• Page 1: Chicken History
• Page 1: Chicken Cuts Chart
• Page 2: Chicken Terms A & B
• Page 3: Chicken Terms C

• Page 4: Chicken Terms D To F
• Page 5: Chicken Terms G To M
• Page 6: Chicken Terms N To R
• Page 7: Chicken Terms S To Z

SAUSAGE
Chicken sausage typically has less fat than pork sausage, yet all the flavor. It’s flexible enough to be enjoyed with eggs at breakfast, in a hot dog roll at lunch, in a pasta salad, in a mixed grill, in stuffing or anyplace you’d  use sausage.

SHANK
The part of a chicken's leg between the claw and the first joint.

SPRING CHICKEN or SPRINGER
A a young and tender chicken, typically from two to ten months old. As chickens age, the flesh grows tougher and needs to be stewed (the original slow cooking) in order to be easily chewed. Not to be confused with poussin, or baby chicken. Also see stewing chicken.

STRAIGHTBRED
Purebred.
 

STEWING HEN
A stewing hen is an older bird: 10 months to 1-1/2 years in age. Past its prime for roasting, it gave rise to the expression “tough old birds.” While no longer tender, the flesh still has plenty of flavor, and is a bargain when used to make a slow-cooked chicken stew, chicken soup or chicken stock.

STRAIN
A flock of related chickens selectively bred by one person or organization for so long that the offspring have become uniform in appearance or production.

TENDER or TENDERLOIN
Chicken tender or tenderloin is the inner breast meat (white meat) connected to the breastbone. Thinner than the rest of the breast, it is cut from the breast by the butcher. Sometimes the tender is called a cutlet, sometimes the outer breast meat is erroneously called a cutlet.

THREE PART WING
See wing, below.

The tender or tenderloin: the thinnest part of the breast. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

THIGH
The thigh is the top portion of the leg that is attached to the body (see chicken cuts chart). Below the knee joint are the drumstick and the feet. The thigh (as well as the drumstick) consists of all dark meat. Thighs are available skinned as well as skinned and boned, a dark meat alternative to the boneless breast.

A skinned chicken thigh. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

VARIETY
Subdivision of a breed of chicken according to color, comb style, beard and/or leg feathering.
 

WATTLES
The two red or purplish flaps of flesh that dangle under a chicken’s or rooster’s chin, as shown in the photo at right.

WHOLE CHICKEN
The entire bird, minus the head and the feet. The giblets are usually tucked inside. The top of the bird (breast quarters) is white meat; the bottom of the bird (leg quarters) is dark meat.

A Rhode Island Red rooster and hen with bright red wattles. Photo by Andrei Niemimäki | Wikimedia.

WING or THREE PART WING
The wing of a chicken, which is white meat, comprises three parts:
 

• The shoulder wing or drumette, which connects to the body of the chicken. It is the meatiest part of the wing.
• The mid joint or wingette, or flat wing tip is the center portion of the three-part wing. It contains less meat than the drumette.
• The wing tip, the narrow end of the wing. It is usually removed by restaurants since it contains almost no meat and is not aesthetically pleasing; although it can be used to make stock.

WINGETTE
The mid-joint of the wing. As with the drumette, this part offers poultry producers the opportunity to sell something that sounds special, even though it is often a function reclaiming a portion of a whole wing that’s been damaged in processing.