I don’t know about you, but I love the dark meat on the chicken. It is moister than the breast, and more flavorful, don’t you think? We have the perfect arrangement here at the house as my husband loves the white meat and I love the dark meat. No fighting over a piece of chicken. That is until the other night…
I baked a whole chicken, stuffing the bird’s cavity with parsley. I lathered it with EVOO and then Spiked the bird, adding garlic powder. One can never get enough of the lovely flavor of garlic! When my husband reads this I will not hear the end of it! I put it in the oven to bake, the aromas filling the house with the promise of a lovely meal to come! Checking on this bird it looked lovely!
Such a lovely looking bird!
Could you smell the garlic and spices?
When I took the chicken out of the oven it sat for 10 minutes before I started my magic carving technique. So, now, my dear readers, I have a quiz for you! “What?” you exclaim! Come on…this one should be easy….
The test is to guess what part of the chicken you are looking at in the next two photos! Ready?
Photo #1
This one is….
Photo #2
This one is….
Now add in the song from that popular show while waiting for the final answer…
♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫♪♫♫♪♫
But wait! Before I let you know whether or not you guessed correctly…some facts about what makes white meat white, and dark meat dark!
The difference is due to what is called “fast twitch” and “slow twitch” muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle fibers are muscle fibers used for quick bursts of energy. One such activity using this energy would be fleeing from danger. The muscle gets its energy from glycogen, which is stored in the muscle. When it is cooked the proteins coagulate and the meat when cooked turns whitish.
Slow twitch muscle fibers are the muscle fiber used for extended periods of time for something such as walking. To have the energy needed, it must have a constant source of energy. It is myoglobin that stores oxygen in the muscle cells of say the legs and thighs, and the constant source of energy is the oxygen which is extracted from the the muscles for use in normal daily activities. When cooked the meat in these tissues are darker in color.
Enough! Did you guess correctly?
Photo #1 –
This is the breast!
This is the thigh!
What? The color looks the same! So, for me the question is why? Does this mean that chickens are not getting the activity that they need? Are they packed in at the farm so tightly that they can not move about? Or, are our food companies messing with our food? Inquiring minds want to know!
The chicken in this post came from Foster Farms, who by the way changed their thigh packaging from 6 thighs of relatively equal pieces down to 4 uneven pieces. I have had similar results with the thigh color recently from Tyson Chicken. I sent the question to Foster Farms as to why the dark coloring has disappeared from their chicken. When I get the answer, I will let you know!
Here are the two pieces side by side. Did you guess correctly?
Did you guess right?
What I think I need to start doing is buying a chicken that is free range so that I can have dark meat and white meat. Have you noticed a change in your chicken too? I would love to hear from you!
So stay tuned for a follow up when I hear back from Foster Farms. Until then, have a great day, and thank you for visiting today!
Information on the difference in white meat and dark meat from Exploratorium.Edu
[…] what happened to the dark meat on chicken. To refresh your memory, you can see the post by clicking here! I was questioning what happened to the dark meat on chicken. The photo below shows a thigh and a […]
Great story Barb, and you may be on to something. I moved to free range chicken years ago.
We are moving that way….Still no response from Foster Farms.
I would be surprised if you received one.
One can only hope!
G’day and love learning all things about food new,
I could go for some while meat now thank you!
Cheers! Joanne
This kind of freaks me out! When chicken no longer looks like the chicken I grew up with…well, I’m a “partial vegetarian” as it is. What’s that? I do eat some meat–so I’m kidding about the vegetarianism. But I’ve gotten so picky I can go days without eating any. I’ll be doing my own checking from now on. I tend towards the white meat, so perhaps I just haven’t been paying attention. Inquiring minds want to know…I hope you hear from someone. I’ll stay tuned! 🙂
STARVING! Rotisserie please?
OK, but what about the dark meat on the chicken! You are invited for dinner next time I cook a chicken! How’s Thursday?
I rarely eat meat any more but I always liked wings and thighs. My mom used to fix wings all the time but at that time, they were inexpensive because they weren’t “in.” Now they take one wing, break it into three pieces, toss one away and call it two wings.
janet
Hi Karen, since our youngest completed a school project on chicken production some years ago, we don’t eat anything that is not at least free range. It costs more but is far better in the long run.
Interesting post.
Best,
Conor
Not Karen. Barb here! We are going to start buying the free range….Thank you for the comment Conor!
Sincere apologies Barb. It’s what I get for getting up very early and reading posts very late. Sleepy brain!
Not an issue! It made me chuckle! 🙂
Oh lord–now I wonder what in the heck I’m eating these days–I too have an affinity for the dark meat—and yes I can smell your hen roasting aways..but I’m raising an alarm—-I was at Publix today (our local grocery with it’s origin in Florida) when I went to pick out some chicken, I was appalled not just by the exorbitant cost ($11 for a pack of 3 skinless breasts) but rather by the size of a pack of two regular breasts—HUGE—which of course scares me as to how have they pumped up these bionic chickens so that the breasts now resemble a small turkey!! Hormones and additives are wrecking havoc on all of us– beast and fowl alike!!!! I’ll be anxious to hear what the chicken folks tell you–or attempt telling you rather 🙂
I’m eating beef tonight—and that’s an entirely different alarm topic 🙂
Any growth hormones in any of the foods we eat will not cause us to sprout feathers, grow horns, et al. But what is happening with the chicken industry in this country? Money! That is what it comes down to: The almighty bottom line! Stay tuned. We shall see if they respond!
Companies will do whatever they have to to raise animals faster, plumper, and more cheaply – that way their bottom line grows faster, plumper, and cheaply. What a coincidence! Don’t put it past any company to ‘toy’ with our foods, whether animal or vegetable.
As for ‘free-range here is what it means in the USA – In the United States, USDA free range regulations currently apply only to poultry and indicate that the animal has been allowed access to the outside. The USDA regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range nor the duration of time an animal must have access to the outside.
At least they probably get a bit more exercise and that will help the thigh and leg meat be darker.
Thank you for the comment and the info PJ! I want my dark meat back! Oh, and BTW, the price on a package of thighs has gone up, even with the reduced number of pieces to the pack!
Interesting. Your theory sounds reasonable. I also enjoy chicken “dark” meat more than “white”. I find breast to be drier and less flavorful. Thanks for sharing!
I have not heard from you in a while my friend! I hope that life has been good for you! Yes, to me the breast is drier and less flavorful. Adding the parsley, though, to the cavity of a bird, and oil on the skin, keeps the chicken moist and helps to seal in the juices!
Amazing ideas! I’m a chicken roast fan, so I will test them soon enough! I’ve never been far, always check and enjoy your posts. Sometimes get too distracted! sorry! still love your site!
Love yours too, and I have been remiss in not commenting on yours too…Hugs anyway Arturo! Let’s keep in touch!
😀