# What part of the chicken do you prefer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851 "2015-05-12T13:24:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/1 "2015-05-12T13:24:32Z")
White or dark? Breast or thighs? Wings or legs? Some other part? Cook it anyway way you like. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/2 "2015-05-12T13:36:28Z")
Thighs, legs, wings, gizzards, feet, hearts. Not really a fan of chicken breast. I’ve had exactly one chicken breast that was not completely dry, bland, and boring, and I consider that a fluke. ---
**Author:** ![CorneaGenii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@CorneaGenii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CorneaGenii)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/3 "2015-05-12T13:38:08Z")
Legs and thighs for me. I’ll take dark over white any day. Oh, and chicken hearts. I love me some chicken hearts. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/4 "2015-05-12T13:47:46Z")
I eat them all, but what I eat most of is thighs and wings. That said, yesterday I had breast. They were on sale and for quick saucy stir-fries, I like them just fine. I kind of treat them like tofu, in that they don’t really have much taste on their own but absorb whatever is around them. I also love chicken livers, but don’t make them too much as nobody else in the household really eats them. Stir-fried with onions and chile peppers. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/5 "2015-05-12T13:51:33Z")
Thighs for a proper meal. Wings for a hi-cal treat. Gizzards cooked in rice. Necks and feet for the stockpot. Livers are nice once in a while, too, especially sauteed with shallots and vermouth and served with scrambled eggs. Breasts are bland; drumsticks have less meat on 'em than thighs. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/6 "2015-05-12T13:55:52Z")
Dark meat. And my SO only likes the white meat, so it works out perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/7 "2015-05-12T13:57:24Z")
Wings and more wings. I lurve me some hot wings. I do like the chicken breast for cooking. It is so versatile and can be used in so many different ways. For grilling, I like the thighs best. They stand up to the heat and the sauce very well. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/8 "2015-05-12T13:59:06Z")
It doesn’t matter to me. I never knew there was supposed to be a difference between white and dark meat until I got married. I was and still am baffled that anyone makes a distinction between the two. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/9 "2015-05-12T13:59:34Z")
The only thing I use chicken breast for is chicken picatta. Nice white meat cutlets in lemon caper sauce. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/10 "2015-05-12T14:02:09Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/11 "2015-05-12T14:10:25Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > It doesn’t matter to me. I never knew there was supposed to be a difference between white and dark meat until I got married. I was and still am baffled that anyone makes a distinction between the two. What do you find baffling about it? They taste and cook up quite differently, at least in the case of breast vs thigh/leg. It’s like the various cuts of meat of other animals. They taste different, have different textures, and different cooking applications. Wings are technically white meat, too, but they cook up and taste like dark meat, at least to me. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/12 "2015-05-12T14:13:33Z")
Thighs. Wings are a waste of effort IMO. Breast meat is usually tasteless and I don’t eat offal, so that pretty much leaves the parts I like the best. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/13 "2015-05-12T14:14:03Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What do you find baffling about it? They taste and cook up quite differently, at least in the case of breast vs thigh/leg. It’s like the various cuts of meat of other animals. They taste different, have different textures, and different cooking applications. Wings are technically white meat, too, but they cook up and taste like dark meat, at least to me. To be fair, up until that point, all my chicken came in a bucket. But even now I don’t have a preference between legs and thighs. It all tastes like chicken to me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/14 "2015-05-12T14:17:55Z")
I like the chicken part. Deep-fried filtration units, central pumping unit, white meat, dark meat, skin… About the only part I don’t eat is the neck. (That’s for making stock.) And I prefer most other parts to the gizzard. (Too chewy.) Even if the poll only had a choice between white meat and dark meat, I really couldn’t say. Depends on the dish. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/15 "2015-05-12T14:21:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Thighs. Wings are a waste of effort IMO. Breast meat is usually tasteless and I don’t eat offal, so that pretty much leaves the parts I like the best. Yes, wings are effort, but the glory of the wing is the perfect ratio of crisp chicken skin (when done correctly) to meat. (Now, if you don’t like chicken skin, then, yeah, the wing is pointless.) When I was a kid, I would just eat the skin of the various fried chicken parts in the bucket and leave the meat alone. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/16 "2015-05-12T14:24:50Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > To be fair, up until that point, all my chicken came in a bucket. See, over here, a lot of fried chicken places specifically ask white or dark, so it’s practically engrained in you from the start that there’s a difference. (As a kid, I liked the drumsticks the best–lots of skin and squirty chicken juices when you bite into it–and didn’t like breast at all–too meaty and a more dry type of texture–, but now I prefer thigh, as it’s easier to deal with for most non-eating-with-hands applications, and do use breast for various things where I want lean and mild meat.) I find the preferences even more pronounced at the Thanksgiving table, seeing who goes for white and who goes for dark. There’s a more exaggerated difference in flavors and textures in that bird, it seems. I daresay, I actually prefer white meat in that case, but it has to be prepared near-perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/17 "2015-05-12T14:45:03Z")
Legs? What are legs? Around these parts, them are called “drumsticks” don’t ya know? At Sunday dinner (yes, a noon meal right after church) my mother’s fried chicken was the standard offering, and it was a heap of parts passed around the table. As the youngest I got first crack at the platter and ALWAYS chose a drumstick. If there were any left when it was time for seconds (and we always had seconds), it’d be another drumstick. I don’t think I had a breast until I ate one as a grownup in a restaurant. My brothers on the other hand fought over the heart and gizzards. (Yes, these were home-raised and home-slaughtered chickens, why do you ask?) The one brother made meals of gizzards for years until he was about 35 years old and came down with severe chest pain after eating a big old frying pan of gizzards, thinking it was a heart attack. He never ate them again. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/18 "2015-05-12T14:46:10Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yes, wings are effort, but the glory of the wing is the perfect ratio of crisp chicken skin (when done correctly) to meat. (Now, if you don’t like chicken skin, then, yeah, the wing is pointless.) When I was a kid, I would just eat the skin of the various fried chicken parts in the bucket and leave the meat alone. 🙂 The wife loves wings, so we do have them regularly. Luckily, she prefers the straight piece whilst I prefer the drumette. A match made in Buffalo. 😉 But chicken thighs done right are everything wonderful about the chicken. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/19 "2015-05-12T14:46:30Z")
Too late to edit my previous post, but actually my favorite part might be the chicken gravy over the mashed potatoes, made from the drippings and scrapings. Now I’m hungry… ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851/20 "2015-05-12T14:46:40Z")
Popeyes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-part-of-the-chicken-do-you-prefer/719851.md?page=2)