# What is your favourite chicken part? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 26, 2020, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979 "2020-10-26T22:15:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/61 "2020-10-28T16:56:28Z")
Bog-standard supermarket chicken runs me $7-$8 for a whole bird. ETA: exactly how many pounds, couldn’t say. Chicken-sized. I’d bet 5-6 pounds, maybe? I’ll pay more attention. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/62 "2020-10-28T16:57:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > [This is the roast chicken recipe I use](https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/my-favorite-simple-roast-chicken-231348). The trussing is pretty easy, and some birds are sold pre-trussed. Results are amazing. Depending on whether folks can wait, I’ll sometimes make a simple gravy from the drippings (blob of butter in a pan, spoonful of flour on top, stir until it starts to go golden, pour in drippings slowly while whisking), but sometimes we’re too hungry. Oh, don’t get me wrong, chicken used to be my thing to cook. Everything from soup to roasted to schnitzel. I don’t know if it was the chicken or me, but in the past 3 years I found myself enjoying it less and less, until I finally just had to stop. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/63 "2020-10-28T17:25:43Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > in the past 3 years I found myself enjoying it less and less, until I finally just had to stop. A few years ago my daughter stayed with us for a few months while she was looking for a place to live. She really liked our laying hens, who we get at 2-5 days of age and raise inside our house for the first few months. They’d approach her and want petted. If you crouch down they jump/fly onto your lap. My daughter had an epiphany at some point and realized she couldn’t continue eating meat. She (and her fiance) are strict vegetarians now, thanks to our friendly hens. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/64 "2020-10-28T17:33:15Z")
I guess the breasts, though I’m not a big fan of chicken. When I was a kid I lived with my dad, and we had chicken often (several times a week). So, I pretty much got sick of chicken. Another thing I hate is coconut. We also had a lot of those frozen coconut cream pies for dessert. To this day I can’t even stand the smell of coconut. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/65 "2020-10-28T19:43:46Z")
My wife made the switch over to vegetarian over the past couple of years. It’s complicated our meal planning to some degree but it’s opened our world to new recipes we’d never have tried before, and we have always been adventurous cooks. I envy people who can eschew meat entirely. I’ve tried for periods of time. A few weeks was the longest I’ve gone before craving meat to the point of actually feeling like my body was missing some key nutrients for normal operating conditions. Perhaps that was just imagined and something I could push through, but I chose to go back to eating meat as part of my regular diet. Avoiding chicken was my one compromise, which was easy given that I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. Still isn’t all that appealing to be honest. But I do miss a good old fashioned chicken soup like my grandmother used to make. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/66 "2020-10-28T19:50:46Z")
The “middle” wing piece. Some call it the “flat” or the “wingette.” Whatever you call it, it’s my favorite chicken part. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/67 "2020-10-28T19:53:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I buy schmancy organic free-range birds. Dunno if the flavor difference is real or imaginary, but the roast breast is definitely not flavorless. It’s delicately sweet and tender, but not flavorless. Me, too. And I love the flavor of roast chicken breast. What’s my favorite part? Probably the liver, and the crispy skin, and the tail. But next is the breast. Yes, it’s possible to cook the breast until it’s dry and flavorless. And yes, the flavor isn’t as strong as some other parts. But plain roast chicken breast, from a free range bird, is delicious. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Another overlooked part is the achilles tendon (or whatever they call it in birds). If you’ve slow-cooked to where it’s really soft, you can just grab hold the attachment on the heel and pull that tendon out with a nice noodle of leg-meat attached. Lol, that’s WHY i don’t care for the legs. I enjoy every other part of the chicken. I even like chewing on necks and backs. But i really dislike the consistency on that tendon, and all the little spikey bones in the leg. I usually toss the legs into the soup, with the bones. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/68 "2020-10-28T21:02:43Z")
It sort of depends on the application. If I’m eating fried chicken, I generally like breast and thigh meat. If I’m eating chicken salad, breast meat is the best IMO, mostly for textural reasons. But if I’m grilling chicken or making a dish where chicken is an ingredient (pot pie, soup, many Chinese or Indian dishes), then thighs are my favorites. Wings are great in the limited situation where I’m eating buffalo wings, but outside of that particular niche, when I encounter wings, they go into the stockpot. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/69 "2020-10-28T21:57:15Z")
Spatchcocking, there’s a cool word for another thread. I’d give it try for sure I just hope my kitchen shears are up to it. I’ve done birds in the crockpot that I want to pop under the broiler to crisp & coming out of the pot they collapse like spatchcock on the broiler pan. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/70 "2020-10-29T02:10:34Z")
Parts is parts. ---
**Author:** ![Didi44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@Didi44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didi44)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/71 "2020-10-29T03:38:28Z")
The McNugget! I can’t remember the comedian, I’m thinking George Carlin. Two legs, two breasts, two wings, one back… What’s left is the McNugget! I told this to my girlfriend and she never ate McNuggets again! I’ve never had chicken ones, but smoked turkey butts are delicous! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/72 "2020-10-29T13:58:48Z")
Dim Sum chicken feet…yum > **[Braised Dim Sum Chicken Feet](https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/dim-sum-chicken-feet/)** > > Chinese dim sum style braised chicken feet. This is Elaine's favorite chicken feet recipe. Chicken feet, though sounds weird for some of your guys, but it is really one of the best parts of chicken. Just kidding. I did have a Chinese girlfriend once who introduced me to Dim Sum at an authentic Chinese restaurant, and she wanted to order the chicken feet for me to try. But unfortunately they were fresh out. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/73 "2020-10-29T15:46:44Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Just kidding. I did have a Chinese girlfriend once who introduced me to Dim Sum at an authentic Chinese restaurant, and she wanted to order the chicken feet for me to try. But unfortunately they were fresh out. I had a Chinese business partner once. She took us all out to a local Chinese place for “authentic” Chinese dishes. The waiter came over and took the order in Chinese. When he left, we asked her what he said during their animated conversation in which he pointed towards us. She laughed and said, “I’ll bring it, but they won’t like it.” By, “they”, he meant all us white people. 🙂 I remember liking everything but that much of it was quite bland. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/74 "2020-10-29T15:59:03Z")
If you like 1000 year old egg, you are ahead of me. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/75 "2020-10-29T16:01:38Z")
I’m waiting on a couple in the back of the fridge, but I have around 998 years left to go. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/76 "2020-10-29T18:10:04Z")
Wings, then breasts, then thighs. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/77 "2020-10-29T19:04:22Z")
I often roast a whole chicken, maybe 4-5 pounds. I don’t have any trouble with the meat drying out. A whole chicken, cut up, or just chicken thighs, are perfect for _arroz con pollo_, which definitely won’t dry out the chicken, and has a whole range of flavor, depending on your recipe. I guess chicken thighs would be my favorite. Super versatile. But chicken breast can be marinated any number of ways and grilled, which is great. But really, a whole chicken is wonderful, if done right. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/78 "2020-10-29T19:39:52Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > If you like 1000 year old egg, you are ahead of me. Nope. That’s gross. But i do enjoy dimsum chicken feet. They are fun to chew on, and tasty. Despite loving duck in most dishes, i don’t love dimsum duck feet, though. The texture of the webbing turns me off. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/79 "2020-10-30T13:55:41Z")
> [@Didi44](#): > > The McNugget! > > I can’t remember the comedian, I’m thinking George Carlin. Two legs, two breasts, two wings, one back… What’s left is the McNugget! > > I told this to my girlfriend and she never ate McNuggets again! > > I’ve never had chicken ones, but smoked turkey butts are delicous! I can’t find it now, but IIRC a few years ago there was an ad for, I think KFC or a similar chicken-oriented restaurant chain. As I remember it (and I’m finding my memory for TV in general is getting real flaky) … The camera stares at a forlorn plate of deep-fried mystery lumps and the announcer intones “What part of the chicken _is_ the ‘tender’ exactly?” With heavy questioning emphasis on the “is”\* and sarcasm dripping from the “tender”. Cut to the camera lovingly panning across a heaping platter of their product: wholesome real pieces of recognizable major chicken parts. Accept no substitutes: buy the Real Thing(r)™ from us!!! The fact that “tenders” are (at least supposedly) just a section from the tenderloin, a real muscle in real chickens didn’t deter them in the slightest; never let the facts get in the way of a good ad story. Then again, unless the FDA has a regulation specifying exactly what can & can’t be advertised as a “tender”, somebody will happily sell the public compressed beaks and feet labeled “tenders”. And legions of Americans will happily buy them and eat them if they’re cheap, greasy, and the breading is sweet enough. * * * \* Who says English isn't a tonal language? You can apply rising tone (Pinyin 2) to the end of lots of words mid-sentence to alter the meaning. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979/80 "2020-10-30T14:45:26Z")
Thighs are my favorite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-favourite-chicken-part/923979.md?page=5)