- Season
- Available all year as a fresh, chilled product from Czech and other EU poultry producers. There is no natural season.
- Price
- Low
- Nutrition per 100 g
- 193 kcal
- 17.1 g protein
- 13.4 g fat
- 0 g carbs
Chicken Thigh with Skin (Bone-In)
Meat
Chicken Thigh with Skin (Bone-In)
In Czech shops, kuřecí stehno s kůží (s kostí) is the whole chicken leg: the thigh (horní stehno) and the drumstick (spodní stehno) still joined, with skin and bones left in. Under the EU poultry marketing rules (Regulation (EC) No 543/2008) and the Czech guild standards (České cechovní normy), a stehno is the hind limb with the femur, tibia and fibula, covered in muscle and cut at the joints.
In practice
How to store
- On the counter
Do not keep raw chicken at room temperature. Take it out of the fridge no more than 20–30 minutes before cooking, and refrigerate cooked leftovers within two hours.
- In the fridge
Keep at 0–4 °C (retail packs give −2 to 4 °C) on the lowest shelf, in the closed pack or a sealed container, so juices cannot drip onto other food. Use by the date on the label, and within 24 hours of opening. Cooked legs keep for 2–3 days, covered and chilled.
- In the freezer
Freeze fresh legs well before the use-by date at −18 °C or colder. Wrap them tightly or vacuum-pack them, and label the pack. Quality is best within 9–12 months. Thaw in the fridge on a plate, which takes about 24 hours. Never thaw at room temperature, and do not refreeze raw meat once it has thawed.
How to choose
First check that the label says stehno or stehna and not horní stehno (thigh only), spodní stehno or paličky (drumsticks only), or čtvrtka (a leg with part of the back attached). Fresh legs should be pale pink to light rosy, with creamy-white to pale yellow skin that is whole, smooth and not slimy. The pack should have little liquid in the tray and no sour or off smell. The label tells you the quality class (class A is the standard retail grade), the country of origin, and the use-by date (spotřebujte do). Air-chilled (chlazeno vzduchem) legs, such as those made to Czech guild standards, usually lose less water when cooked. Farm (farmářské), slow-grown or organic (BIO) legs cost more and come from birds raised for longer. Allow one leg per adult as a main course.
What to swap in
Best swap
Horní stehna (bone-in, skin-on thighs) or kuřecí čtvrtky (leg quarters). They need similar cooking times and give a similar rich dark-meat result.
In a pinch
Paličky (drumsticks), turkey drumstick portions cooked longer, or boneless thigh cutlets (stehenní řízky) for quicker pan dishes. Cutlets will not crisp in the same way.
Preparation
Do not rinse raw chicken under the tap. Splashing spreads bacteria such as Campylobacter and Salmonella around the sink, and cooking kills them anyway. Pat the legs dry with kitchen paper instead, then wash your hands, the board and your knives with hot soapy water. Keep raw chicken away from salads and other ready-to-eat food. The skin crisps better if it is dry and salted ahead of time, for example an hour before cooking or uncovered in the fridge overnight. Make a cut or two down to the bone so the leg cooks evenly. To cook the thigh and drumstick separately, cut through the joint where the fat line marks it. Cook until the meat is done right through: the juices run clear, there is no pink at the bone, and the thickest part near the bone reaches at least 75 °C. Dark meat on the bone is most tender at about 80–85 °C, when the connective tissue has softened.
Don't toss it
Keep the bones after the meal, with any skin you trimmed off, and freeze them until you have enough to simmer with onion, carrot, root parsley and celeriac for a Czech-style chicken broth (kuřecí vývar). Strain the fat left in the roasting tin and keep it in the fridge for frying potatoes or for steaming cabbage.
In the kitchen
Cooking
Roasting is the most common method in Czech homes. Legs seasoned with salt, caraway, garlic or paprika are roasted at 180–200 °C for about 45–60 minutes, often on top of quartered potatoes, which cook in the dripping fat. Braising suits kuře na paprice: the legs are browned, then simmered with onion and sweet paprika, the sauce is finished with sour cream, and it is served with dumplings or pasta. For smažené kuře, a Czech family classic, the legs are coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fried. Bone-in pieces should be partly cooked first or fried gently so that the meat cooks through before the crust burns. The legs can also be grilled over indirect heat, stewed, or baked in a covered dish with vegetables. Long, moist cooking makes the drumstick end especially tender.
Goes well with
- Caraway
- Sweet Paprika
- Garlic
- Marjoram
- Onion
- Potatoes
- Sour Cream
- Butter
- Rice
- Sauerkraut
- Thyme
- Lemon
- Honey
- Mustard
- Bread Dumplings
What it is
In Czech shops, kuřecí stehno s kůží (s kostí) is the whole chicken leg: the thigh (horní stehno) and the drumstick (spodní stehno) still joined, with skin and bones left in. Under the EU poultry marketing rules (Regulation (EC) No 543/2008) and the Czech guild standards (České cechovní normy), a stehno is the hind limb with the femur, tibia and fibula, covered in muscle and cut at the joints. That makes it bigger than the thigh alone, which is sold separately as horní stehno, and bigger than the drumstick, sold as spodní stehno or palička. A single leg usually weighs about 250–300 g. Czech retailers often sell them in packs of two (around 500 g) or in larger family trays. A related cut, the kuřecí čtvrtka (chicken quarter), is a leg that still has part of the back attached. Shoppers who want only the meaty leg should check the label. The whole leg is one of the cheapest and most popular chicken cuts in Czechia. People roast it with potatoes, braise it in paprika sauce, coat it in breadcrumbs and fry it, or grill it.
How it tastes
The whole leg is all dark meat, which is deeper in flavour, juicier and more savoury than breast. The thigh end is fattier and more tender. The drumstick end is a little leaner and has more connective tissue and sinew. Roasted, the skin renders its fat and turns golden and crisp, and cooking on the bone gives the meat a fuller, roasted taste. The meat stays moist even when cooked a little too long.
Common questions
Is a Czech kuřecí stehno the same as a chicken thigh?
What is the difference between stehno and čtvrtka?
How long should I roast whole chicken legs?
Should I wash chicken legs before cooking?
How do I split a whole leg into thigh and drumstick?
Can I freeze fresh chicken legs?
Deep dive
2 min read
Varieties
Kuřecí stehno (whole leg)
the item described here. It is the thigh and drumstick joined, skin-on and bone-in, cut at the hip and ankle joints.
Kuřecí horní stehno (thigh)
the upper part of the leg only, around the femur. In English-speaking countries this is what "chicken thigh" means. It is a different product from the Czech stehno.
Kuřecí spodní stehno / palička (drumstick)
the lower part only, around the tibia and fibula. It is often sold in multi-packs.
Kuřecí čtvrtka (chicken quarter)
a hind quarter of the bird. It is the leg plus part of the back, made by cutting a half chicken across. It is cheaper per kilogram and has more bone.
Stehenní řízky (thigh cutlets)
boned thigh meat, sold with or without skin.
Farm, slow-grown and organic legs
come from birds raised for longer or under organic rules. The meat is usually firmer and more flavourful, and the price is higher.
Smoked legs (uzená stehna)
a cured, smoked, ready-to-eat product sold in the chilled meat-products section. It is a different product from fresh raw legs.
History
Chicken was once a meat for Sundays and special occasions in Czech homes. Roast chicken and breaded fried chicken are now standard family dishes. As poultry became cheaper and supermarkets started selling chickens in pieces, the whole leg became one of the best-value cuts. In Czech cookbooks it is a standard cut for roasting with caraway and potatoes and for kuře na paprice.
Science
Leg muscles do steady, sustained work, so they are rich in myoglobin and fat. This is why they are darker and more flavourful than breast meat. Leg meat also has more collagen, which turns into gelatin with slow cooking above about 70 °C. That is why legs taste best cooked a little beyond the minimum safe temperature and stay juicy even when slightly overcooked. The bone slows heat from reaching the meat next to it, so the area by the joint is the last part to cook through. The skin crisps through fat rendering and Maillard browning, and both work better when the surface is dry.
Sourcing and ethics
Fresh poultry sold in the EU must state its country of origin (rearing and slaughter) under Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013, and it is graded A or B under Regulation (EC) No 543/2008. Czech producers include large processors such as Vodňanská drůbež (the Vodňanské kuře brand) and regional firms such as Raciola. Imported legs, often from neighbouring EU countries, are also common.
Most retail chicken comes from fast-growing birds raised in indoor systems. To support slower-growing breeds, more space or outdoor access, look for organic (EU BIO), free-range or farm-raised labels, or products made to Czech guild standards. Buying whole legs and using the bones for broth gets the most out of each bird.