Hungry-Man Buffalo Style Chicken Strips

April 8, 2008 | Reviewer: Nicole

Hungry-Man Buffalo Style Chicken Strips Price: $2.75 (4/$11 sale, Safeway)
Calories 920
Total Fat 54%, 35g
Saturated Fat 35%, 7g
Cholesterol 42%, 125mg
Sodium 39%, 930mg
Carbohydrates 24%, 71g
Dietary Fiber 5%, 6g
Sugars 34g
Protein 34g
Weight Watchers Points: 21 WW Points

Hungry-Man says: Fried chicken patties coated in a floured buffalo style seasoning with french fries, corn & a brownie.

Nicole Says: If chocolate milk comes from chocolate cows, where does chocolate corn come from? At some point in its short life, my Hungry Man meal must have defrosted pretty well, because not only did I have a significant portion of corn enter my brownie section, but some of the kernels were actually frozen in. So I had no choice but to bake them in. And that’s after 5 minutes of digging conglomerated frozen corn out of said brownie section.

The cooking is also less-than-straightforward. Remove film over all except corn, five minutes cook time, remove brownie (not so easy to scrape it all out) and then back in to nuke for two more minutes.

I went into this with some skepticism. Buffalo Chicken and a Brownie? Is this for overweight pre-teen males (1 LB. OF FOOD)? Although, hey, I’m excited about the brownie.

So beginning with the safest route, the fries are good, not too soggy, but they could use a touch of salt (and why, oh, why, don’t I have a small ketchup bottle at the office?) There are a lot of fries here - maybe a McDonal’ds Medium? But thick and crinkle-cut, like classic frozen fries.

The corn is buttery in flavor without being in a soupy pool of buttery water. There’s also a slight sweetness to the corn, but that could be bits of brownie mix baked on. In the brownie-to-corn direction, this is not a tragedy. The serving size is slightly larger than your average section-meal’s veg serving.

Four chicken strips sit atop my fries, each about the size of two McD’s nuggets - looking sort of splotchy red-and-yellow and … crispy?! Upon closer inspection, there is some visible sogginess on the bottom of a couple strips. Perhaps they should be flipped at the cooking-interruption point where the brownie is removed to crisp on both sides? Because the tops and sides are actually crispy, and I’m totally impressed. I think it’s the fact of cooking atop the fries that helps this out - on the undersides, the soggy sections were only those touching plastic during the cooking process rather than resting atop french fries.

(It’s too bad country/chicken-friend steak/chicken goes so well with smashed potatoes. Otherwise we could cook that atop fries, too, and make Nicole’s world complete.)

The “buffalo” flavor of the strips is questionable. I was expecting a sharp, tangy vinegar-hot sauce experience, but the tang isn’t really there. However, there is a subtle, slowly building spice and heat flavoring the strips, and it’s damn tasty. If you like REALLY spicy food, well, you’d better have your bottle of hot sauce handy.

After chicken-strip-happiness began, I decided to interrupt for a mid-meal dessert, out of fear that a less-than-great brownie might leave me on the wrong foot. The brownie (corn and all) is very so-so. It is chocolately but not very sugary (slightly towards bitter), pretty moist in texture. I think that chocolate lover (not connoisseurs, but lovers) would be very pleased. I, myself, am glad I have some crispy spiciness left.

Surprise, surpise, this meal is quite filling. I think that the spiciness of the chicken combines with the 1 LB. OF FOOD to make me . . . full . . . and happy . . . I will absolutely buy this meal again, but I may save it for dinner, because I might just be ruined as far as working goes for the next 30 minutes.

[Nicole, there’s another one in Kitchen 2. -Ed.]

comments

13 Responses to “Hungry-Man Buffalo Style Chicken Strips”

Chavi on April 8th, 2008

I once dated a fellow who lived off these things.

The thing about them though? Weight Watchers people cannot eat them. I mean, 21 points? Jesus. I get 27 a day. And we all know that the frozen meals aren’t nearly as filling as we hope they would be.

Oh Hungry Man …
lowderra on April 8th, 2008

Well, if you are a big dude that works out for an hour a day - sure. Or some growing teenager. Or a rail thin superhyperactive elementary school kid? Sure, fine. They’ll work it off.

But at nearly a 1000 calories and what 35 grams of fat?!? This is not for the average office worker or student.

If I’m going to blow 35 grams of fat on something, it needs to be something other than a TV dinner.
rob on April 8th, 2008

I’m on the “nothing but salads” regime for the indefinite future cause I ate too damn many of these things.
Justin on April 8th, 2008

Haven’t tried this one yet. The beer-battered chicken and cheese fries are great, as are the Boneless BBQ Chicken stix. I’ll have to check for these.
Crow on April 8th, 2008

One really has to work hard to squeeze 920 calories into a pound…
Jessica on April 8th, 2008

Okay, maybe the box I got was a production glitch but the chicken in my meal was absolutely WRONG. I couldn’t buy it again. There were these grisly bits and some fatty bits and I have no idea what was up with the color of the chicken. Color aside, one grisly bit for me means into the trash.
Sarah Clayton on April 8th, 2008

Ah yes, one of my Dad’s favorites, and I seem to always steal a strip when he makes me make it for him too, Lol.
Kate on April 9th, 2008

I honestly don’t see how people eat these things. Like Crow said, you’d have to work hard to fit nearly 1,000 calories into a pound. I can have a wonderful, very healthy lunch for 500 calories that weighs three pounds; drink not included.
UncleBoogie on April 10th, 2008

I almost never eat these. However my wife and kids are going away most likely today, which means I shall grab a couple of these. Retreat back to bachelorhood for a bit.

Kate: Healthy lunch for 500 calories? Sure. Bet it requires a damn sight more work than throwing it in the magic white box in the kitchen though.

Jessica: I’ve had these a few times, and you must have got a dud one. One thing I love about the Hungry Man stuff is the fact that it’s usually pretty good for a TV dinner. (Unlike the mediocre crap you get on no-name brands.)
Jalin Boudreaux on April 10th, 2008

I was woundering why I can’t find the Hungry man Buffalo Style Chicken Strips dinner at any of the suppermarkets around where I live like ( Wal- Mart, Marketbasket, Piggy Wiggly and superfoods). This was the only TV dinner I would eat. I hope there will be some way for these grossery stores to sale them again. and if not how would I be able to get some.
UncleBoogie on April 13th, 2008

I purchased once of these a couple of day ago. 105% of the RDA for Sodium is alarming. Calories was 900 odd.

Interestingly, you look at the Hungry Man turkey dinner, and it is FAR healthier for you. (So I bought one of those too.)
Pam Scott on May 6th, 2008

I think your brownie machine is missing the mark….When I first started buying the Hungry-Man meals for my family a few months ago everything was fine. The past few times, the brownie spilled over on the corn and chicken. I thought it would just a fluke but it is still happening. Can you please check this out for me as I am tired of wiping the brownie out of the trays…..it’s not saveing me any time. I thought TV dinners were invented to save time…..are we going b ackwards????
Pink on May 7th, 2008

While this isn’t great for dieters, I like the idea of there being convenient zap-meals for different lifestyles. Though the sodium is still sky high.