The Turkish pantry

Chicken thigh meat

Boneless, skinless thigh meat for evenly cut skewers and shredded chicken. Unfold each piece before trimming or cutting, and check the thickest part during cooking.

Last updated: 17 October 2026

Raw meat from the chicken thigh, with bone and skin removed. It is not a whole leg, drumstick, wing or breast. The nutrition reference describes plain raw thigh meat, not a skin-on cut, marinade or cooked portion.

Three pink raw boneless, skinless chicken thigh pieces, one opened flat, with pale seams of fat on a rectangular cream tray.

Types & forms

Boneless thigh pieces

The meat can arrive folded around the space where the bone was removed. Open it out to see the thickness and trim as the recipe directs.

Cubes for skewers

Cut similar-sized pieces so that one large cube does not remain undercooked while smaller pieces finish. Keep raw skewers separate from cooked ones.

Whole legs, drumsticks and skin-on thighs · comparison

These are different cuts or forms. Bone, skin and piece size change yield and cooking; use the cut requested in the recipe.

What to look for when buying

Choose a cold, intact pack without leaks and keep it separate from ready-to-eat food. Pick up chicken near the end of shopping and refrigerate it promptly at home.
Check the cut, skin and bone information rather than relying on the word chicken. Read the ingredients for added water, salt or marinade; these products can differ from plain meat in seasoning and nutrition.
Follow the use-by date and storage instructions. Buy only what you can cook within 1–2 days or freeze promptly; a later printed date does not replace careful cold storage.

Prepare & cook

Do not wash raw chicken. Keep its juices away from salad and cooked food; wash hands, knives and boards after handling it. Marinate in a covered container in the refrigerator, and reserve a clean portion of sauce before it touches raw meat.
Unfold the thigh, check for any remaining hard bone fragments and trim loose fat as the recipe directs. For Tavuk Şiş, cut even cubes and turn the skewers as needed; for shredding, cook the meat before pulling it apart.
Cook the thickest part to at least 165°F, measured with a food thermometer. Insert the probe from the side of a thin piece so its sensing area reaches the center. Color, clear juices and elapsed time alone do not establish safety.

Store it well

Keep raw chicken in a leak-proof container in a refrigerator at 40°F or below, separate from ready-to-eat food. Cook within 1–2 days or freeze at 0°F or below. Follow an earlier use-by date if the pack specifies one.
Thaw in the refrigerator in a container that catches drips. For cold-water thawing, use a sealed leak-proof bag, change the water every 30 minutes and cook immediately. Cook immediately after microwave thawing too; never thaw on the counter.
Refrigerate cooked chicken in shallow containers within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if the room or outdoor temperature is above 90°F. Do not leave a large warm pot out to cool for hours.
Use refrigerated cooked chicken within 3–4 days, or freeze it. Reheat leftovers to 165°F throughout. Keep raw and cooked portions labeled separately.

Substitutions depend on the dish

Boneless, skinless breast

Breast has a different texture and thickness. It may suit a recipe that explicitly permits either cut, but do not assume the same cooking time.

Whole thigh or drumstick

Skin and bone change the amount of edible meat and how it cooks. Choose a recipe for that form instead of replacing the same weight of boneless meat without adjustment.

Nutrition

Raw boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat ^[1]

Per 100 g edible portion
Nutrient	Amount
Energy	121 kcal
Protein	19.7 g
Total fat	4.12 g
Saturated fat	1.1 g
Carbohydrate	0 g
Dietary fiber	0 g
Total sugars	0 g
Sodium	95 mg
Cholesterol	94 mg
Calcium	7 mg
Iron	0.81 mg
Potassium	242 mg
Vitamin D	0 µg

USDA meat-only reference per 100 g of raw thigh meat. It excludes skin and bone and does not represent the gross weight of a bone-in cut or 100 g of cooked meat. Cooking and added marinades change composition; check the label on prepared products. Values are rounded for readability; “not reported” does not mean zero. A “<” value is below the source’s measurement limit.

Nutrition values come from the reference source named above. They are published reference values, not our own measurements. Actual products and cooking methods may change the values.

At the Turkish table

The linked Tavuk Şiş uses thigh meat cut for skewers; Çerkez Tavuğu also lists thigh meat. These two preparations show why even cubes and cooked shreds call for different handling of the same cut.