me as a kid discovering a life long dedication to dark meat, I was 5 at a cafeteria asking my dad "which part was dark.." and he just pointed to different parts of the leg to keep me going on it. welcome to the thigh life
I made a decision last year to arrange my diet for best nutrition and it works well. 1 No red meat. 2. chicken or salmon 5 days, vegan 2 days. Happy with it.
Chicken legs have higher fat content than breasts. Fat is very tasty. It’s why marbled beef is premium. Since you were a vegan all your life until last week, this is all entirely new to you.
I get this, but took a different track- I was vegan from teen years to late 20’s - then slowly brought seafood back into my diet - then small amounts of beef - But, I can’t seem to get myself to even try chicken - like ever. My kids laugh at me about it 😝
Maltodextrin is an ultra processed ingredient that is used for various purposes, often as a sugar replacement. It has a higher GI than sugar and is easily absorbed, potentially causing blood sugar spikes.
MSG is another ultra processed ingredient which is added to food to increase its flavour and umami.
Both products are added by manufacturers to increase the palatability of food.
Interesting that someone who didn't eat this product for years now finds it so hyperpalatable that they are developing an obsession!
Well played food industry.
It's the same chemical - clearly present/included in a different way - whether the body realises that or not always depends on the specific UPF ingredient under examination - such is the UPF debate. Not everything made in a lab is automatically deleterious
The same chemical, but not in the same form. If you extract all the chemicals from an apple and then munge them back together again, you won't have an apple.
The science on UPFs is fairly sound and well established. Less about individual chemicals but about their general purpose and use in food.
Thanks for the education. I guess my PhD in chemistry doesn't quite cover it. I know plenty about UPFs. I know what I mean & hope'd you'd know what I mean too. All the best :)
"science on UPFs is fairly sound & well established" - actually, no, it's surprisinggly spare, especially mechanistically
While the leg off a nicely roasted chicken is delicious, the OP's post would indicate purchasing drumsticks as a separate product, which would normally have some sort of coating which would contain ultra processed ingredients designed to make food somewhat addictive - which the OP expresses.
Can I get you to triple down on being inaccurate I wonder? You're adding your issue here like you like imagine UPF/msg is in everything no matter what.
Most food writers agree with you but thighs and drumsticks give me the creeps sometimes. I have to carefully pick through them to avoid all the tendons, veins, cartilage, fat and other yuckies. Sorry, I can’t help it.
I stay away from most organs out of flavor preference, but otherwise… if it isn’t bone it’s edible.
I also think that to keep my cartilage healthy, my body needs the things found in… cartilage.
Yes, chicken should “crunch”.
Did I mention that my kids are vegetarian?
Don’t know why…
That's the best way to eat a really hot pizza. Cheese doesn't slide off and you can do something else OTHER than eat your pizza cause your hands aren't filthy.
they don't make most of the nuggets/tenders/patties/dinosaurs/etc out of breast because it's the best part, they do it because that's the part people want the least by itself
Safety is a product of both time and temperature. 165 F kills salmonella basically instantly, but 155 F will achieve the same result in a bit over half a minute, with much better taste.
Buttermilk brine is great. For the grill I will cover the chicken pieces in mayo and seasonings. So good! This isn't a post to convince you to come back to meat. I'm not pushing my meat on you. But I do think I want to grill this weekend. I can do that when it's 20 degrees out, yeah?
I'm a dark meat fan. White meat, especially in commercially-produced chicken, is more like a canvas for the breading and seasoning. Dark meat actually tastes like chicken.
The first time I bought a locally grown chicken right from the farmer that was processed within days of me buying it, it was like nothing I had ever tasted. It was what chicken really tastes like. Rather than chicken flavored meat.
I remember visiting my dad’s hillbilly folks on their little “farm” in Alabama as a child and granny would kill a chicken and fry it up for dinner. Fresh is indescribably delicious.
It's the dark meat, that's why. You'll get there, don't worry. Wait until you go to Buffalo Wild Wings. If you like a chicken leg, just wait until you've had the wings!!!!
Juicy Pan Seared Chicken Breast - Fit Foodie Finds How do you get the best sear on chicken?
The secret? Sear your chicken breast over high heat for just a few minutes before turning it down to medium heat to finish cooking..golden-brown outside..super juicy inside. https://fitfoodiefinds.com › juicy-pa...
Yeah. It's juicy and fatty. For all its status chicken breast is kind of dry and tasteless. I found this out when going back to KFC after years and getting chicken breast expecting it to be best and thinking, "this isn't what fried chicken is meant to be like."
Dark meat has a lot more connective tissue than white meat. Cooked normally that would make them tough, but cooking them to at least 185 turns that connective tissue into kind of a gelatin that makes them super juicy and flavorful.
I prefer chicken thighs over the breast meat. They tend to be more tender and juicy.
Since the dark meat tends to have more iron some people might decide it’s a better choice.
That whole region, leg and thigh, are the best tasting, far better than breast meat. Damn near impossible to cook so bad they aren’t still juicy and delicious. Dark meat is king.
I will buy a rotisserie chicken every few months. My husband likes the breast. I will deconstruct the rest of it so I can get many meals from the wings, legs thighs & what I can scrape off the rest. I haven’t used the rest of the carcass to boil down for chicken stock - yet.
My friend is a rotisserie chicken fan. I am beginning to overcome my fear of using the microwave oven to do more than reheat food and frozen breakfasts. I am working on a concept to try buying a rotisserie chicken. You guys are the best. Although I still fear anything like preparing my own food.
That’s why I like the pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. For the wings & legs, I wrap them (2 wings or 1 leg) in a wet paper towel & zap for 20 seconds, then turn over for another 20 seconds (from refrigerator cool.) Then I dip in Blue Cheese dressing.
Absolutely! This past Thanksgiving, my family experimented with only buying turkey thighs and drumsticks, and we are _never_ going back to the full bird.
This is true with all poultry. The darker meat has tons more flavor.
My son used to say he hated roast turkey until I talked him into trying a cut of the dark meat this year and he went back 3 more times for another piece.
the fat
and when you mix in seasoning, uff
garlic powder, cumin, annatto, salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaves powder, onion powder, tumeric, paprika mix
(adobo + sazón) = nirvana
That's the fried! Everything is better fried. See the recent culinary inventions from fairs and festivals. I was a non-believer until I tried a fried oreo.
It’s cause you’re getting a mixture of a few types of muscle along with the skin and other associated parts when cooked, it’s a pretty complex food package when you think about it
Well, yes it’s the extra fat. Chicken fat tastes very good people historically take chicken skin and fry it till it’s crispy and of course crispy chicken skin tastes good but what’s left over after you skim off the water is a golden fat chicken fat the Yiddish word for that fat is Smaltz.
Which is also a word for something incredibly cloyingly good or overwhelmingly emotional. As in wow, that Hallmark Christmas movie was even more schmaltzy than most.
Wings and Thighs are elite too! I don’t eat drumsticks often there’s not enough skin on them and I also feel like a kid since my family always saved those for the kids.
We have a neighbor from Liberia who shared her style of chicken with us. She’s in her 70s and has only been in the US for about five years. When she wants chicken, her son drives her to a farm, slaughters one, and brings it back. She cooks it that day or the next. Nothing like it.
Boneless skinless thighs are our go to in this house. Usually coated and oven baked or in the crock pot as a stew. I know the thighs are healthier, but they really do have less taste and aren’t as tender.
I don't, at least not the way I cook them...whole wings, dry rubbed and on the top rack of my grill, with the lid closed, 400°. Crispy, juicy, spicy...best bit of the bird.
If I had my way, farmers would breed a chicken with six wings. I bet they've tried, but it flew away.🐔
Comments
Both products are added by manufacturers to increase the palatability of food.
Well played food industry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate
The science on UPFs is fairly sound and well established. Less about individual chemicals but about their general purpose and use in food.
"science on UPFs is fairly sound & well established" - actually, no, it's surprisinggly spare, especially mechanistically
I also think that to keep my cartilage healthy, my body needs the things found in… cartilage.
Yes, chicken should “crunch”.
Did I mention that my kids are vegetarian?
Don’t know why…
(Strongly suggest trying multiple forms of the latter if you haven’t already).
Wait until you discover Wings...
(Go with somebody to show you how—there's an art to avoiding the bones and gristle with one twist)
Or better yet meat outside the industrial farming of the US. (Assuming you live in the US. )
The secret? Sear your chicken breast over high heat for just a few minutes before turning it down to medium heat to finish cooking..golden-brown outside..super juicy inside.
https://fitfoodiefinds.com › juicy-pa...
(steps 1, 3, and 4 are all you really need—the rest is for the accoutrements)
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019580-seared-chicken-breast-with-potatoes-and-capers
Since the dark meat tends to have more iron some people might decide it’s a better choice.
I just did my first batch a couple of weeks ago. dearlawd.
Thaw, dry, oil. 14min @ 400 (flip at halfway).
Crispy outside, juicy inside. Delicious.
My son used to say he hated roast turkey until I talked him into trying a cut of the dark meat this year and he went back 3 more times for another piece.
and when you mix in seasoning, uff
garlic powder, cumin, annatto, salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaves powder, onion powder, tumeric, paprika mix
(adobo + sazón) = nirvana
Fat absorbs flavor and aroma. the hemoglobin in dark meat have more of the glutamates that tastes more meaty
Things are about to change!
Drumsticks!
If I had my way, farmers would breed a chicken with six wings. I bet they've tried, but it flew away.🐔