Popeye's - Ghost Pepper Wings

Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen has locations throughout the United States.

The Wing Joint:

Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen

Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen has been bringing you the New Orleans authentic spicy and mild cripy fried chicken and seafood for over 40 years.  Since I usually take this time to describe the atmosphere of whatever bar or restaurant I am checking out, and Popeye's is your typical fast food restaurant,  I decided to give you a brief history of the famous chicken joint.  Popeye's started in 1972 by Alvin C. Copeland Sr., he wanted to sell spicy New Orleans style chicken after his first venture of selling only southern fried chicken had failed.  According the history page on Popeye's website, it was named after Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a fictional character portrayed by actor Gene Hackman in the films The French Connection in 1971.  In 1983 the buttermilk biscuit was created which is still a staple menu item and in 1985 opened their 500th location.  So lets fast forward to 2014-15, when Popeye's long time spokesperson "Annie" was in a commercial adverting the taste the mystery of Ghost Pepper campaign for their new wings.  I have a Popeye's about a mile away, so here we go.

The Wing Review:

6 Ghost Pepper Wings

The Ghost Pepper wings must be popular; the first time I tried to get the wings they were sold out.  People must be as curious as I am of  the heat hype.  Picking up wings from a drive thru, my first question is how long have these wings been sitting under the heat lamp?  However, I had to wait 4 minutes for a fresh batch, temperature is steaming hot still when I get home, good start.  The wings are medium in size, are marinated then battered, breaded, and deep-fried.  No sauce rating on these wings, the flavor is all in the breading which was flaky and with a satisfying crunch, and the meat, was nice and juicy.
Now for the Ghost Pepper spice.  Popeye's says the wings are marinated 12 hours in "an exotic blend of peppers" including ghost peppers.  The Ghost Pepper is one of the, if not the hottest pepper on the planet.  With over 1 million Scoville unit, a true ghost pepper wing would set your mouth on fire.  Are Popeye's wings are hot and spicy?  Yes.  But Ghost Pepper hot?  Well, no and not even close.  The heat is above average and sticks on your lips awhile, but still I expected a little more heat for the name.  For the everyday wing eater, these would be more than enough spice.

Wing Night: None


Side Notes:
+Get a side of Cajun mashed potato's.
-My first attempt to order the wings, they were sold out for the day and I have to come back the following night.

Moment of Truth and Why:

Overall: 3.5 Star Wings 
Temperature: 5
Size & Texture: 3
Sauce: 0
Flavor: 3.5
Heat: 3.5

These wings get a better than average rating, but not because of the advertised heat.  Greasy, crispy wings that a lot of heat, don't get me wrong, they're hot, but these wings don't live up the hype of Ghost Pepper wings, but should you be surprised?  A fast food fried chicken joint claiming to have wings using  one of the hottest peppers on the planet?  I'm sure there is a small dash of the spice mixed in with their usual Cajun spices but hey stop by and take some home.  Nice for the price.  Being a self proclaimed wing connoisseur, these were a must try as soon as I saw the commercial, but I tried them so you don't have to go out of your way to do so.



Website: http://popeyes.com/

 

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Always looking for a new wing joint, got a favorite wing joint?  Tell me about and I'll check it out.  Hope this helps and enjoy.  See you 2015 Chicago Wing Fest.