Black Chicken: Healthier Than Regular Chicken?

Have you eaten black chicken yet in China? I remember the first time I saw the dramatically dark meat on the supermarket shelves; and then I first tried it in a typical Chinese soup with wolfberries, and I’ve loved it ever since. Black chicken (also known in the Western world as the silkie breed) is slowly finding a niche in the West due to recent nutrition studies. I consider it a much tastier, gamier dark-meat chicken. Chinese have used it as food and as medicine for over a thousand years. But is there scientific evidence?

black silkie chicken health common cold nutritionIn the nutrition aspect, black chicken does indeed have less calories than regular chicken, mostly due to less fat. For example, a 100 gram piece of regular chicken has around 8 grams fat, while black chicken has only 2 grams.

Recent evidence also shows a higher level of an antioxidant called carnosine. Antioxidants in general are a great thing, and black chicken has double the amount of carnosine than regular chicken.

The New York Times has a good food review of black chicken, as well as links to some recipes.


Follow me on Facebook: @BainbridgeBabaDoc
Photography: www.richardsaintcyr.com