Whether you're buying meat at the grocery store or purchasing pre-made roasted chicken from a restaurant, you have a choice to make: dark or white meat? What's the difference?
Some say that the flavor and texture are quite different, and most people prefer one over the other. That leaves the question of health: which is healthier? Deciding between dark meat and white meat is more complicated than it seems. Let's go into the pros and cons of both to help you choose the best type of meat for your needs.
White meat vs. dark meat: let’s break it down.
What Are the Dark and White Meat Parts of a Chicken?
It helps to fully understand which parts of the chicken (or other fowl, such as a turkey or duck) consist of white meat and which are considered dark meat. White meat typically consists of chicken or turkey breasts and wings. You might find a cut of meat called "breast tenders." These are white meat as well.
Dark meat, on the other hand, mainly consists of the drumsticks (legs of the bird) and chicken thighs. There are some other parts that you'll find if you dismantle a whole cooked bird that consist of dark meat. This includes some sections near the ribs and under the chicken breast meat. However, if you were shopping for dark meat in a store, you'd likely find it sold as thighs or drumsticks.
What Makes Dark Meat Different?
The work that the bird's muscles do on a regular basis plays a role in the development of either dark or white meat.
Muscles that are used more often, like those in chicken legs, get more oxygen and more iron. Both play a role in the creation of a protein called myoglobin, which makes the muscle fibers darker. As a result, the areas of the bird that get the most use have muscles that become darker meat.
White meat comes from the muscles that aren't used as much. They produce less myoglobin and use less oxygen. Since a chicken's breasts are used to move the wings, which aren't used for flying and therefore don't move very much, the muscles stay lighter, creating light meat instead of dark meat.
While the process that makes both white and dark meat is the same regardless of the type of bird, there are a few differences between chickens, turkeys, and ducks. With chickens and turkeys, both birds that are bred not to fly, the breasts and wings consist of white meat.
For ducks, which fly, even if they are on farms, those sections become dark meat. In fact, ducks have very little white meat on them because they move around quite a bit.
Health Benefits of White Meat and Dark Meat
Bothwhite meat chicken and dark meat chicken can be part of a healthy diet. You'll find several vitamins and minerals in both, such as selenium, zinc, niacin, Vitamin B6, phosphorus, iron, and others. However, when it comes to nutritional value, dark meat packs more of a punch.
For example, if you eat a single chicken thigh, with the skin, of course, you're getting 8.6 grams of fat, most of which are monounsaturated or good for you. That same portion size of white meat, such as a chicken breast, only has 4.4 grams of fat. Of that, 1.1 grams are saturated. Compare that to the 2.7 grams of saturated fat in the chicken thigh.
The difference? You're getting 2.6 additional grams of healthy fat from that chicken thigh.
What about those vitamins and minerals? Although both types of chicken meat contain iron, the body more easily absorbs the iron in dark meat. So even though the iron levels are the same in dark and white meat, that mineral doesn't perform the same.
Dark vs. White Meat: Taste Preferences
When it comes time to decide whether you want dark or white meat for dinner, there are many things to consider, including the slightlydifferent flavors of each type of meat.
Dark meat tends to have a stronger chicken (or turkey) flavor because it has a higher fat content. The fat content controls the flavor of the meat. In addition, dark meat will stay moist longer, no matter how it's cooked, once again, because of that extra fat content.
White meat, which many chefs prefer because it has a milder flavor that provides a blank slate for seasoning, has a lower fat content. Because of this, it doesn't retain moisture well, so you need to be careful not to overcook it.
So, which type of meat should you purchase at the store to add to your lunches and dinners? It all comes down to taste preferences. Some people like the stronger flavor of dark meat, while others aren't fond of the texture, so they choose white meat instead. Neither is wrong. It all depends on what you like.
What About Tryptophan?
Every year around Thanksgiving, the media starts putting out headlines about tryptophan. Found mostly in the dark meat of chickens and turkeys, this amino acid plays a pretty large role in regulating several different things in the body. Your serotonin levels, melatonin levels, and more are just a few examples of what tryptophan can adjust.
Dark meat is notorious for this, although white meat has some tryptophan in it, just not as much. Why does eating dark meat make you sleepy? Your actual sleepiness comes from all of the food you eat on Thanksgiving, particularly the carbohydrates. Those helpings of stuffing, mashed potatoes, and rolls help your body release your existing stores of tryptophan, helping you nap more soundly.
In addition, the sleepy feeling isn't only something that happens on Thanksgiving. It can happen any time you have a full meal that includes poultry. This is just something to keep in mind when you're choosing which type of meat to include in your nextlunch ordinner.
Why Do Dieticians Tell You To Eat White Meat?
If you look at the meal plans put together bydieticians, you'll notice that most of them contain white meat in the form of chicken breast. It isn't unusual to see a one-ounce portion of baked skinless, boneless chicken tenderloin listed as a meal recommendation.
There are several different reasons why dieticians and other experts tell you to eat white meat, including:
- A Lower Calorie Count – The differences are slight, but white meat has fewer calories than dark meat. When you look at a three-ounce serving of chicken, the white meat portion has 125 calories, while the dark meat section has 140. Although both seem to be pretty much the same, as you keep your entire day's meals in mind, that 15 calories can make quite a difference.
- Less Fat – White meat also has a lower fat content than dark meat. Using the same portion size as listed above, a three-ounce piece of white meat has two grams of fat. Half of one of those grams is saturated fat, which is bad for you. Three ounces of dark meat, on the other hand, contains five grams of fat, with 1.5 of those grams appearing as saturated fat.
When you examine these differences between the two, it's clear why dieticians would recommend adding white meatto the menu.
How To Cook Chicken
Among the differences between dark and white meat are the methods by which they can becooked. Dark meat is less likely to dry out during baking, grilling, or broiling, thanks to its higher fat content. It fries well, remaining juicy once it's done.
On the other hand, white meat is more prone to drying out, so it needs to be cooked perfectly. Adding some liquids to the pan when baking your chicken breasts or breading them thoroughly will help prevent this from happening.
Both Types of Meat Have Benefits
The bottom line is that dietitians say both dark meat and white meat have a number of health benefits. They are low in calories (one more so than the other) and high in healthy fats.
When it comes time to choose which one you want to find on your plate, it's really up to you. You might prefer one over the other or like both equally. There is no right or wrong when it comes to dark or white meat poultry.
Sources:
Should You Be Eating More Dark Meat? | Women's Health
What's the Difference Between White and Dark Chicken? | Best Food Facts