| Type of Meat | Calories | Total Fat | Saturated Fat | Protein | Cholesterol |
| Chicken Breast (skinless) | 120 | 1.5 g | .5 g | 24 g | 70 mg |
| Chicken Breast (with skin) | 170 | 7 g | 2 g | 25 g | 70 mg |
| Chicken Drumstick (skinless) | 130 | 4 g | 1 g | 23 g | 70 mg |
| Chicken Drumstick (with skin) | 180 | 9 g | 3 g | 23 g | 75 mg |
| Beef Tenderloin (fat trimmed) | 180 | 8.5 g | 3.2 g | 24 g | 70 mg |
| Beef Sirloin (fat trimmed) | 170 | 6.1 g | 2.4 g | 26 g | 75 mg |
If you ate the drumstick without the skin, it would still be less fat and calories than beef tenderloin (a very lean meat). Now, we all know that we shouldn't eat red meat more than a couple of times a week, for a variety of health reasons. I am not saying that you should abandon eating red meat and switch to eating the dark meat of chicken all the time. However, when I roast a chicken, I usually can get 5 meals out of it between the chicken breast and the dark meat. We have the chicken breast for two meals and then the dark meat of the chicken I use for soup, chili, fajitas, mixed in with pasta sauce, or in a stir fry. Many time, I will freeze some for a later use...you know, those nights where you forgot to take something out for dinner or need to eat quickly. We switch this up with vegetarian meals, fish (rarely because my husband hates it), or lean red meats.
That said, some people are nervous about roasting a whole chicken (have you seen the Perdue commercial about roaster-phobia? That used to be me.) or they think it takes too much time. I promise, it doesn't. It takes 10 minutes to prep and an hour and a half in the oven (for an average 4 pound bird). During that hour and a half, you can do whatever else you need to do in the house...it's a cinch! I usually sprinkle it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley inside and out. Spray the chicken all over with cooking spray, put a medium onion (cut into wedges) inside the cavity and on the top of the bird. Cover with aluminum foil and a half an hour before it's done remove the aluminum foil to brown the skin (if you don't eat the skin, this step doesn't matter...I just leave the aluminum foil on the whole time). That's it!
Once you've picked the meat off the bones, you can easily make your own stock with the bones, some water and veggies. Low sodium and all natural...plus you know what's in it and can pronounce all the ingredients. ;)
This may not be a new concept for any of you, but I have just begun to realize how much I can save by just buying the whole stinkin' bird. Happy cooking!
oh my goodness...talk about perfect timing! i JUST was thinking about how Dave and I should switch to roasting a whole chicken at least once a month for the very reasons you state. We are now down to red meat just once a week or less. (thankfully my daughters are not big fans of red meat so that wasn't an issue). I have NEVER done a whole chicken before and I've been married almost 20 years....but really it is SO much more economical and like you, I would use the dark meat for tacos, chili, stir fry, etc. Great post, Beth!!
ReplyDeleteoh darn, I knew the day would come when I would rethink my "I can only cook with boneless, skinless chicken breast" rule....thanks Beth!
ReplyDeleteLet me say, my girls are 8 and 11 and they love the chicken legs (skin removed). My secret to roasting whole chickens is all about my crockpot. Although I could put 3 or 4 in my roaster pan in my oven (maybe save some energy and have the chicken ready to go...). I rinse them (but don't dry them), season them and the stuff an orange or a lemon cut in half in the cavity and let it cook all day on low. The meat falls away from the bone. We usually have the roast with some veggies (I don't like doing the two together in the crockpot) and the girls as I said like the legs. I then take all the leftover meat off (enough for 1 other meal for my family of 4, sometimes 2 meals)I use the bones (no skin) to make stock in that same crockpot and let it cook overnight on low with water, bay leaf, chopped up onion, celery and carrot. I remove the veggies in the am and use them in another recipe (freeze them) strain out the bones, and then let it cool until the fat settles to the top, when I remove it. Homemade stock mmmmm!
ReplyDeleteTreeHugginMomma - That's all you do is throw that stuff in the crockpot to make stock? I always thought it was more complicated than that!
ReplyDelete