So I haven't done a frozen wing review in a while, which worked out because I had a box of wings in the freezer that had been there forever.
I find it interesting of all of PC's wing flavours, they only did the Smokin' Stampede as Drums or Flats. If you aren't familiar with Smokin' Stampede, it's one of President's Choice's lines of BBQ Sauces.
I actually really like this BBQ sauce. Of all the grocery store BBQ sauces, it's my fave. Particularly Beer & Chipotle. It's sweet, smoky, layered in flavour and just a hint of heat. If I make a quick and easy spicy BBQ wing, I just mix this and some hot sauce and I'm good to go. So how would the frozen version turn out?
The box is 907g and they guarantee at least 13 wings. While PC does make a Tequila Habanero version, but this is Beer & Chipotle. Cooking instructions are either doing the oven at 425 F, but I was planning on grilling them. The ingredients weren't egregious, I mean for a frozen wing. But the 'seasoned wing' and the 'glaze' did mean there were a lot of things going on here.
Inside the box was just the bag of wings. I was shocked, as PC seems to just always add sauce packets on the side. Thank goodness.
After a year, the wings had a bit of freezer burn, but not so much that I thought there was a problem. The wings were all pretty frozen together, but after a few minutes they pulled apart not too bad.
The box said there would be a minimum of 13 wings in the box, and, well there were 13 wings in total. This begs the question, do you prefer 13 wings that weigh 900g, or a bunch of smaller wings that weig 900g?
These could have been decent in the oven, but really they were made for the grill.
The box said to turn them frequently. That sounded reasonable so that's what I did. With each turn the wings were getting more charred and crispy. They looked promising.
All in all I cooked them for about 20 minutes until they looked good and ready. You have to be patient, and I didn't want to be patient.
A few got more crispier than others, but that just meant more crispy-sauced goodness.
Grilled up, they looked better in person than the beauty shot on the box!
You can cook them how you want, but I wanted them a bit charred and crispy, but still sticky with the sauce on them. I think they turned out pretty good.
The size of the wings were decent - not that big but not too small. They were more on the short side of length, but they were pretty meaty wings.
The texture on the wings was a mix of sticky and charred. With a wing so saturated in sauce there was no way the wings would develop a crispy skin. The meat was relatively tender, which I was shocked as both a frozen wing, and a wing that sat at the bottom of my freezer for over a year!
I ate one right off the grill, I couldn't wait. It was a little sweet, a little bit of spice, a little smoke, with a little tang. It didn't taste exactly like the actual bottle of sauce. That's ok in terms of flavour because the flavour is good, just don't expect it to be the same.
WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN?
Ya, especially for $5! It was a great deal and the wings turned out better than expected. These aren't amazing wings, but for $5 they hit the spot. The texture, the flavour was all on point. I ended up having leftovers, and I added chili flakes and a bit of hot sauce to kick it up a notch. I wouldn't get these at full price, and you could make much more amazing wings from fresh using the PC Smokin' Stampede Sauce, but for a quick wing, these will do. 9/14
President's Choice
Smokin' Stampede Just Drums
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WK