[dropcap1]Q. [/dropcap1]My brother and I were reminiscing about our father, and his insistence that he knew the answer to every question. We worshipped him for that until one day I asked why the meat of chicken thighs and legs are dark, while breasts and wings are white. He said it was because of gravity, which pulled the blood in a chicken down to the lower part of the bird. My brother then asked him if that were so, how come duck breast and wing meat is also dark? Dad stumbled over that for a few seconds, then he came out with an explanation that was so obviously made up that I can't recall what it was. We were disillusioned about Dad after that. Now that he's gone, it makes us smile to remember that day. But then I thought, why is white meat white and dark meat dark? If you know the answer, can you also tell why ducks and geese have nothing but dark meat, even in the breast? [dropcap1]A. [/dropcap1]Good news! Your dad was partly right. The color of the meat is related to the amount of blood needed by the muscle in question. Dark meats (including beef and lamb, as well as chicken) are dark because they contain more myoglobin. That's a substance that holds oxygen in the muscle tissue for quick availability. It's related to hemoglobin--the source of the red juices that come from rare beef, often mistaken for blood by those who disdain properly-cooked steak.) Muscles that do a lot of work tend to contain a lot of myoglobin. Since chickens and turkeys don't fly much, their breast muscles have little myoglobin and are light in color. The legs are dark because of all the walking chickens and turkeys do. Ducks and geese and quail and squab all do fly, and quite a lot. So their muscles have more myoglobin, making their breasts (which are the primary flight muscles) are darker. Now give your Dad a break and love him for having been around to answer such questions.
