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Chicken is definitely everyone’s go-to eatable from special occasions to that Saturday family movie night. You can put it on the menu in one of several ways.
You can roast it, fry it, steam it, or even broast it… Many people also focus on the nutrition aspect of what they consume. I am one of those people!
I am a foodie with a knack for gathering nutrition facts. So, in my quest to find out Is broasted chicken healthy, I uncovered many myths and nutritional facts about broasted chicken.
This article will share if broasted chicken is healthy or not and what alternatives are out there.
I will compare broasted vs. fried chicken nutrition facts and calorie counter comparison.
Broasted chicken is definitely found to be healthier than fried chicken because of its lower fat content. This difference is mainly due to the cooking processes between broasted vs. fried chicken.
Broasted vs. Fried Chicken:
The main difference is the frying vs. pressure cooking method between the two meals. Fried chicken is rolled in a thick batter and then deep-fried or fried in a large quantity of oil for cooking.
This process increases the sodium and fat content of the chicken, as the oil it is cooked in seeps into the chicken meat itself, making it an extremely unhealthy food option.
On the other hand, broasted chicken is cooked in a special Broaster machine.
After rolling in batter and seasoning, the chicken is pressure fried within the Broaster for a small amount of time to seal the chicken skin and keep the oils out of the chicken meat.
Then the broaster lid is closed and the chicken is roasted to moist perfection inside this high-pressure, high-heat situation wherein the skin stays crispy while keeping any further oil away from chicken meat.
Is broasted chicken healthy?
According to a Quora user, Jan. She states that broasting is a highly unhealthy option for cooking chicken. She says that the breading and the seasoning give broasted chicken an alarmingly high fat content.
And although cooked quickly in a high heat/pressure broaster, it increases the fat content drastically. She compares it to how healthy chicken can be to serve if the breast or whole chicken etc. is roasted, broiled or baked without the skin.
For this article, we are focusing on the nutrition and fat content of broasted vs. fried chicken as we are interested in getting that crispy golden cover on our chicken that none of the other healthier options can provide us.
So just focusing on that, I uncovered that broasting is definitely a healthier option than fried chicken. Broasting ensures 40-70% less fat content as chicken is cooked in ¼ cup of oil as compared to fried chicken, which is fried in 1 and a half cups of oil.
Some people also lie to roast chicken in beef tallow to give it a more unique flavor.
Cooking with Beef Tallow (USES, COOKING TIPS, & RECIPES)
Carbs & Calories in broasted chicken:
Broasted vs fried chicken calories:
According to MyFitness Pal, one broasted chicken breast piece has about 301 calories. Do remember that a breast is equal to one serving size for a person and it is the chicken cut with the most fat content and meat in it.
The app states that this piece has 2 grams of carbs, 13 grams of fat, and 44 grams of protein in it.
Breaking down calories in broasted chicken further, I found out that there were the presence of poly- and mono- unsaturated fats within this particular broasted piece.
998 mg of sodium and 165 mg of cholesterol are also present, which is a pretty unhealthy amount, as compared to its roasted and baked options.
It would take about 45 minutes of cycling and around 30 minutes of walking to burn off this broasted chicken piece.
Now, when I painted a similar picture regarding calories in fried chicken breast, there were many points that stood out starkly.
With a calorie counter of 424 calories, fried chicken contains 10.41 grams of carbs, 24.62 grams of fat and 37.5 grams of protein.
Filled with saturated and unsaturated fats, it has a lower sodium and cholesterol content as compared to its broasted counterpart.
MyFitness Pal suggests that it would take 1 hour of cycling or 45 minutes of running to burn off this particular meal. Now that is a handful!!
So, is fried chicken a healthier option?
Let’s settle the debate! With the higher amount of fat content, fried chicken is definitely not the healthier choice in the broasted vs. fried chicken nutrition debate.
Fried Chicken is hazardous for heart health, especially for daily consumers. Eating fried chicken or any fried food increases the risk of coronary heart disease, and heart failure by a drastic percentage.
American Heart Association researched that fried food can increase heart disease by 68%.
You can improve your health by swapping fried chicken for much healthier options like broasted or baked chicken.
Broasted vs Fried Chicken Nutrition Chart:
– Broasted Chicken Nutrition Chart (Broasted chicken calories And carbs in broasted chicken)
Pieces | Size (g) | Calories | Carbs (g) | Cholesterol (mg) | Protein (g) | Total Fat (g) | Sodium (mg) | Dietary Fiber (g) | Sugar (g) | |
Broasted Chicken Breast | 1 | 167 | 291 | 2 | 136 | 42 | 12 | 1253 | 0 | 0 |
Broasted Chicken Thigh | 1 | 75 | 170 | 2 | 83 | 16 | 8 | 542 | 0 | 0 |
Broasted Chicken Leg | 1 | 46 | 92 | 1 | 53 | 11 | 5 | 376 | 0 | 0 |
Broasted Chicken Wing | 1 | 45 | 116 | 2 | 51 | 11 | 7 | 450 | 0 | 0 |
Broasted Chicken Tenders | 1 | 57 | 109 | 6 | 32e | 6 | 6 | 400 | 0 | 0 |
– Fried Chicken Nutrition Chart
Pieces | Size (g) | Calories | Carbs (g) | Cholesterol (mg) | Protein (g) | Total Fat (g) | Sodium (mg) | Dietary Fiber (g) | Sugar (g) | |
Fried Chicken Breast | 1 | 170 | 424 | 10.41 | 138.25 | 37.49 | 24.62 | 523.25 | 0.35 | 0.18 |
Fried Chicken Thigh | 1 | 125 | 295 | 9 | 90 | 19 | 16 | 300 | 0.5 | 0 |
Fried Chicken Leg | 1 | 85 | 290 | 6 | 60 | 17 | 22 | 820 | 0 | 0 |
Fried Chicken Wing | 1 | 85 | 162 | 2 | 60 | 16.6 | 9.3 | 55 | 0.1 | 0 |
Benefits of Broasted Chicken:
- It has less cooking time.
- Broasted chicken has lower carbs and fat content.
- It enhances the moist and juicy chicken insides without drying it up or loading it with oil.
- The crispy exterior is not lost even without deep frying for a longer time.
- It is easier to burn off than fried chicken.
Is broasted chicken gluten free?
The gluten within any chicken basically relates to the breading and batter on its exterior for flavor enhancement (wheat, rye, or barley).
Yes, there are gluten-free broasted chicken options within the Broaster menu, the original creators of broasted chicken.
Nearly all of their marinades have wheat content, however, over the years the Broaster company has introduced several gluten-free marinade options for their customers.
Gluten-free broasted chicken options:
Broaster company has introduced 4 or 5 gluten-free, soy- and dairy-free options within its product lines.
- Chickite marinade,
- Zesty Chickite marinade,
- Chikite Tender marinade,
- Supreme marinade,
- Broasterie marinade, and,
- Hot marinade
Above mentioned are the various broasted chicken marinade options for a variety of palettes; from spicy to zesty, that do not contain any allergen within them.
However, Broaster does not offer any batters or coating that are gluten-free which can be skipped if you want to avoid any mishap.
Batters can be wheatless and created within our own homes even. There are a number of gluten-free seasonings available like the Red Rub, One Step Prep, and Sauce Mix.
Broaster’s also offer pre-marinated gluten-free chicken pieces as well within their ingredients line. All of their broasted chicken sauces and dressings are gluten-free, which is amazing.
However, you should check out the remaining ingredients before buying as some may include soy or dairy occasionally. You can check out all these options at broaster.com.
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I am a writer, editor, and publisher of Grillcuisines.com – an online blog dedicated to sharing grilling tips, accessories, and recipes to encourage more people to get outside and grill.
I’m off to find out the different types of grill foods, their seasons, and how to conduct outdoor cooking properly. I’ll also show you some of my grill-worthy cooking tools & accessories!