The Results Will Shock You: Is Boneless Chicken Really Better Than Bone In? We Put It To The Test!

boneless vs bone in chicken

In the kitchen, you have a choice between boneless and bone-in chicken.

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One might work better in some recipes while the other has its own advantages.

It can be hard to decide which type of chicken is the best for your meal, so we are here to help you out.

Read on to find out the differences and similarities between the boneless and bone-in chicken.

What is boneless chicken?

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Boneless chicken refers to any cut of chicken that is sold without the bone.

It can be a chicken breast, chicken thighs, or chicken drumettes.

Normally, a boneless chicken cut is also skinless, but you can find boneless skin-on chicken as well.

Since the bone has been removed before cooking, it takes less time to cook boneless chicken.

It is also more tender and easier to eat, especially for your kids or the elderly in your family.

Boneless chicken requires more effort and techniques, that’s why it is often more expensive than its bone-in counterpart.

What is bone-in chicken?

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Bone-in chicken, as the name implies, is the whole or a cut of chicken that has bones in them.

Cooking with bone-in chicken will result in a more flavorful and juicier dish.

Bone-in chicken is great for grilling or roasting, but it can be used for frying, baking, or boiling as well.

You can cook bone-in chicken with or without its skin.

With the skin on, you can achieve a nice crispy crust in baking, frying, roasting, or grilling recipes and a richer taste from the rendered fat under the skin.

This helps keep the chicken moist while cooking.

You can choose to eat or discard the skin after that per your preference, but leaving it during the cooking time is supposed to be better for your taste buds experiment.

What are the differences between boneless chicken vs bone-in chicken?

Boneless and bone-in chicken refers to the difference in how the chicken is processed before being sold on the market or being cooked.

However, this key difference also led to other distinctive features between these two cuts of chicken.

 ComparisonBoneless chickenBone-in chicken
TypeCut-up chicken that is sold without the bone (can be skin-on or skinless)Whole chicken or any cut of chicken with the bone intact
TextureMeatierLess meaty
TasteMilderMore flavorful
Cooking timeShorter The meat is quick to be fully cooked without the bonesLonger
CostMore expensive before it requires effort and techniques to remove the bones without messing with the fleshLower

What are the similarities between boneless chicken vs bone-in chicken?

Basically, boneless chicken and bone-in chicken are actually the same things.

One has bones while the other doesn’t.

Therefore, there are numerous similarities between these two kinds of chicken cuts:

1. Boneless chicken and bone-in chicken can be skinless or skin-on

The first similarity between boneless chicken and bone-in chicken is that they can be sold with or without the skin.

There are some cuts of chicken that are available in both forms (skinless or skin-on) like chicken breast, chicken thighs, or chicken drumsticks.

Meanwhile, chicken wings always have the skin intact because these cuts are mainly made up of the skin with little meat.

2. Boneless chicken and bone-in chicken are rich sources of protein and many essential nutrients

No matter if the chicken has bones inside or not, it is a rich source of lean protein that is considered much healthier than red meat like pork and beef.

Chicken is also packed with other nutrients like phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, niacin, selenium, potassium, B-vitamins, and amino acids, which benefit our health in many ways.

3. Boneless chicken and bone-in chicken can be cooked the same way

The last thing in common is that boneless and bone-in chicken can be used interchangeably.

That means they can be cooked in similar ways, such as grilling, braising, roasting, baking, deep-frying, or pan-frying.

Which one is better?

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The choice between boneless or bone-in chicken can be difficult.

You might think that one is better than the other, but there are benefits to both types of chicken depending on what you plan to do with it in your recipe.

Boneless chickens have a higher meat content and may cook faster because they don’t have bones for heat conductivity.

However, some people prefer bone-in chicken so they can get more flavor out of their meal.

Decide which type suits your needs best before picking up any package at the store!