Chain Restaurant Chicken Wings Ranked From Worst To First

Everybody loves good chicken wings. The National Chicken Council estimates Americans ate around than 1.38 billion wings during the 2019 Super Bowl. That's four wings for each man, woman, and child in the country, if you're keeping count. And while some people might make homemade wings for the big game, the majority of chicken wings consumed are purchased from chain restaurants. Considering that modern day chicken wings were born at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, in 1964, that's been quite the come up in less than 60 years.

At eateries all across the country, you can find chicken wings, ranging from totally inedible to downright delectable. We've compiled a list of some of the most popular spots to get chicken wings in U.S., and ranked them from the worst to the best. Whether you like blazing, fiery chicken, sweetly spiced wings, or a flavor out of the ordinary, there's something for everyone. So, grab your blue cheese, celery sticks, and a stack of napkins, and let's talk wings. 

Maybe Domino's has a few extra tankers full of sauce they need to get rid of or something because they really, really oversauce their wings. 

On top of that, the taste of their BBQ sauce is very generic. If you scour your grocery store shelves for the cheapest standard BBQ sauce you could find and then proceed to water it down, this would be the result. The flavor isn't horrible, it just has no depth or smokiness at all. Also, the skin on these wings is too chewy and fatty. 

To make matters worse, once you've gnawed your way beyond the greasy, gummy skin, the payoff is underwhelming, as the wings themselves are too small and don't have much meat. So while we wouldn't give them a zero out of 10, eight Domino's wings aren't the best choice from their menu. If you want to order something on the side of your pizza at Domino's, pass on the wings and just order a second pizza. 

Do you ever order just wings at KFC? If not, why not? Their wings are juicy good. Are they the best you can get? Nope, but they'll do in a pinch. Original Recipe or Extra Crispy — both are pretty darn good. But let's talk about KFC's Smoky Mountain BBQ option. 

You can order their Extra Crispy chicken (including wings), chicken tenders, or chicken littles sandwiches in this flavor. We wanted it to be like KFC's old school Honey BBQ flavor with a little bit of smoke. But, nope. The flavor wasn't anything like the sweet southern BBQ you'd imagine. It was just bland, a true disappointment. And there doesn't seem to be any quality control or consistency in how much sauce you get. Sometimes these wings are slathered in the sauce, and other times nearly untouched. Thankfully, this chicken came with some deliciously flaky, buttery biscuits or the whole meal would've been a bust.

You'll find these wings on the Outback Steakhouse appetizer menu and they come in mild, medium, or hot. You probably never even notice the wings because you automatically order the Bloomin' Onion without glancing any further down the list. According to Outback, they toss the wings in "secret spices," deep fry them, and toss them around in the sauce. What are those spices? Apparently, Outback employees don't even know.

Many of the copycat recipes for these wings include the powdered cheese from Kraft macaroni and cheese. Is that what Outback does? Who knows? Who cares? They are just yummy. The hot version have a great flavor and kick. The heat isn't so powerful that it overwhelms the flavor, which is what happens at many chain restaurants when they try to pull off hot wings. Even the mild version is worth eating, though hot is almost always the best choice when it comes to wings.

If you live in the south central or southeastern part of the United States (or randomly, Utah), then you know about Zaxby's. If you don't? Well, that's unfortunate for you. Zaxby's offers amazing chicken sandwiches (Kickin' Chicken on Texas Toast for the win, y'all), bountiful salad, and all kinds of wings. You can choose from boneless wings, chicken fingers, or traditional bone-in wings. We stick with the old school boned wings.

Zaxby's original sauce is a tasty, medium buffalo sauce. It's kind of Tabasco-y, but the heat isn't very intense. They have a sauce called Wimpy for you wimps out there, and a host of other sauces from Teriyaki to BBQ to Tongue Torch (which is hot, but doesn't blow steam out of your ears). And then they have two much hotter sauces — Nuclear and Insane. They are, as advertised, super hot but still amazingly good. We prefer Nuclear; your mileage may vary. Grab a pitcher of ice water (or beer) and sit down with 10 or 20 of these wings and enjoy your night. (You can also get a small order of just 5 wings, but seriously, who does that?) If you aren't in the mood for intense heat, we also recommend their Sweet & Spicy sauce. It's the perfect balance of citrus, sugar, and chili peppers. You'll want to ask for a bottle to take home and pour over everything you eat.

We know Bonchon isn't a traditional pick, but have you tasted their wings?

Bonchon chicken wings are tossed in a dry flour mixture and then deep fried until crispy. Then, they are drained and deep-fried again before being saturated in sauce. The result is a very crunchy, juicy wing with amazing flavor and seasoning. The sauce choices are soy garlic, spicy, or half and half, which is the best. They have a lot more on their menu than chicken wings, but the wings are definitely where it's at. 

Bonchon started in South Korea in 2002, hit the States with their New Jersey location in 2006, and since then they've taken the chicken world by storm. They now have 300 locations in nine different countries. If you are looking for typical buffalo wings, these aren't for you. But if you just want some really delicious wings, though they are a little pricey, then don't pass up Bonchon.