It might make sense what type of different chicken cuts there are but, not all parts are treated equally as far as culinary status.
- Chicken Breast
- Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Wings
- Chicken Legs / Drumsticks
- Chicken feet
- Chicken Tail
- Chicken Head
- Chicken Liver
- Chicken Heart
- Chicken Gizzards
Of course, you can cook the chicken as a whole and don’t really bother about the different chicken cuts. But using the different parts of the chicken for a specific goal might actually improve the outcome of the specific dish.
Anyway, lets dive into the well known and not so well known cuts.
Different Chicken Cuts – The Meaty Parts
Chicken Breast
Perhaps, the most used part of the chicken. The biggest part without any bones and suitable for a variety of dishes. Cut it up for a nice stew or grill it like a piece of stake. But, as you might know, beware. Always cook the chicken right through.
Chicken Thight
Personally, my favorite. Much smaller than a chicken breast, but it has much more taste to it. Use the chicken thighs in curries and stoves.
Chicken Wings
Don’t we all love the chicken wings? from the Grill, BBQ, or maybe even crockpot. Did you know chicken wings can be cut into parts and you can use the tiny bits a broth.
Chicken legs / Drummsticks
Next to the chicken wings, you often find your drumsticks on the grill. It is not my favorite part but with the right dry or wet rub and cooked to perfection…aahhh, give me a cold beer and some chicken legs, and you won’t hear me complain.
Alright, we have now had the most common parts (in the western world). Let’s take a look at some other parts which can be as delicious and nutritious.
Chicken Feet
Mostly eaten in Asia. They are cheap and pretty tasteful if I may believe the stories. But read the instructions on how to clean and prepare them closely, since it turns out that you often need to remove the skin and nails yourself.
Chicken Tail
Pretty taste full and great fat to meat ratio. Before cooking the chicken tails, remove the glands, those will make the chicken taste bad. After that, you can use it as a normal piece of meat. Make skewers, cook them or put them in a soup.
Chicken Neck
This one might be the hidden gem. Because firstly, you don’t have to clean most chicken necks as you need chicken feet or chicken tail, secondly because of the fat to meat ratio. And thirdly you can fry, grill or broil them. The chicken neck is a cut that doesn’t contain much meat, so you need many of them.
Different Chicken Cuts – Chicken Organs
Chicken Liver
Another Cut of the chicken, or rather an organ, is the chicken livers. Filled with nutritional value but having a distinctive taste. Although I’ve never tried Chicken livers, I did try pigeon livers, and it was not really my cup of tea. But for sure, give it a try. find a chicken liver recipe here
Chicken Heart
Packed with Iron and Zinc, chicken hearts are to believe very healthy. Although it’s high in fat, this doesn’t necessarily mean it is unhealthy. Nice is to put the chicken hearth in a broth or sautee them with some garlic and onions.
Chicken Gizzard
First what is a Gizzard, well wikipedia says:
This Gizzard or the Ventriculus, Gastric Mill, and Gigerium is an organ. This Organ is part of the digestive system of some animals.
wikipedia
For the chicken, this means this organ is a thick muscle that literally helps to grind down the food the chicken takes. So, to help grinding down the food the chicken eat small stones.
It might sound not so tasty if you think about it but battered and deep-fried or sauteed with some herbs they seem to be pretty tasty.