# What is chicken backs?



## kamp

May be a stupid question but what is chicken backs? 
When I translate it to my language it does not make any sense.. 

Does anyone have a picture of a chicken back?


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## Andy M.

The backbone of the chicken.  
When you cut a chicken in half, you usually cut along both sides of the backbone then cut through the middle of the breast to get two half chickens.

The backbone, neck, wingtips, heart and gizzard can be used to make a flavorful stock.


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## kamp

Thank you so much


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## kamp

Another question..

I don't know what this is but I know that it taste good 
Is this the chicken gizzard or what is this?


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## ChefJune

Andy M. said:


> The backbone of the chicken.
> When you cut a chicken in half, you usually cut along both sides of the backbone then cut through the middle of the breast to get two half chickens.
> 
> The backbone, neck, wingtips, heart and gizzard can be used to make a flavorful stock.


 
Andy, I think that's only part of it!  As a kid, my aunts taught me to cut the chicken into 10 pieces, and one of those was !!! The BACK!!!  It includes the lower part of the back of the chicken, including the tail and extends up about half way -- i.e., the top of the thigh. There's a place there where the backbone breaks very easily.  Also included in the piece of chicken known as "the back" are the supremes... maybe the two best bites on the whole bird.

Wish I had a picture of the piece to show you.  To this day, I still cut chicken up with 10 pieces.


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## ChefJune

kamp said:


> Another question..
> 
> I don't know what this is but I know that it taste good
> Is this the chicken gizzard or what is this?


 
That is not the gizzard.  The gizzard is located up near the heart and is texturally very different from what you are pointing to here.  I think what you're looking at may be the spleen.


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## Andy M.

ChefJune said:


> ...Also included in the piece of chicken known as "the back" are the supremes... maybe the two best bites on the whole bird...



That's a new one on me.  Is that another name for the oysters?


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## Uncle Bob

Andy M. said:


> That's a new one on me.  Is that another name for the oysters?



 Yeah....that's what I always heard them called Andy...."Oysters"!

The parts the OP is highlighting I think is part of (remnants?) of the kidneys..The spleen is not a dual organ....


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## Andy M.

Uncle Bob said:


> Yeah....that's what I always heard them called Andy...."Oysters"!
> 
> The parts the OP is highlighting I think is part of (remnants?) of the kidneys..The spleen is not a dual organ....



Just a thought I had - not an anatomical expert.  Internal organs are not usually attached to bone as those things in the photo...


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## Uncle Bob

Andy M. said:


> Just a thought I had - not an anatomical expert.  Internal organs are not usually attached to bone as those things in the photo...



Certainly no expert hear either. I've seen those things forever...always removed them...Never thought about what they were....Kidneys? just a guess really. A process of elimination...not the heart, liver or gizzard....What's left? There are two of them....


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## Dove

*Is it what my Mom called the "lites or lights" ?? I always wash the inside of the bird and throw away that part.*


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## Robo410

kamp, those little nuggets when cooked are prime! They call them the oysters. The ones underneath are even more prized by the carver. Very tender and tasty.


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## babetoo

backs have always been my favorite part of the chicken. what ever the morsels are called i love em.


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## sparrowgrass

I think they are the kidneys.  The oysters are on the outside of the carcass, though there is a bit of muscle on the inside, if you look hard.
The oysters are tender little bits of dark meat--the kidneys have the flavor and texture of liver.


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## licia

For years I never used the back until my mother in law was visiting and when I cut the chicken up I was about to toss out the back. She said "Oh, no! You are throwing out my favorite piece."  Then she showed me the oysters - never again have I thrown the back away.  If I don't use them in the recipe, I use the back in the stock. Those morsels are indeed very tasty and I don't even like dark meat usually.


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