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CHICKEN · Portion · Compare

Wing vs Tenderloin

Two cuts people weigh against each other at the counter — here is what actually separates them.

Side by side

WingTenderloin
Tenderness 62 88
Fat 70 10
Umami 86 45
Price 46 50
Wing
Clotee Pridgen Allochuku · CC BY 2.0

Wing

Drumette & flat · alitas · tebasaki

Three joints with a high ratio of skin and collagen to actual meat. That is precisely the point: skin crisps, collagen turns sticky, and the bones give the sauce something to cling to. It is the cheapest part of the bird and the one entire restaurant categories are built on.

74°C+Go past done

Dry the skin thoroughly before it meets heat. Surface moisture is the difference between crisp and leathery.

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Tenderloin
Tomás Castelazo · CC BY-SA 3.0

Tenderloin

Inner fillet · goujon · sasami

The small strip lying under the breast, attached along a tough white tendon. It is the most tender muscle on the bird and cooks in a fraction of the time, which is why it is the natural candidate for skewers, goujons and a lightly seared sashimi in Japan.

74°CA few minutes only

Pull the white tendon out before cooking by gripping it and scraping the meat back with a knife; it never softens.

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Which one to buy

  • Better forWing : Tenderloin
  • FryingWing95 : 84
  • GrillingWing88 : —
  • RoastingWing76 : —
  • SkewersTenderloin— : 90
  • PoachingTenderloin— : 70

Other comparisons

All cuts

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Temperatures are guidance for whole-muscle cuts. Ground meat and poultry need 71°C / 160°F throughout.