Consumers cannot expect boneless chicken wings to actually be free of bones, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday, rejecting claims by a restaurant patron who suffered serious medical complications from getting a bone stuck in his throat.
Michael Berkheimer was dining with his wife and friends at a wing joint in Hamilton, Ohio, and had ordered the usual — boneless wings with parmesan garlic sauce — when he felt a bite-size piece of meat go down the wrong way. Three days later, feverish and unable to keep food down, Berkeimer went to the emergency room, where a doctor discovered a long, thin bone that had torn his esophagus and caused an infection.
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In a 4-3 ruling, the Supreme Court said Thursday that “boneless wings” refers to a cooking style, and that Berkheimer should’ve been on guard against bones since it’s common knowledge that chickens have bones. The high court sided with lower courts that had dismissed Berkheimer’s suit.
I’ve always assumed boneless chicken wings are some sort of a scam. Then ordered once and discovered they’re not wings at all but pieces of chicken breast. Or a scam, since a breast taste differently than a wing. Do they actually remove the bones from wings somewhere?
I don’t know, but if I were to venture a guess I would say they are made from dark meat that’s harder to sell than the wing. Just glue it together and frame it as an upgrade. $12 plate is now $20.
You know I’ve never gotten a discount for ordering dark meat? At this point I’m convinced it’s a myth.
Usually places just do an up charge if you only want white meat, with mixed and all dark usually being the base price.
No it’s literally just various pieces of meat cut up onto roughly wing-sized pieces. Bigger than popcorn chicken, smaller than tenders.