Why is duck meat red meat and can be consumed medium rare and chicken meat white meat which should be cooked thoroughly even though they’re both birds?
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Because chickens, for the most part, do not fly.
Ducks fly — and very long distances too; they’re migratory birds. But unlike the tiny little perching birds who also migrate, ducks are heavy! If you watch a duck trying to get airborne, look how hard and fast their wings have to flap. All that hard flapping requires tons of energy, which also means the muscle cells need oxygen. Muscles that work hard are darker because they contain more myoglobin, a protein that stores oxygen.
Ducks have dark meat in wings and breasts because they go flap flap. Chickens don’t go flap flap. However, chickens and turkeys *are* heavy and have to walk around carrying all that weight, which is why their dark meat is in the legs and thighs.
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