There is quite a difference in price
between the different cuts of chicken. The thighs are the cheapest
cut of chicken, Why? Well, at least in the United States, people
prefer the taste of the breast meat and are all over the health
factor behind it given its low fat content. I feel however the
opposite, breast meat is generally lacking in flavor in my opinion
and it tends to be harder to cook properly. There are two factors
that affect the flavor of chicken cuts, fat content and muscle
movement, this is what separates the dark from the light meat in a
variety of poultry. The breast and wing experience very little muscle
movement, given that chickens tend not to do much flying, which means
there is less stress on those particular muscles which result in meat
that can be made tender faster with less work. The wings are the most
optimal cut of chicken, they have little muscle movement which means
quick, tender meat and they are surrounded by skin which protects the
moisture from escaping. Because of this, they are the most expensive
cut by far. The breast however does not have this advantage which
means, though it gets tender fast, moisture escapes quicker. For some
reason there is such a high demand for this cut though, and for those
who suffered through having to take Microeconomics like me, you know
that an increase in demand and no substantial increase in supply,
price goes up. This ranks the chicken breast as the number two most
executive cut.
Moving on to dark meat, the thigh and
the leg. People generally prefer the leg or drumstick when it comes
to the dark meat because of its convenient shape and size make it
easiest for eating and over time has become acceptable in culinary
society to eat with your hands. Because of this, there is a slightly
higher demand for the leg, which makes it slightly more expensive
than the thigh. The thigh, poor thigh, does not have this feature and
can be seen as hard to eat. When it comes to flavor, both cuts
contain the same flavor profile due to high fat contents and muscle
movement, a flavor I find superior to that of light meat.
Most of the fat within a chicken is
contained right underneath the skin, in the western world, you do not
find to many dished containing dark meat chicken without the skin.
With light meat, specifically the breast, there is a growing
popularity of the skinless chicken breast, I have no honest clue why.
It is like taking the most bland cut of chicken and taking away its
only chance of moisture and flavor, then charging more for this
removal. This is why I feel that American society should embrace the
bone in, skin on chicken thigh more, it costs less, has more flavor
and when cooked correctly can be just as, even more tender than the
praised skinless chicken breast. Do you have to marinade it? Yes.
Does it take a little bit more time to cook? Yes, but these efforts
are far more worth it. Other societies have been embracing this cut
for years and the answer to counteracting the fattiness and bold
flavor is to render to the fat out of the skin and pair this rich cut
with other bold flavors any combination combination of sweet, spicy,
acetic, bitter and smokey. The combinations of flavors and
ingredients are endless, while those for the skinless chicken breast
run short.
In the end however, people have
different tastes and which cut you pick to enjoy all depends on
marginal cost verses marginal benefit. If you feel that the higher
cost and risk of failure for preparing skinless chicken breasts is
worth the few minuets you save and the maybe 100 less calories go for
it! But I find spending an extra few flights of stairs or minuets at
the gym worth the amount of money saved and flavor gained. Haha, and
I thought I wouldn't remember anything from APMICRO!
The recipe I will be posting tomorrow
utilizes the bold fattiness of the chicken thigh and the bold flavors
of the Iberian peninsula: garlic, smoked paprika, extra virgin olive
oil, balsamic and grapes (in dried form,) utilizing the rendered fat
to also make a supper easy side dish. In addition, this recipe will
provide 2 servings of a five star quality meal for less than $6.50,
taking around 35 minuets to make so stay tuned for... Pan Seared
Chicken Thighs With Raisin/Balsamic Sauce
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