To ask why all the chicken thigh hate?

[crumpetswithjam]

I pretty much exclusively cook with chicken thighs, mainly because they're cheaper, but also because they have more flavour than breasts. Occasionally I might buy breasts and dice them for stir fries or fajitas but that's v occasional.

Today I went to buy some chicken for kebabs for dinner, obviously looked for thighs. Did I find any? Nope: breasts as far as the eye could see. Six breasts. Four breasts. Two breasts. Breast mini fillets. Diced breast. Breast strips.

Two measly sad-looking packs of 3/4 thighs, use by date today.

Where are all the thighs going, or have we now managed to genetically engineer giant-breasted legless chickens?

I find them fatty, also too much bone involved. I don't want to have to work hard to get food in my mouth nibbling around bone or avoiding gross fatty bits.

I buy chicken thighs that are de-skinned and de-boned - so no more fatty or gristly than breasts and much better for casseroles.

I do a fab chicken casserole with preserved lemons, coriander and grated carrots. Can also use fresh oregano in summer.

Your thread title made me laugh. As though there were shadowy anti-thigh groups.

I love chicken thighs for the flavour and the price. I get mine in Waitrose as they sell both skin on/bone in thighs as well as packs of skinless and boneless things too.

There is more meat on a breast than a thigh and you tend to get more thighs per pack. So if people suddenly start preferring packs of chicken thighs (eg 8 per pack) the shops will have to sell a lot of packs of breast (often 2-5 per pack) to keep pace with that.

I think it's people switching from packs of eg 4 chicken breasts to 7-8 thighs. You'd build up a lot of unsold breast quite quickly.

Thighs with bone in are ⅓ of the price of skinless, boneless. If they're cooked nicely, the bone comes out very easily.

Have some people here never studied the non-breast section? You can buy thighs skinned and de-boned. No gristle. No skin (though crispy skin is heeeeaven).

Mine (I got them in Sainsbury's in the end) are currently in the fridge, cut into big chunks, marinading in a mix of ginger, garlic, lemon juice, yogurt, garam masala, ground coriander, turmeric, and a big handful of fresh coriander.

Later I'll skewer them and grill them and serve them with cauliflower pakoras, pilau rice and poppadoms.

Delicious.

Yep, and worth the faff in my opinion.

The bags of frozen boneless skinless thighs are really good value. Great for anything chicken casserole/curry/risotto like.

Blooming lovely.

Thigh is MUCH tastier, cheaper and better. It always confuses me that people love breast so much. To me breast is for children.

I'm thinking that you're not giving much thought to the thigh Vs breast issue there.

Chicken breast is overrated. I prefer thigh, it’s much juicier and tastier than breast. Cooking chicken breast en masse is like eating saw dust.

Breast is actually cheaper these days than skinless, boneless thigh.

Spot the vegan 🙄

I far prefer chicken thighs to breast. Vastly superior in taste and texture.

Recently I tried to buy some chicken breasts with skin on for a stuffed breast recipe I was trying out. Couldn't find any. Just loads and loads of skinless fillets. Bra fillers.

Yeh this comment left me puzzled as well 😂

For things like curries/casseroles I fry skin-on thighs first so some of the fat renders into the sauce, then let them finish cooking in the sauce before shredding the meat off the bone. Far tastier, although I admit it's more faff than diced breast.

Next step - thigh fillets in the air fryer. So much crispy skin!

Oooooooooh I will have to try

This method converted me to chicken thighs - makes absolutely perfect skin-on thighs. I usually bone them (or get our butcher to do it), so reduce oven time by about 5 minutes. I also start them in a dry skillet instead of adding oil - not needed and reduces splatter.

American recipe, so oven temp around 230c. You can add lemons, spices, herbs, preserved lemons, etc. right before you put it in the oven, but honestly, it's delicious as is.

I am heartened by the thigh love I am seeing here now.

I have always associated chicken breasts with being on a diet. When a magazine has a weight loss success story in it, such as from someone who lost 12stone, and it lists their meals - there is always a 'grilled chicken breast with vegetables' on it.

I’ve been buying free range thighs from Sainsburys for years (boneless & skinless) and have never had an issue with gristle. They have got more expensive recently though but I still do t want breast.

For casseroles and the like, I always use thighs, skin on (best bit!). At one point I would have said I actively disliked breast, always found it too dry/tasteless. But then a recipe called for boiled chicken breast (it was being cooked further later) and I realised that stops that awful dry cardboard texture and just tastes better.

We almost exclusively buy thighs (usually fillets so I don't have to do the work). They are not cheaper than breast, sadly. When I'm making a curry and thighs aren't available I'll just make something else as breasts are so tasteless.

Maybe OP you didn't find thighs because they were all sold out?

Thigh is better for anything that requires long, slow cooking. Breast better for grilling or other quick dishes.

I don’t like thigh for kebabs. But I make a lot Caribbean food - curries, stews etc - and thigh is the only acceptable option! So much tastier, especially tender and falling off the bone.