How Many Wings in a Pound? Tips for Party Portion Planning

In general, you should expect 10 chicken wings in a pound of uncooked drums and flats. Is this a definitive answer to how many wings in a pound?

No. Is it good enough for napkin math? Probably.

Keep in mind that the actual quantity you get may vary based on the size of the chicken, whether the wings are cooked or uncooked, coated or uncoated, whole or pieced. Here’s a high level summary table that gets to the heart of the question:

From my experience as a caterer, there are a few wrinkles worth mentioning. In this article, I’ll teach you lessons I learned on the job and help take some of the guesswork out of party portion planning.

Types of Chicken Wings

The first thing worth considering is the type of wings you’re getting. I know what you may be thinking… a wing is a wing, right? Not exactly.

Yes, anatomically speaking, wings are the same. But when it comes to butchery, and how those cuts of meat are parsed and sold, there are some important distinctions you should know.

This information isn’t exactly complicated, but I’ve also found that it’s not common knowledge.

Chicken Drums

Chicken drums look like a smaller version of the chicken leg or drumstick hence, the name. They’re also called drumettes, in some cases.

This is the meatiest and juiciest part of the wing. In general, an uncooked drum weighs between 2 and 4 ounces. By that approximation, you can expect that in a pound (1 lb = 16 ounces), there are 4 to 8 drumettes. 

When cooked, these will lose up to 25% of their weight because of the moisture and protein that’s released when the meat is heated. There are usually 5-10 cooked bone-in drums in a pound. 

If the drums are breaded, the weight will vary because of the coating, and you’ll end up getting fewer drumettes per pound. 

Chicken Flats

Chicken flats (also called wingettes) are the flat, bony, and middle parts of the chicken wing with two parallel bones. 

Each wingette weighs between 1.5 and 2 ounces in an uncooked state. 

Since flats are half the weight of drumettes, you’ll get more of them per pound – about 8 to 10 when uncooked.

How many cooked bone-in flats are in a pound when cooked? About 10 to 14 since they shrink when cooked. 

Party Wings vs Whole Wings

It’s common that drums and flats, separated or together, are referred to as party wings. They’re also called buffalo wings sometimes, although this label more commonly refers to the iconic hot-sauced wings you probably also know and love.

Personally, I prefer whole wings. 

Whole wings consist of the intact drum, flat, and wing tip. The wing tip is usually used to make stock. Raw whole wing weighs 3.5 ounces on average, and there are 4 to 5 chicken wings per pound. 

You can easily cut whole chicken wings into pieces to save a lot of money.

So, How Many Wings Are There in a Pound?

The short answer is that it depends on the type of wings you’re getting. If you’re getting a mix of uncooked drums and flats, I stand by 10 wings per pound estimate. 

Here’s a quick reference that will help you get more granular in your planning:

Table: How Many Wings in a Pound

Expect 4 to 5 whole chicken wings in a pound considering each weighs about 3.5 ounces. But that’s not the full answer. If the wings are smaller, you need more of them to make a pound, and vice versa if the wings were larger.

Once cooked, you get 6 to 8 whole wings in a pound, as one cooked wing will weigh between 2 and 2.5 ounces.  

There are 4 to 8 raw drumettes and 5 to 10 cooked ones in a pound. A pound of uncooked flats has 8 to 10 wings, while 10 to 14 cooked ones make a pound. 

If you’re walking by the supermarket aisle and wondering how many wings are in a 10 lb bag, there are 40 to 50 whole wings. Grab it if you want to treat them as an appetizer to a group of 20 or so friends!

How Many Wings Per Person Do You Need?

How many wings and how many pounds of wings you need per person will depend on:

• If you are serving whole wings, drums, or flats
• If the wings are served as an appetizer or the main course with or without sides

Appetizer

If you’re serving them as an appetizer, factor in 2 to 3 whole wings per person. Or 4 to 6 party wings per person.

Breaking party wings down further, you would need twice as many flats than drums. Remember I mentioned that flats or wingettes weigh about half of drums? 

Table: How Many Wings for a Party – Appetizer

Main Course (with sides)

For most adult eaters, you’ll need 1-1½ pounds of whole wings per person. That’s 5 or 6 whole wings per guest. In the case of party wings, that’s 10 to 12 pieces per person. 

Table: How Many Wings for a Party – Main Course (with sides)

Main Course (without sides)

Plan on serving 1½ to 2 pounds or 8 to 10 whole wings per person. 

Convert that into party wings, you get 16 to 20 pieces of wings per person. 

Table: How Many Wings for a Party – Main Course (without sides)

In my experience, this is enough even for hardcore wing lovers or those friends who have an above-average appetite for buffalo wings! 

If you’re looking to cook boneless wings, I’ll let you do the math. Let me know what you come up with!

Worried about cooking too many wings? You can always freeze leftover chicken.

Which cooking method is best for chicken wings?

Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal preference. One thing I’ll say is there is an ideal internal temperature for chicken wings.

Some methods, like an air fryer, just don’t make sense when you’re cooking for a large number of people due to capacity constraints.

Baking them is a hands-off approach and healthier option than deep frying.

Unless you own a deep fryer, deep frying can quickly become impractical depending on the size of the party.

Grilling or smoking is a great way to cook a large number of wings at once for a party or event. Just be aware of hot spots etc. to avoid over or undercooking some portion of the wings.

Sous vide is a great hands off option that’ll even allow you to par cook the wings well in advance. You can finish them a variety of ways quickly.

Believe me. Once you taste sous vide chicken wings, you’ll never go back. Sous vide cooking allows you to maintain the perfect temperature for an extended period of time. This results in the most tender, juicy, and flavorful wings ever.

Plus, it’s super easy to cook wings from frozen with the sous vide method, so it’s a convenient, no-fuss alternative to the other methods. And it’s always possible to refreeze chicken if you have leftovers.

Chicken Wings FAQs