Wings W/ out purchasing from la nova

goomba i do a minimum of 800 pounds a week so i think i buy in bulk and i price shop my purveyors 1.45 is rock bottom here in western new york and never have seen them as high as 1.80

OK…stupid questions for all of you fresh wing users…especially you goomba, considering how many you sell…are you parbaking your wings to get a lot of the grease out or just putting them in the fryer? I tried raw wings and they break down the fryer oil so quickly. I would love to do fresh wings instead of the frozen precooked Pierce wings that I use right now but only have one fryer(and no room to add another) and it seems after a day or so of heavy wing orders, the fries come out like sh**, as well as the mozzarella stix, battered mushrooms…etc etc… and how many wings do you get per pound. Right now I can’t price a dozen wings higher than $7.50 without pricing myself out of the market and I am running at 55% cost once you add sauce, packaging etc. This is of course using Pierce. You get about 6 doz per bag, three bags per case, at roughly $70 per case which runs about .$32 per wing, that isn’t counting the 9" tin and lid and the buffalo sauce which we make using Franks. Then of course is the bleu cheese or ranch dressing to with them. Right now with the kind of cost I’m dealing with and not being able to really raise the price I dread getting wing orders. No, money in it but there is a demand…yes, it is usually an add on so I do make something from it…anyway, I’m sure you get the picture.

Tommy, you want your cake and eat it too, without frying?. If you use conveyor ovens, fill a sheet pan with fresh wings not quite so full that they touch each other. run through the oven three times draining grease off each time. Cool and portion in 9" foil containers. When ordered, you run them through the oven either sauced or sauce after. There, you’ve eaten your cake without having to put fryers in.

Before you guys from buffalo harass me about this, I realize these aren’t true Buffalo wings. It’s a hell of a lot closer than Lanovas frozen precooked or tysons.

ddariel,What point are you trying to make here?To just disagree w/ me or what?Your telling me you never seen wings hit over a 1.89 a llb during superbowl? Well I find that hard to believe.And you say I need to check price of my wings because I am currently paying .89 llb? I just talked to my good friend in da Bronx and he is also paying .99 llb.So please,what is your point?By the way he is in 'western NY’also.Your buying 800 llbs a week,wow you have me beat in poundage my friend but definitely not in price I see.

NY Charlie,to your answer no I do not have the time to par-bake .We just throw them in fresh for 10-11 min. and yes we have to change oil once a week.Keep in mind I have 4 fryers on my line,so we don’t mix our fried foods w/ our wing fryer.

                     Niccademo

ddariel,What point are you trying to make here?To just disagree w/ me or what?Your telling me you never seen wings hit over a 1.89 a llb during superbowl? Well I find that hard to believe.And you say I need to check price of my wings because I am currently paying .89 llb? I just talked to my good friend in da Bronx and he is also paying .99 llb.So please,what is your point?By the way he is in 'western NY’also.Your buying 800 llbs a week,wow you have me beat in poundage my friend but definitely not in price I see.

NY Charlie,to your answer no I do not have the time to par-bake .We just throw them in fresh for 10-11 min. and yes we have to change oil once a week.Keep in mind I have 4 fryers on my line,so we don’t mix our fried foods w/ our wing fryer.

                     Niccademo

goomba i dont want to start a urinating match, at superbowl last year we paid about the same we are paying now, i guess all the guys around here are gouging, i wll start to work on it tomorrow, we haven’t seen wings below a buck in quite a while up here.

I sell around 1000 lbs. a week in wings and I’m paying $1.45/lb. Who are you buying wings from for $0.89/lb? I’m in upstate NY and there is no where around here to get them cheaper than $1.45. I haven’t seen wings as cheap as you’re paying in a few years. Are you selling jumbo wings (6-9 ct)? What brand are you buying? If I could get wings for the price you’re paying, it would save me $560 a week.

Hello Roger,as I threaded earlier to someone else,I am just outside of Philly if you want to take a ride down here w/ I think will be well worth it if your selling 1000 llbs a week I will hook you up w/ my local chx. purveyer.He won’t deliver to anyone though.You have to go right here to his farm,with a 1000 llb order he may need a days notice but thats about it.We are in Colmar PA.Another big company here called Bova also has wings @ 1.15 llb.This is a 430.00 savings for you guys so come on down and throw me a bone for these savings.

                          Niccademo

Goomba, What size wings are they? I sell 6-9 ct. jumbo cut wings.

I use Brakebush wings, Plain and inferno from sysco. Price not too bad. they are a large wing and have a nice breading on them. Not pre cooked.

Roger,these are more of a 9-12 ct.but no one could hardly tell the diff…I called my guy yesterday and told him about our chats,he 1st laughed and said he has to raise my prices,then said to get you to come on down and buy a few thousand llbs.but hurry because in the next few months they will be going up due to the feed for the chics.

                          Niccademo

So basically I put the raw wings on a sprayed dough sheet and run through, 3 times, do they come out pretty good or maybe come out with an interesting texture and what not?

Run them through three times on an aluminum sheet pan and I think you will be surprised how well they cook. Don’t do this with huge wings, you need to experiment which ones work for you.

I’ve heard alot of different approaches to wings so as a newbie who is just dealing in carry-out for now,which would be the best method for me in order to keep costs low?

Hey Knightwing,

Good question! Lots of knowledgeable people in here. I’m new here and should have come in a while ago.

First of all decide whether you want wings better and different from everyone else’s or relatively standard wings. I ask the question seriously because some people subscribe to the zero-sum game method of doing business. I take the approach that if you serve better quality food, wings in particular, then the slight increase in food cost is an afterthought to any increased business.

Wings, according to the trade pubs, keep increasing in popularity these days. Also according to surveys, consumers prefer to pay more for a better product.

Your options depend upon a variety of factors. What cooking equipment do you have at your disposal?

How many wings do you think you can move in your service area? Per day/week, etc.?

Is keeping your food cost low the primary consideration, or does the prospect of increased sales intrigue you?

I can help you either way. Your final food cost will be a determinant of your cooking/prep options, therefore your chicken wing selection, coupled with the sauce selection.

The sauce makes the wing for the most part by the way. That’s where the flavor resides. Being from the Buffalo/Rochester, NY area where I grew up, the most important thing is the sauce. The actual chicken as well as presentation and bleu cheese can be very important depending upon which market you are in.

So there are a lot of variables. I’ll be happy to provide you with further options. As for me, I manufacture/distribute the best fully prepared wing sauces out there just to be up front w/ you. My primary focus however is to spread the joy and goodness of genuine Buffalo Wings, and other wings, throughout the nation however.

I will objectively provide you with all of the options.

www.eatwings.com

they do have the best sales lady giving out samples at the expos! :lol:

Hey all… Goomba, Da Bronx isn’t western NY :slight_smile:
One thing I might mention is Goomba is in very close to the Chicken Capital of the world so he may be paying much less than others.

Yeah I have a hard time not voicing “the purest attitude” about wings.

I can only suggest to try a fresh wing no matter the cooking method.

Don’t forget that wings will give you great “combo packaging” possibilities that alone will help overall ticket price and defray wing cost of goods.

i agree with Necademo buy them fresh and fry them make big difference