appetizing. Many cooks believe that bones are what give
stock flavor; I’m skeptical (read on).Depending on the part of the chicken you use, these parts
are present in different ratios. To sum up, chicken legs are
high in slow-twitch muscle, have plenty of fat, and contain a
good amount of connective tissue and bones. Breasts are
almost completely fast-twitch muscle. Backs and carcasses
have little meat of either kind but plenty of bone, connective
tissue, and fat. Wings have the highest concentration of
connective tissue of all, with a high proportion of fat and
some bone.
To figure out exactly what each of these various tissues
brings to the pot, I cooked a few batches of stock side by
side: one made with just white meat, one made with just
dark meat, one made with just bones, and one made with
chicken carcasses, which have plenty of bones and
connective tissue but relatively little meat.