Thigh at 90 degrees: Grilling

Dark meat forgives heat; prefer even colour and intact skin over any marketing grade. 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. Colour, sinew, where the fat sits, and thickness are what you check before you pay. Ask for the thickness that matches “Grilling.” Use 90 degrees and 90 when you cook. Salt after you know the job. Do not play with undercooked meat.

At the counter, read the use on Thigh before the photograph. 90 degrees is the internal heat, “Grilling” is the dish, and 90 is the stage of the fire. Marbling alone does not split stew from grill. Take thighs higher than breast on purpose. Connective tissue softens in the high seventies and the meat only gets better.