Try to avoid chicken thigh...

thigh meat: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/735/2
100g = 119 calories

breast meat: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/701/2
100g = 110 calories

So, tell me again what this mystical issue is of which you speak?

^^THIS. Nine more calories and a lot more flavor for half the price.

I cook them bone in and skin on. Roasted in the oven or on the grill. The crispy skin is the best part. As long as it fits into your calorie count/macros for the day, go for it. I had 900+ calories worth of them the other day for dinner and they were good!

thigh meat: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/735/2
100g = 119 calories

breast meat: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/701/2
100g = 110 calories

So, tell me again what this mystical issue is of which you speak?

Just an FYI on the true difference between dark and white meat:

White meat is white because of the chicken's chronic lack of exercise, something to think about next time you're about to curl up in front of the TV for another I Dream of Jeannie rerun. Dark meat, which avian myologists (bird muscle scientists) refer to as "red muscle," is used for sustained activity--chiefly walking, in the case of a chicken. The dark color comes from a chemical compound in the muscle called myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen transport. White muscle, in contrast, is suitable only for short, ineffectual bursts of activity such as, for chickens, flying. That's why the chicken's leg meat and thigh meat are dark and its breast meat (which makes up the primary flight muscles) is white. Other birds more capable in the flight department, such as ducks and geese, have red muscle (and dark meat) throughout.

From: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1295/why-is-white-meat-white-and-dark-meat-dark

I'm not so sure that they are right. My meat chickens are a cornish cross and don't get much exercise at all. They are rather fun to watch. They stand up, take three step and plop down into an exhausted heap. Every part of them is well developed and from hatch ( I buy chicks that are a few days old) to harvest at near 6+ pounds in under 8 weeks. Their water is about 4 feet from their food. Every part of them that is edible, white meat, dark meat and giblets is full of flavor and if not over cooked tender and moist. FWIW I usually skin them rather than pluck so they are skinless when they go in the freezer, whole. While another breed, leghorn (rooster) cross seem to be darker meat all around and hatch to harvest was about 3.5 months with a harvest weight of about 3-3.5 pounds each for cockerals; hens are kept as egg layers. These walk around, pretty much "free range" and only fly up to roost in the rafters of their coop at night. Oh yeah, btw the best way to cook them that I have found is on my charcoal grill with indirect heat and liberally seasoned with my rib rub:paprika, black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and a smaller amount of cumin. I prefer the hind quarter.

thigh meat: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/735/2
100g = 119 calories

breast meat: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/poultry-products/701/2
100g = 110 calories

So, tell me again what this mystical issue is of which you speak?

Just an FYI on the true difference between dark and white meat:

White meat is white because of the chicken's chronic lack of exercise, something to think about next time you're about to curl up in front of the TV for another I Dream of Jeannie rerun. Dark meat, which avian myologists (bird muscle scientists) refer to as "red muscle," is used for sustained activity--chiefly walking, in the case of a chicken. The dark color comes from a chemical compound in the muscle called myoglobin, which plays a key role in oxygen transport. White muscle, in contrast, is suitable only for short, ineffectual bursts of activity such as, for chickens, flying. That's why the chicken's leg meat and thigh meat are dark and its breast meat (which makes up the primary flight muscles) is white. Other birds more capable in the flight department, such as ducks and geese, have red muscle (and dark meat) throughout.

From: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1295/why-is-white-meat-white-and-dark-meat-dark

I'm not so sure that they are right. My meat chickens are a cornish cross and don't get much exercise at all. They are rather fun to watch. They stand up, take three step and plop down into an exhausted heap. Every part of them is well developed and from hatch ( I buy chicks that are a few days old) to harvest at near 6+ pounds in under 8 weeks. Their water is about 4 feet from their food. Every part of them that is edible, white meat, dark meat and giblets is full of flavor and if not over cooked tender and moist. FWIW I usually skin them rather than pluck so they are skinless when they go in the freezer, whole. While another breed, leghorn (rooster) cross seem to be darker meat all around and hatch to harvest was about 3.5 months with a harvest weight of about 3-3.5 pounds each for cockerals; hens are kept as egg layers. These walk around, pretty much "free range" and only fly up to roost in the rafters of their coop at night. Oh yeah, btw the best way to cook them that I have found is on my charcoal grill with indirect heat and liberally seasoned with my rib rub:paprika, black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and a smaller amount of cumin. I prefer the hind quarter.

It's based on genetics, not the individual ability of each bird. I used to raise Cornish rock crosses. We had to butcher them early or they'd have a heart attack once they got too old (younger than the butcher date of our other cockerels).

You could cage a duck and it would still be all dark meat.

Thighs are wonderful. To choke down a breast, I have to smother it in gravy or mayo, so may as well enjoy the fat in the thigh.

I never thought of skinning the birds instead of plucking them. Seems simpler. I wonder how it affects the quality of the frozen meat--does the skin help to hold in the flavor and keep out freezer burn?

here's me thinking that avoiding chicken thighs was something men who used to skip leg day but have now seen their errors in their way want to do... as in how squats and deadlifts are a good way to avoid chicken thighs.

I like buying chicken with bones as I normally save them and use them to make stock. Wing tips are excellent for this, actually.

Ever try beer can chicken off the grill???? I love the dark meat also, have for years, always tender and juicy, but have recently found that doing a whole chicken on the grill with a beer can cooker (w/beer in it, of course) the white meat comes out REALLY tender and juicy , NOT dry. Try it, you may like it!!! (as the old commercial used to say) showing my age again...

I find chicken thighs more flavorful, but they have much more fat and cholesterol. I was surprised that chicken thighs have more fat than steak, and as someone watching cholesterol, I had always chosen chicken over read meat. However, I must admit I have a weakness for them, especially skin if it's crispy.