The parts of a chicken used in cooking are the breast, tenderloin, back, wing, leg, drumstick, and thigh. These primary parts have different flavors, textures, and preparation methods due to myoglobin and fat content. However, you can also serve chicken as a whole bird, which offers variety to customers looking to taste a little bit of everything. Since numerous meals contain chicken meat, knowing how each part lends itself to specific dishes and cooking methodsallows you to choose the best chicken cuts for your menu.
Types of Chicken Meat
Check out our list of the types of chicken meat you can use in your establishment. We compiled details about their various cuts, whether they are dark or white meat, and the best cooking methods for each part.
A whole chicken includes every chicken cut without the giblets and provides more options for dishes than buying a specific cut. Moreover, you can prepare a whole chicken in numerous ways, including smoking, deep frying, and grilling. Different seasonings and marinades provide more flavor varieties. You can buy a quartered whole chicken, which has two breast quarters and two leg quarters, or an eight-piece whole chicken.
However, the most significant benefit to a whole chicken is reducing food waste by maximizing returns. Use the carcass to make delicious chicken stock and add leftover scraps to soups and pasta dishes. Shred leftover cuts to use in chicken pot pie, enchiladas, or chili. If you buy poultry with giblets and remove them on your own, the giblets are perfect for authentic Cajun recipes.
- Meat Type: Contains both white and dark meat
- Whole Chicken Uses: Family-style meals, stock, soup, tacos, pot pie
- How to Cook Whole Chickens: Roast, rotisserie, smoke, bake, deep fry, grill, spatchco*ck
Perhaps the most popular cut, chicken breast is lean, mild, white meat consisting of two halves separated during butchering. This cut consists of the flesh beneath the junction of the sternal ribs and vertebrae. It's more expensive than thighs, wings, legs, and drumsticks and has various health benefits. However, cooking a chicken breast properly is vital because it dries out when overcooked, ruining the dish.
- Meat Type: White meat
- Chicken Breast Uses: Stuffed breasts, paillard, piccata, masala, stir fry, soup, tacos, sandwiches, kebabs
- How to Cook Chicken Breasts: Bake, poach, roast, grill
Types of Chicken Breast Cuts
There are four types of chicken breast cuts:
- Boneless Breast: A boneless chicken breast is a whole breast with all the bones removed. This type is the most expensive breast cut and is extremely popular in the US.
- Split Breast: Cut parallel to the breastbone, a split chicken breast is similar to a bone-in breast. It also might include part of the ribs, which helps it maintain flavor and moisture. You can also purchase boneless split breasts.
- Airline Breast: Also known as a Statler chicken breast, an airline breast has the drumette part of the wing attached. It can be served bone-in or boneless, and the drumette converts the breast into finger food to make it convenient for eating.
- Bone-in Breast: A bone-in breast includes all the cartilage, bones, and tissue in the breast region, making it challenging to dissect but juicier and more flavorful. Chefs use this cut for stuffed breasts at catered events and high-end dining experiences.
Chicken tenderloin has many names in foodservice, includingchicken tenders, fingers, strips, and goujons. Found under the breast cut, tenderloin meat comes from both sides of the breastbone and isn’t attached to the ribs. Due to its location, it has a tender texture and is moister than most white meat cuts. It is perfect forbreadingand frying for a family-friendly dish.
- Meat Type:White meat
- Chicken Tenderloin Uses:Chicken tenders and other finger foods
- How to Cook Chicken Tenderloin:Fry, bake, grill
Often included in other cuts of meat, the back extends from the base of the neck to the tail and contains the vertical ribs and hip bones. Pieces of the back are also part of some wing and leg cuts, and there’s often not much meat left of this cut after butchering the rest of the bird. While there’s some meat, the bone and tissue content makes it challenging to remove it. As a result, chicken back is primarily used for soup and stock.
- Meat Type:White meat near the breast, dark meat near the legs and thighs
- Chicken Back Uses:Chicken stock and soup
- How to Cook Chicken Back:Boil at high temperatures
As a staple of sports bars and gameday menus across the country, chicken wings are white meat cuts served either whole wing or in portions. Cheaper than breasts or thighs, wings contain less meat than other cuts without sacrificing flavor and pair well with various sauces. Despite being white meat, wings are juicier than breasts and have a concentrated flavor that makes them great for cooking in a smoker. In addition to regular wing cuts, boneless wings are an option for appetizers and happy hour menus.
- Meat Type: White meat
- Chicken Wing Uses: Buffalo wings, barbecue wings, chicken stock, casual dining appetizers
- How to Cook Chicken Wings: Grill, fry, roast, smoke, broil
Types of Chicken Wing Cuts
There are four types of chicken wing cuts:
- Whole Chicken Wing: As the name implies, a whole chicken wing includes the entire limb with all muscles, bones, and skin. The wingtip is not always included in this cut.
- Wingtip: Though rarer than their counterparts, chicken wingtips are edible and delicious if prepared correctly. This cut consists of the metacarpals and phalanges of the wing and makes excellent hors d'oeuvres when seasoned, baked, and broiled.
- Drumette: A chicken drumette resembles a mini drumstick and is between the second joint and the shoulder. It's the thickest part of the wing and the easiest to eat.
- Wingette: Also known as flats, a chicken wingette is the section between the first and second joints of the wing. They're smaller than drumettes with a flat, thin shape that contains meat between two bones.
Chicken legs are a delicious and versatile cut of meat cooked and served multiple ways. Though many people use chicken legs and drumsticks interchangeably, a leg cut of meat includes both the drumstick and the thigh. Chicken legs also take longer to cook than drumsticks and thighs, and the meat is more flavorful due to the fat and bones inside. It's ideal for a single-person meal since it's filling and contains protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals.
- Meat Type: Dark meat
- Chicken Leg Uses: Entrees, stews, roast chicken, grilled chicken
- How to Cook Chicken Legs: Grill, roast, slow cook, bake
Types of Chicken Leg Cuts
There are two types of chicken leg cuts:
- Whole Chicken Leg: A whole chicken leg includes the thigh and drumstick, but the chicken back portion is not part of the cut. This cut also sometimes has the oyster piece of meat lying in front of the hip joint.
- Leg Quarter: While it still has the thigh and drumstick, a chicken leg quarter also contains a portion of chicken back. Some cuts also include the tail.
As the lower part of the chicken leg, a drumstick is often served alone as a crowd-pleasing finger food. The cut is separated at the hock and knee joints and contains the patella with the thigh removed. However, drumsticks are also part of chicken leg cuts with the thigh. With a characteristic pink hue, drumstick meat is very juicy and flavorful. Many people prepare drumsticks with strong seasoning and marinades to enhance the flavor, then grill, bake, orfry them in oil.
- Meat Type:Dark meat
- Chicken Drumstick Uses:Finger food
- How to Cook Chicken Drumsticks:Bread and fry, bake, grill, barbecue, roast
A chicken thigh is the upper part of the leg separated at the knee and hip joints. As a favorite dark meat cut, thighs have more fat, moisture, and flavor than chicken breasts. They are commonly prepared with marinades to bring out the juiciness of the meat with various cooking method options. Additionally, chicken thighs tend to be less expensive than breast cuts.
- Meat Type: Dark meat
- Chicken Thigh Uses: Marinade thighs, gravies, jambalaya, shish kababs, pasta bakes, casseroles
- How to Cook Chicken Legs: Grill, fry, roast, braise, bake
Types of Chicken Thigh Cuts
There are two types of chicken thigh cuts:
- Boneless Thighs: Also known as thigh fillets, boneless chicken thighs require no additional deboning before cooking and are great for stir fry or kebabs. However, they are more expensive than cutlets.
- Bone-in Thighs: Also known as thigh cutlets, bone-in chicken thighs still have the bone and skin attached to the meat. The bone creates a juicer cut of meat cheaper than a thigh fillet.
While these chicken cuts are rare in foodservice, you can still find them at butcher shops or with your whole chicken. Some cultures consider these chicken parts delicacies, making them ideal for restaurants specializing in foreign cuisine. Adding one of these chicken cuts to your menu will pique the curiosity of your customers and set you apart from the competition.
- Neck: Extending from the head to the gizzard, the neck has hard-to-access meat with lots of bone and tissue. Serve it as a salty appetizer or snack, or use it in chicken stock.
- Tail: Chicken tail is a fatty piece of dark meat sometimes served with the back, legs, or thigh. It can be roasted or pan-fried and served as a delicacy, but its high fat content encourages small servings.
- Giblets: Often thrown away and wasted, giblets include the heart, gizzard, kidneys, and liver of a chicken. While the liver can be served alone, you can add other organs to gravy, stuffing, or stock for extra flavor.
- Feet: Though not popular in the US, chicken feet are a staple of many cultures worldwide. While this cut lacks meat, chicken feet contain vital proteins that can aid your body in healing and strengthening.
The difference between dark and white meat is the number of muscle fibers and myoglobin in each type of meat. Dark meat comes from areas with slow-twitch muscles used for long periods, such as the legs, so those regions receive more oxygen and myoglobin as the chicken moves. It tends to have a juicy, flavorful taste compared to white meat and contains many vitamins and minerals.
White meat comes from areas with fast-twitch muscles that only support short bursts of movement, such as flapping wings. Therefore, these areas receive less oxygen and myoglobin, resulting in a lighter color. White meat has a low fat content and is dryer than dark meat, so correct cooking is crucial to maintaining texture and flavor.
What Parts of a Chicken Are White Meat?
The most common white meat cuts of chicken are breasts, tenderloin, and wings.
What Parts of a Chicken Are Dark Meat?
The most common dark meat cuts of chicken are thighs, legs, and drumsticks.
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