The drumstick is the lower part of the chicken leg, and it is dark meat. Dark muscles are built for endurance and hold more myoglobin than white muscles, a protein that helps muscle use oxygen. In a bird that walks, the leg muscles carry its weight, which is why the drumstick and thigh are dark and the breast is white.
Dark meat has more fat, iron, zinc and vitamin B12 than breast, though the amounts are small. Per 100 g raw, the drumstick on this page (with skin) has 9.2 g of fat, 0.71 mg of iron, 1.86 mg of zinc and 0.5 µg of vitamin B12, against 2.6 g, 0.37 mg, 0.68 mg and 0.2 µg in raw skinless chicken breast. The comparison is not like for like, because the skin adds fat to the drumstick figures.
Studies that split dark from white poultry are few, so most research below treats poultry as a whole, and the chicken breast page covers that evidence in more depth. One quirk is harmless: young broilers can have dark bones, because pigment from the bone marrow seeps through bones that have not hardened yet, and the USDA calls this cosmetic.
Health benefits of chicken drumstick
The top findings from 8 studies, strongest evidence first
What the stars mean
- Strong. Several randomized trials, pooled in a meta-analysis, point the same way, or regulators (FDA or EFSA) have approved the claim.
- Moderate. Good randomized trials support it, but there are fewer of them, or their results vary.
- Limited. Small, short or single trials, or mixed results. Promising, but it needs confirmation.
Population and lab studies get no stars: they show a link or a mechanism, not proof.
How we rate evidence →- ★★LDL rose as much as with red meatIn a 4-week trial, diets built on lean chicken and turkey raised LDL cholesterol about as much as red meat, and more than nonmeat protein. The white meat was not drumsticks specifically.
- Population studyLinked to a slightly lower risk of deathIn 24 cohort studies, people who ate the most poultry had a 4% lower risk of death than those who ate the least. There was no change in heart disease or stroke, and certainty was low or very low.
- Population studyLinked to higher diabetes risk, lower anemia riskEach extra 30 g of poultry a day went with a 14% higher risk of diabetes and a 17% lower risk of iron deficiency anemia. Body mass index explained a large share of these links.
- Population studyFried chicken linked to higher risk of deathWomen who ate fried chicken at least once a week had a 13% higher risk of dying than women who ate none. The study cannot separate the chicken from the frying.
- Population studyLinked to a higher risk of goutIn Singapore, the highest quarter of poultry intake went with a 27% higher risk of gout than the lowest. Diet came from a questionnaire and gout was self-reported.
All 8 studies, strongest evidence first
Four weeks on lean chicken and turkey as the main protein raised LDL cholesterol about as much as red meat did, compared with plant protein
Randomized crossover trial. 61 people on a high-saturated-fat diet and 52 on a low-saturated-fat diet each ate red meat, white meat and nonmeat protein diets for 4 weeks each, in random order. LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B were higher on both meat diets than on the nonmeat diet, and red and white meat did not differ. The white meat was lean chicken and turkey, not drumsticks specifically. Funded by the US National Institutes of Health.
In 24 cohort studies, the most poultry went with a 4% lower risk of death than the least, and no change in heart disease or stroke
Meta-analysis of 24 cohort studies (risk ratio 0.96, 95% CI 0.93 to 0.98 for the highest against the lowest intake). Each extra 100 g a day showed no link with any outcome. Swapping red or processed meat for poultry went with lower risks, but the authors rate the certainty of the evidence as low or very low.
Each extra 30 g of poultry a day went with a 14% higher risk of diabetes and a 17% lower risk of iron deficiency anemia
Cohort study of 474,985 UK adults followed for 8 years (hazard ratio 1.14 for diabetes, 0.83 for iron deficiency anemia). Poultry also went with more reflux (1.17), gastritis (1.12), diverticular disease (1.10) and gallbladder disease (1.11). Body mass index explained a large share of these links, so some may reflect weight rather than poultry itself.
Women who ate fried chicken at least once a week had a 13% higher risk of dying than women who ate none
Cohort study of 106,966 postmenopausal US women in the Women’s Health Initiative, followed until 2017. The hazard ratio was 1.13 for death from any cause and 1.12 for death from cardiovascular disease. Fried fish and shellfish showed a similar link. The study cannot separate the chicken from the frying.
In Singapore, the highest quarter of poultry intake went with a 27% higher risk of gout than the lowest
Cohort study of 51,114 Chinese adults in Singapore, with 2,167 cases of physician-diagnosed gout reported through 2010 (hazard ratio 1.27, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.45). Fish and shellfish also went with higher risk (1.16), while soy foods and legumes went with lower risk. Diet came from a questionnaire and gout was self-reported.
Chicken breast and thigh were relatively poor sources of iron and zinc next to beef and pork shoulder in a Swiss lab analysis
Lab analysis of iron, heme iron and zinc in lean cuts of pork, beef, veal and chicken (breast and thigh). Beef and pork shoulder were the best sources, while chicken and the loin cuts of pork and veal were relatively poor. No people were tested, and the abstract gives no separate figures for breast and thigh.
Adding chicken thigh to iron-fortified wheat flour or rice cereal increased iron uptake in a cell model of the gut
Lab study using simulated digestion and Caco-2 gut cells, not people. Chicken thigh and chicken liver raised iron uptake from the fortified foods, and chicken thigh with wheat flour gave among the highest bioavailable iron per unit of iron. Thigh is dark meat like the drumstick, but drumsticks were not tested.
Grilled boneless, skinless chicken thigh formed fewer heterocyclic amines than skinless breast, and skin raised them in breast
Lab analysis of broiler chicken grilled at 150, 180 and 210 °C for 2.5, 5 and 10 minutes per side. Heterocyclic amines are compounds that form in meat cooked at high heat and whose carcinogenicity is known. Hotter and longer grilling made more of them, and skin on the breast raised the amounts, most at 210 °C for 10 minutes. Drumsticks were not tested.
Who should be careful with chicken drumstick
Most people can eat chicken drumstick freely. Take a little care if one of these applies:
- Raw chicken in the kitchen. Raw chicken often carries Campylobacter and Salmonella, and rinsing it spreads bacteria; only cooking destroys them. In a study of 18 home kitchens, 14 raw chicken samples carried Campylobacter and 12 cooks rinsed the chicken under the tap.
- Babies and young children. The NHS advises removing bones from meat before giving it to babies, so a bone-in drumstick needs the meat taken off first. Adults are not immune: chicken bones made up 46% of the dietary objects removed from the esophagus of 136 adults in one emergency department series.
- Gout. In a Singapore cohort, more poultry went with a higher risk of gout. It is one study and the effect was modest, so people with gout or high uric acid can ask their clinician how much poultry suits them.
How to choose, store and eat chicken drumstick
- Skin on or off: the numbers on this page are raw drumstick with skin, 9.2 g of fat and 2.46 g of saturated fat per 100 g, so skin is part of the fat gap with skinless breast (2.6 g of fat).
- Roasted or stewed: a lab study found 12 to 480 ng/g of the cooking compound PhIP in pan-fried, oven-broiled and grilled chicken breasts, but not in roasted or stewed whole chickens.
- Fried: women who ate fried chicken at least once a week had a 13% higher risk of dying than women who ate none, a link that cannot separate the chicken from the frying.
Keep raw drumsticks in a refrigerator at 40°F or below and use them within 1 to 2 days, or freeze them at 0°F; cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days. Do not wash raw chicken. Cook drumsticks to at least 165°F (74°C), measured with a food thermometer, because color is no guide: safely cooked chicken can look pink, and dark bones are harmless.
Sources
- Chicken from farm to table. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.
- Food safety: product appearance (dark bones and color of cooked poultry). USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2008 archive.
- Your baby’s first solid foods. NHS.
- Cardoso MJ, Ferreira V, Truninger M, Maia R, Teixeira P. Cross-contamination events of Campylobacter spp. in domestic kitchens associated with consumer handling practices of raw poultry. Int J Food Microbiol. 2021.
- Lin HH, Lee SC, Chu HC, et al. Emergency endoscopic management of dietary foreign bodies in the esophagus. Am J Emerg Med. 2007.
- Teng GG, Pan A, Yuan JM, Koh WP. Food sources of protein and risk of incident gout in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2015.
- Sinha R, Rothman N, Brown ED, et al. High concentrations of the carcinogen 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo-[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) occur in chicken but are dependent on the cooking method. Cancer Res. 1995.
- Sun Y, Liu B, Snetselaar LG, et al. Association of fried food consumption with all cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2019.
History of chicken drumstick
Every chicken descends from the red junglefowl, a wild bird of Southeast Asia. A study of 863 genomes found that domestic chickens came mainly from the subspecies Gallus gallus spadiceus, which lives today in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar.
When this happened is still debated. A 2022 review of finds from about 600 archaeological sites in 89 countries put the first clear domestic chicken bones at Ban Non Wat in central Thailand, dated to about 1650 to 1250 BCE. The authors suggest that rice and millet farming drew wild junglefowl into human settlements.
From there chickens spread. The same review places them in Central China, South Asia and Mesopotamia by the late second millennium BCE, and in Ethiopia and Mediterranean Europe by about 800 BCE.
Chicken was among the most common meats of the Middle Ages, according to Wikipedia, which cites a study of chicken keeping in late medieval England.
The meaty modern bird is more recent. A cross of a Cornish male and a white Plymouth Rock female, introduced in the 1930s, was the first meat crossbreed, and it became the dominant type in the 1960s.
Fried chicken has a long paper trail. Wikipedia credits Scotland with the first recorded chicken fried in fat with breadcrumbs and seasonings, citing a recipe in Hannah Glasse’s 1747 cookbook The Art of Cookery and a 1773 diary entry from the Isle of Skye.
Sources
- Wang MS, Thakur M, Peng MS, et al. 863 genomes reveal the origin and domestication of chicken. Cell Res. 2020.
- Peters J, Lebrasseur O, Irving-Pease EK, et al. The biocultural origins and dispersal of domestic chickens. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022.
- Chicken as food. Wikipedia.
- Broiler. Wikipedia.
- Fried chicken. Wikipedia.
- White meat. Wikipedia.
- Food safety: product appearance (dark bones in cooked poultry). USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2008 archive.
Frequently asked questions about chicken drumstick
Are chicken drumsticks good for you?
For most people, yes, as part of a varied diet. A raw drumstick with skin (133 g) has 24 g of protein and 214 calories, and 100 g covers 37% of the daily value of selenium, 30% of niacin and 22% of vitamin B12. The research is thinner: lean chicken and turkey raised LDL cholesterol about as much as red meat in one trial, and cohorts link poultry to both lower and higher risks, so the studies here give no clear verdict.
Is a chicken drumstick healthier than chicken breast?
Neither is simply better. Per 100 g raw, a drumstick with skin has 161 calories, 18.1 g of protein and 9.2 g of fat, while raw skinless breast has 120 calories, 22.5 g of protein and 2.6 g of fat. The drumstick has more zinc (1.86 against 0.68 mg), iron (0.71 against 0.37 mg) and vitamin B12 (0.5 against 0.2 µg), and breast has more niacin (9.6 against 4.8 mg). Part of the fat gap is the skin, which is in the drumstick figures and not in the breast figures.
How many calories are in a chicken drumstick?
A raw drumstick with skin has 214 calories. That is for one drumstick of 133 g, or 161 calories per 100 g, from the USDA entry on this page. A cooked drumstick will not match these raw figures, and batter and oil change them again.
How much protein is in a chicken drumstick?
A raw drumstick with skin has about 24 g of protein, or 18.1 g per 100 g. Protein supplies about 47% of its calories. It is a complete protein, scoring 100 out of 100 for essential amino acids on this page, and skinless breast has more per 100 g (22.5 g) because it has less fat.
Should you eat chicken skin?
No trial here tested skin, so there is no study to settle it. The USDA entry on this page is raw drumstick with skin: 9.2 g of fat and 2.46 g of saturated fat per 100 g, which is 12% of the daily value of saturated fat. In the cholesterol trial, a high-saturated-fat diet raised LDL cholesterol whatever the protein source. If you grill, one lab study found skin on breast meat raised heterocyclic amines, most at 210 °C for 10 minutes per side.
Is chicken drumstick high in iron?
Not high. A raw drumstick has 0.94 mg of iron, 5% of the daily value, which is about twice the iron per 100 g of skinless breast (0.71 against 0.37 mg). A Swiss lab analysis called chicken breast and thigh relatively poor in iron and zinc next to beef and pork shoulder. In UK adults, 30 g more poultry a day went with a 17% lower risk of iron deficiency anemia, but that is a link, not proof.
Is a chicken drumstick safe if the meat is pink?
It can be. The USDA says the color of cooked chicken is not a sign of safety, and safely cooked poultry can look white, pink or tan. Young broilers can also have dark bones and dark meat near the bone, which the USDA calls cosmetic. Use a food thermometer and cook drumsticks to at least 165°F (74°C).
Should you wash chicken before cooking it?
No. The USDA does not recommend washing raw poultry, because bacteria in the juices can spread to other foods, utensils and surfaces, and only cooking destroys them. In a study of 18 home kitchens, 14 raw chicken samples carried Campylobacter and 12 cooks rinsed their chicken under the tap. Cross-contamination was found in four kitchens.