Chicken neck

Chicken neck is a humble yet highly flavorful dark meat cut prized for its high bone-to-meat ratio and abundance of collagen and connective tissue. While it may not offer large, thick cuts of meat, the small morsels tucked around the vertebrae are tender, juicy, and packed with intense poultry flavor.

In cookery, chicken necks excel in simmered applications like broths, stocks, and gravies, where the bones and joints break down to yield a gelatinous, rich foundation. Beyond liquid preparations, they are popular across many global culinary traditions—such as Southern, Caribbean, and East Asian street food—where they are marinated, seasoned with bold spices, and then deep-fried until crispy, smoked, or slow-braised in thick, savory sauces. They are also frequently used in home-prepared pet food diets due to their natural balance of digestible bone and cartilage.