Chicken Questions- Skins, Exclusiveness

j_wilson2012

Hi....I have a couple questions about chicken, primarily for drumsticks and thighs. First, is it better to keep the skin on the drumsticks and thighs? Would I be missing any ingredients in the skin that are vital, like protein? How much of the listed fat is in those skins?I would think It would reduce the Calories and fat intake, but what are your opinions on it?
And Secondly, would it be okay to stick to a chicken-only diet, as in leaving out the porkchops and red meats? I notice the chicken is a little more generous on the proteins, and is a little cheaper. Thank you for your help!

P.S.- If I did peel the skins, Could I then cook up the skins and feed them to the cat?

mfp_junkie

I don't eat red meat, so yes, you can each just chicken for your meat, if you choose. I don't eat skin because it is too high in fat.

Sorry, no cat, so I either buy skinless or simply compost the skins.

MissShancey

i dont eat the skin ... and i wouldn't give it to your cat ...

i eat chicken turkey and fish .. i dont like the taste of beef
and bacon ... well eating isnt eating with out bacon lol

reree6898

As for giving the skins to the cat, I would think it might make it sick because the skin is pure fat. I only ever eat skinless chicken anymore, it makes a big difference in the calories of the chicken.

knowwhentoshutup

I remove the skin before I bake it or grill it, because it removes some of the fat content.

I'm not an expert - but I think most of the protein is in the actual meat - not the skin, considering the high amount of protein in boneless skinless varieties.

Regarding chicken-only, I don't think it matters, providing you are reaching all of your nutritional needs.

I wouldn't feed the skins to my dogs, but they have sensitive stomachs and I wouldn't want to clean up the impending mess.

loadsandloads

you can buy boneless skinless thighs as well. Of course, I'm sure you already know the fat content in legs and thighs is higher to the best of my knowledge.

good luck

oh, the cat....agree with previous post probably wouldn't give to cat but I guess you could make a broth with it????

bcattoes

It's okay to eat chicken skins but I wouldn't eat them every day. They have more unsaturated fat than saturated, but the saturated is still pretty high. I don't think there is much protein in the skin though. I'm sure your cat would love the skins, but because of the high fat content I wouldn't feed him/her too much or s/he might get digestive troubles.

You don't need to ever eat red meat if you don't want to.

bpwparents

Yes the skin is pure fat. I don't think it affects the protein level to remove it. I've been told that cooking it with the skin on it prevents it from being dried out but the only time I have chicken with fat on it is those store rotisserie chickens. I do feed it to my cats. Not all of it of course, but it's a little treat for them and they stomach it fine.

j_wilson2012

you can buy boneless skinless thighs as well. Of course, I'm sure you already know the fat content in legs and thighs is higher to the best of my knowledge.

good luck

oh, the cat....agree with previous post probably wouldn't give to cat but I guess you could make a broth with it????

Yeah, I guess It would make sense to not feed it to the cat. What, then, could I do healthfully with the skins as a meal? The broth would be a good idea, as I could then use it to bake the chicken with. Any others?

maggie2731

I grew up eating chicken with skin. As a matter of fact we used to fight over it. When my mom and then the rest of us ended up with high cholesterol I gave up the skin. The skin holds the most fat and cholesterol. I don't miss it. And I don't miss pork either. I can cook anything with chicken and turkey. I use turkey for my stuffed cabage, studffed peppers and meatballs. I use the chicken for everythin else. And fish. U gotta have fish in your diet. If i make soup i use the bonned chicken. If i want smoked meat i use smoked turkey.
I have two cats. If the skin is not good for me then it is not good for my cats. So no i would not give my cats the skin.

MMB5222

What does "ong" mean?