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For Dark Meat Lovers: Our Best Chicken Leg and Thigh Recipes

For Dark Meat Lovers: Our Best Chicken Leg and Thigh Recipes

By Victoria Spencer

March 15, 2012

Credit: RYANE LIEBE

Chicken legs and thighs are the unsung heroes of the poultry realm—juicy, meaty, inexpensive, and highly versatile. They're the gateway to worlds of flavor. Here, the best recipes to make them at home.

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Credit: RYANE LIEBE

While our test kitchen advocates buying a whole chicken and cutting it into parts, when they do buy chicken pieces, they make sure its legs or thighs. Just as a whole chicken can be cut into pieces, chicken legs can be used whole or cut to separate the thighs and drumsticks. It's easy enough to divide chicken legs into thighs and drumsticks at home or you can ask the butcher at your grocery store to do this for you.

Like most budget-friendly cuts of meat, chicken legs are tougher and contain more fat than ultra-lean breasts, but they also deliver more flavor. They can be cooked on the stovetop, in the oven, in a pressure cooker, or even grilled in any recipe that calls for drumsticks or thighs. Chicken thighs and drumsticks are also sold on their own. Thighs are our test kitchen's absolute favorite chicken part. This dark meat cut has more fat, more flavor, and a more tender texture than chicken breast, and thighs are much better value than chicken breast. Chicken thighs are generally sold as bone-in thighs, with or without skin, or as boneless skinless chicken thighs.

Like thighs, chicken drumsticks are much juicer and have more flavor than chicken breast. An often overlooked cut, drumsticks are worth trying, particularly if you and your family are fans of bone-in meat. They offer the finger-food fun aspect of chicken wings but there's more meat to enjoy. Since drumsticks, like thighs, also have more fat and connective tissue, they are better suited to a wider range of cooking methods than chicken breasts. They do well with high-heat, quick-cooking methods, like grilling or roasting, as well as slower-cooking methods, like baking or braising, which renders them fall-apart tender. You can substitute drumsticks for bone-in thighs in almost any recipe, as the two cuts cook in about the same amount of time and have a similar flavor.

Here, our favorite recipes that utilize these tasty cuts.

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Roasted Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta

Credit: RYANE LIEBE

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For Dark Meat Lovers: Our Best Chicken Leg and Thigh Recipes

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Roasted Chicken Thighs with Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta

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Pan-Roasted Chicken with Za'atar, Potatoes, and Greens

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Spicy Basil Chicken Stir-Fry

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Butter Chicken

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Red-Hot Chicken and Peppers

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Fried Chicken Sandwich

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Arroz con Pollo

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Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Skewers

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Thyme-and-Sesame-Crusted Chicken Thighs

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Maple-Mustard Chicken Legs with Potatoes and Carrots

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Slow-Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

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Grilled Chicken Salad

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Chicken Posole

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Tequila-Lime Chicken Drumsticks

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Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Freekeh

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Thai Coconut Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

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Wine-Braised Chicken

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Roasted Chicken and Butternut Soup

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