I'm a Thigh Man

This isn’t going to surprise too many people, but I don’t like breasts. Some say it was nurture, but I’m pretty certain nature played a much bigger role. I’m talking, of course, about chicken.

I know I am going to anger those white meat folks out there, but breast meat, whether it be from a chicken or turkey, is a little too dry for my tastes, or at the very least, is cooked to be too dry. Now, this isn’t to say I haven’t had well prepared breast meat, as it can be succulent and juicy with that hint of meaty sweetness that so defines most poultry, it more has to do with the timing. White meat is much more finicky when it comes to cooking, as the time between “You have died from salmonella poisoning” to “Turkey Jerky” is a matter of only a few minutes. The rare exception to my aversion to chicken boobs is a rotisseried bird. The constant turning and basting actually keeps the breast meat moist while the dark meat continues to cook.

But alas, I prefer thighs. My next statement will anger some more of you, of that I’m certain, but I will explain my reasoning. When I buy them, I get the big family pack of young chicken thighs. By young, that means that they are butchered at six weeks, processed and sent to the stores. I buy young for two reasons, one being they taste better, and second, they have been injected with less antibiotics. Most of these chickens that aren’t butchered young, will be butchered by about eight weeks, ten at the latest. Why? Genetics. These birds were bred for a single purpose, which is to put on as much meat in as short a time as possible. Besides, even if they were allowed to live out there lives, most would die before they reached one year simply because of their size. If this seems cruel, let me explain it in a different matter. These birds are not engineered freaks of some crazy science experiment, they are simply the product of cross breeding and interbreeding specific genetic traits to build up a sustaining, consistent breed standard. It is the exact same process breeders use to produce dogs and cats. And the reason for their short life span? Look at the dog world, for instance. Small dogs live much longer than large dogs. The larger the breed, the shorter their lifespan is. A Jack Russell Terrier will live on average fourteen years, while a Great Dane has an eight year average.

The Cornish-X, or Cornish Cross, is the most common meat bird in the world. They are white, which makes plucking easier, and they are docile, which makes them easier to handle and less prone to stress. However, becoming more common in high-end markets are the free range, organic chickens, most of which will be butchered at an older age, but nearly all before they reach six months. What? Even six months is too young? The older the chicken, the tougher their meat will be. After six months, their meat begins to toughen and become stringy, at which point they become known as stew birds because stewing them is the only way to make their meat palatable.

Of course if you’ve ever lived on a farm with free range chickens and had roosters who mated with the hens making more chickens with the process repeating over and over, you know that the girls are good for laying eggs, but too many boys spells trouble. A good ratio is one rooster per ten hens. More than that and the girls will simply get, er, overwhelmed with male attention. So what to do, since there is a 50/50 chance of boys and girls in a hatch? Well most farmers who raise chickens keep a few of the young roosters, especially if the head rooster is getting up there in age, and process the rest for meal time.

Well now look at this, you’ve got me going off topic. Thanks. To get back to my love of thighs, I guess the main reason is because dark meat in general stays moist longer, giving you a little more leeway when it comes to cooking, and also ensuring good eats. While dark meat does require nearly double the cooking time of white meat, it also does not require the same attention. Bake chicken breasts in the oven for more than forty-five minutes and you’ve got meat even the dog may turn her nose up at, but bake chicken thighs for an hour and a half, and you’ve got only a minimally different moisture level than you would have at half that time.

I also like to bake enough chicken thighs to last not only that night’s meal, but also one or two more. Typically we have baked chicken one night, chicken enchiladas a couple nights later, and any leftovers can be shredded or diced for chicken salad or sandwiches. I also store the cooked chicken in the fridge with all the juices that baked out, which seems to keep them tastier, and gives me a flavorful stock base in case I make soup out of the leftovers, or cream it for a pot pie. I’ve included my recipe for baked chicken thighs below, but feel free to play around with flavors. The spices used compliment chicken, and nearly every chicken dish I make with the leftovers.

Baked Chicken Thighs

3–4 lbs young boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil
1½ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon rubbed sage

Preheat oven to 400º. In a 13x9 glass baking dish, drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle half of all spices over the entire bottom of the dish. Arrange the chicken thighs right side up, folding the meat slightly in on itself where it was cut away from the bone. Drizzle remaining olive oil and spices over the chicken and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the tops start to take on color and/or the juices run clear when the largest thigh is cut. Remove from oven and spoon the juices over the thighs and allow them to rest in the pan for about five minutes before serving.

This recipe can also be made with fresh herbs, spices, garlic and onion too. Just triple the spice amounts, use 3 cloves of garlic and half of a medium onion sliced or diced to your preference.