Is the boneless, skinless breast the best the chicken has to offer?

I think if those folks who raise chickens had a choice, they’d figure out how to grow a chicken that was only breast and preferably without bones and skin! There’s no question that the breast is a great cut of meat. It requires no preparation and lends itself to all kinds of saucing, flavoring, and manipulation because of its neutrality—qualities that are also the source of its limitations. The cheapest breast, and to my mind, the most flavorful, is the bone-in, skin-on breast. The next best alternative for flavor is the boneless skin-on breast, and the least desirable in terms of flavor is the boneless, skinless breast, which is also the most expensive. This last variation has become the most common because it’s easy and quick to cook (a good thing) and because the Fat Police have deemed it the chicken of choice (not necessarily a good thing). If you’ve read about shrimp, then you know that the shells contribute a lot of flavor to a recipe. The same thing is true of the bones and skin of a chicken. Given a choice, I’d rather cook breasts, or any other part of the chicken, with the bone in and skin on. They’ll not only be more flavorful (that’s why we use them when we make stock) but juicier too. If fat is of concern, then remove the skin before serving and eating.