Side by side
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.
Dry the skin thoroughly before it meets heat. Surface moisture is the difference between crisp and leathery.
Thigh
Dark meat · cuisse · momo
A standing muscle, built from slow-twitch fibre packed with myoglobin and fat. That gives it far more flavour than the breast and a much wider margin for error — it stays juicy well past the safe temperature, which is why almost every braise, curry and grill recipe quietly prefers it.
Boneless and skinless is convenient, but bone-in skin-on cooks juicier and costs less per kilo.
Which one to buy
- Better forWing : Thigh
- FryingWing95 : 84
- GrillingAbout the same88 : 90
- RoastingWing76 : —
- BraisingThigh— : 92
Other comparisons
All cuts
Beef Primals
Chicken Portions
Bluefin Tuna Cuts
Temperatures are guidance for whole-muscle cuts. Ground meat and poultry need 71°C / 160°F throughout.