Gardein has really been expanding their chick'n game since they first hit the scene in 2009. The latest to catch my eye are these Chipotle Georgia Style Chick'n Wings. I've never heard of Georgia-style chicken wings, despite being one state over. In fact, Google hasn't really heard of it either, I only found one lone Georgia Red Wings recipe on a Big Green Egg Forum.
One thing Gardein undeniably does well is their chicken meat alternatives, and these wings are no exception. They are tender, easy to bite into and chew, and flavorful. They've been adding pea and wheat proteins into their newer products and if this is any indication, that was a great move. These are even more chick'n-y than their original chick'n scallopini, one of the first Gardein products I remember trying more than a decade ago. Next time I hit the grocery store I'm going to see if they've updated the scallopini recipe too.
The best part of these wings is the lack of bone, because of course, there's no chicken involved. If you're looking to fool a carnivore with these, you won't, because they don't look winglike at all, but they definitely don't look repulsive. They just look like un-breaded, larger chicken nuggets.
Chipotle Georgia Style Chick'n Wings
Brand: Gardein
Meat Type: Chicken wings
Taste: Fantastic taste, the sauce is a little sweet, but not in a cloying way
Texture: Very easy to eat without being too chewy or rubbery
Realisticness: ⅗ (only because you can't fake bones in wings)
Rating: ♥♥♥♥ (⅘)
I would absolutely buy other versions of Gardein's wings based on this one. I might not go for this sauce style again, but I wouldn't be averse to it. They have sweet and tangy barbecue wings, buffalo wings, and Gochujang wings, so I've got plenty of wing options to choose from here. I might would even buy the wings, and use my own kind of sauce on them, for that matter!
If you've been wanting to try out a meatless chicken option, give these — or any of the wing versions — a try and let me know if you agree that Gardein is the current meatless chicken leader.
The Recipe on the Bag
The back of the bag recommends making them with peaches and grilling or broiling them. Since we are in the middle of peach season, I did just that. Two firm peaches and a full serving of this bag made for four nice skewers, that paired along with a small Caprese salad (because it's also the thick of tomato season!) made for a fantastic dinner.
For being named chipotle sauce, I expected a bit more heat off of these wings, but I don't think they needed heat to be good. If you like more heat though, taste the sauce before brushing it on the wings and peaches, and add some red pepper flakes, cayenne, or your favorite hot sauce and mix well before brushing.
If I had grilled these, it would be the perfect dinner for not heating up the house, but broiling was faster and I hate using charcoal to grill just one little thing. I put these skewers on a cookie sheet and broiled for 4 minutes If I was willing to turn the skewers, they could have used another 2 minutes on the other side as well with no problem. True to the call-out on the bag, this was a dinner that was ready in minutes.
I ate it all. ALL.
See my other meat alternative reviews: Moroccan tofu cubes, Raised & Rooted nuggets. Suggest future meat alternatives you'd like for me to review by commenting below!
