Are You Throwing Away the Most Delicious Part of Your Roast Chicken?

You’ve roasted a whole chicken and broken it down into pieces. But before you put that carcass in a pot for homemade stock, make sure you’ve saved the chicken oysters.

These two small morsels of meat on the backside of the chicken aren’t related to shellfish, but likely got their name because they are scooped out of a shell-shaped joint like you would an oyster, says Josh Turka, owner of 5th Quarter Butchery in Waitsfield, Vermont. “They’re these unique little pieces of dark meat that are tucked away and often get forgotten about.”

If you have a few chickens on hand you can save chicken oysters to use in dishes like stir-fries and fried chicken, or just enjoy them as a “chef’s treat” when you’re breaking down a chicken. And a treat they are. In French, they’re called sot-l’y-’laisse, which roughly translates to “only the fool would leave it,” thanks to their extra juiciness.

What makes chicken oysters so special? 

Their placement on the hip joint helps give chicken oysters their succulent flavor, says Turka. “The muscles that get used the most are going to be the most flavorful, which is why pork shoulder is so revered and adored,” he explains. On larger animals, these pieces of meat often need to be braised for a long time so the muscle fibers break down, but because chicken oysters are smaller “they don’t get that same toughness,” he adds. “You get that rich, juicy, flavorful chicken, but it’s still nice and tender.”

Whole-animal butcher Etana Diaz of The Local Butcher Shop in Berkeley, California, adds that chicken oysters are surrounded by bone, which also contributes to their tenderness. What’s more, they’re protected from overcooking since they’re located deep inside the chicken, away from the oven’s heat. 

How to remove chicken oysters

Chicken oysters are located on both sides of the chicken’s backside on the lower spine. “I like to describe them as a chicken’s love handles,” says Diaz. 

You can carve out chicken oysters from a raw or cooked whole roasted chicken. After you’ve removed the breast and thighs from a roasted chicken, flip the chicken breast-side down, and locate the oysters on either side of the spine. Then use a boning or paring knife to scoop them out.  

You can also remove chicken oysters along with the chicken thighs if you’d like to prepare them together. Using a boning or paring knife, pop open the hip joint, open the leg wide, then trace along the bone, making sure to include the circular-shaped muscle that is attached to the chicken thigh.  

If you’d rather leave carving to the pros, you can ask your butcher to take the oysters off the back or include them with your chicken thighs. 

How to use chicken oysters

The simplest way to use chicken oysters is as a snack. “The oyster that gets carved out never even makes it to the table, if I’m being honest,” says Turka. “It’s one of my favorite little bites.” If you’re making chicken thighs with the oyster attached, you can prepare them as usual. 

However, these little nuggets have plenty more to offer if you have several whole chickens, or thighs with oysters attached, on hand. Anywhere that dark meat shines, chicken oysters will be delicious, says Turka, who suggests pan-frying them for stir-fries or deep-frying them for popcorn chicken.  

Diaz likes threading them onto skewers and grilling them for a yakitori-style preparation. “They puff up a little bit when you cook them, so you have this nice puffy bite that’s super juicy,” she says. They also pair well with a lemony pasta dish, she says. 

“Oysters” beyond chicken 

Turka notes that other poultry birds like ducks and turkeys also contain “oysters.” Turkey oysters are larger than chicken oysters and tend to be a little tougher, but they can be just as tasty. 

“I have butchered those out and treated them almost like a boneless chicken thigh, where you sear it skin side down and get a nice crispy skin on top. Then I flip it over and finish roasting on the pan,” he says. “It’s tender, succulent, and juicy, and really shows off everything those birds have to offer.” 

You can also enjoy them on their own. After all, nobody deserves a little treat more than the person cooking Thanksgiving dinner.