| 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 |
| 1 | 103 | 205 | 308 | 410 |
|
Chicken
White meat
Dark meat
Turkey
White meat
Dark meat
Goose
28
29
26
28
30
28
25
19
31
33
30
32
33
32
29
22
14
10
15
10
8
11
22
29
16
11
17
11
9
12
25
32
7
4
9
5
3
7
13
11
8
5
10
6
3
8
14
13
Duck
Fortunately for people on low-fat, low-cholesterol diets, a layer right underneath the skin
concentrates a lot of the fat along with the cholesterol. Most of the fat peels off with the skin. But
that has a downside, too. Of the two types of flavor compounds, fat carries all the fat-soluble
ones, so you also remove those. But even skinless poultry can provide a flavorful meal.
In the table above, notice the difference in both fat and protein between white and dark
chicken meat. Dark meat is higher in fat (and it has more flavor). The same is not true for turkey.
Dark and white turkey meat have less difference in their fat and protein than does dark and white
chicken meat. Goose and duck meat have consistent amount of fat and protein throughout the
fowl, irrespective of the type.
Chicken Basics
Today's chickens are descendants of several varieties cross-bred for fast growth, good
skin tone and appealing meat. A baby chick is encouraged to grow fast and turn into a four-
pound broiler in 6 or 7 weeks. A relatively high percentage of the feed translates directly to
edible meat. Four pounds (2 kg) of chicken feed adds 2 more pounds (1 kg) to total body weight.
Thanks to this efficient use of feed, chicken is our lowest-priced source of meat protein.
In spite of its quick growth and low price, chicken meat can be very good if you know
what to do with it in your kitchen, and have a repertoire of well-tested recipes. For most beginner
cooks, chicken is probably the second meat they learn to tackle. (First is a beef steak, the
simplest to cook—and ruin.)
The difference between dark and white meat is in the amount of work the two types of
muscles perform in life. Dark meat comes from much-used muscles—thighs and legs. No matter
how confined these birds are in modern chicken coops, they do use their leg and thigh muscles
some. Dark meat contains more fat, has a slightly coarser grain and is tougher than white meat.
These muscles use oxygen to burn fat for energy for the steady work of moving around.
Myoglobin, an iron-rich dark reddish brown protein stores the oxygen in these muscles. The
higher fat and myoglobin content accounts for the slightly stronger flavor and darker color in
dark meat.
Aside from an occasional flapping of wings when they stretch, these birds use their breast
muscles not much more than the muscles that wiggle our ears. These muscles use glycogen, a
sugar as a source for energy, not fat. Glycogen does not need oxygen to convert to energy, so in
white meat, such as in breast, there is lack of the dark-colored oxygen-storing myoglobin, and
the meat is light-colored.
Size and shape
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