they are both made of ground chicken and battered and fried.
So you could technically buy boneless chicken wings or chicken nuggets interchangeably, depending on what is available to you. There is very little difference between the two, and you are going to get the same kind of product either way.
Boneless Wings
Many people assume that boneless wings are the same as normal wings, except the bone has been removed. But that is actually not what happens as boneless wings are not the same as normal wings.
Boneless wings have the bone removed and are then ground up into chunks or a mince. Once that happens, the chicken meat is formed into the shape of boneless wings and battered and fried according to the restaurant’s recipe.
So what you think boneless wings are is actually quite different as you were not simply getting a normal wing without the bone. The process that boneless wings go through creates a dense chicken wing-like product.
If it was not made this way, the chicken wing would most likely fall apart during the cooking process without the bone as a structure. This is why boneless wings are very different from normal chicken wings.
Chicken Nuggets
Chicken nuggets go through a very similar process as boneless wings. As chicken wings are made from chicken breast and other areas of the chicken that have a ground up into a mince of meat.
This meat mixture is moldable and can be molded into little chicken nugget shapes, so that they can be battered and fried. Creating that chicken nugget appearance that people expect when they order this type of chicken.
Some places may have less healthy options of chicken nuggets that have more ingredients ground into the meat mixture. It just depends on where you are getting your chicken nuggets as certain restaurants offer a better quality.
McDonald’s, for instance, isn’t going to offer the same quality as an actual restaurant will. So the quality of the chicken nuggets is going to be lower and more likely less healthy than the more high-quality option.
Are Boneless Wings Better Than Normal Wings?
When comparing the two, boneless chicken wings are not considered to be better than in normal wings. This is because you are going to be lacking the original texture and overall structure of a normal chicken wing.
Because boneless chicken wings are ground up and re-formed into wing shapes, you aren’t going to get the same quality of product. They can also like the flavor of normal wings, as the bone adds flavor to the overall meat.
One downside to boneless wings is that additional ingredients can also be added, lowering the quality. Some places may add different areas of chicken as well as fat and other ingredients that you may not want to be eating.
Because of this, the majority of people prefer to buy normal wings as opposed to boneless wings. Though boneless wings are considered to be the best for dipping, while normal wings are best served coated in a sauce already.
Normal Wings Are Healthier Than Boneless Wings
Normal chicken wings are considered to be a healthier option than boneless wings as they are left relatively untouched. Normal wings consist of the normal chicken that would be attached to the wing bones.
While boneless wings could be a mishmash of different areas of the chicken to create that chicken wing shape. So you could be eating extra fat or additional ingredients that are not going to be healthy.
This, of course, it’s also going to depend on where you get your normal or boneless chicken wings. As some restaurants offer healthier options than others depending on their batter and sauce recipes.
As well as how they choose to cook the wings as deep frying is going to produce a less healthy product.
Final Thoughts
If you are trying to decide between boneless chicken wings and chicken nuggets, you should know that they are practically the same thing. Boneless wings consist of ground chicken that is shaped into wing shapes just like chicken nuggets are.
You are not actually being served the wing that just has the bone removed as boneless wings are made like chicken nuggets. So these two chicken products are nearly identical and can be ordered interchangeably.