Weigh-In: Chicken vs beef

CHICKEN – Dani Saad

In the battle of chicken vs. beef there is one clear winner. Based variety, health, taste, and versatility, chicken comes out on top.

Fried chicken, chicken wings, chicken potpie, chicken parm. I could end this right there, but for the heck of it, let’s keep going. Pulled chicken, rotisserie chicken, shawarma, enchiladas, chicken balls, chicken marsala, chicken noodle soup, BBQ chicken pizza.

The aforementioned dishes all have two things in common: they involve chicken and they are delicious.

Fantastic taste aside, chicken is remarkably healthy. It is a leaner meat, packed with protein but low in calories, and compared to beef, it is not even a fair fight. Chicken is lower in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium and shares many of the vitamins found in beef.

Chicken can also replace beef for a healthier option in traditionally beef dishes like chili, stew, burgers and tacos.

The health effects of chicken, especially in comparison with beef, reveal that chicken is undoubtedly better for you.

There are so many ways to cook chicken—you can grill, bake, poach, braise, fry or roast it. It can be cooked fast or slow, cut thin or thick, and you can use white or dark meat depending on your preference.

There is nothing wrong with a burger or a steak. But a burger can be replaced with chicken, or even another meat. Fried chicken, whether we are talking strips, pieces, nuggets, wings, balls or even chicken fries is the most phenomenal thing ever to grace our palates. It is no surprise that chicken-fried steak is a popular way to make steak more like the far superior chicken.

Steak is great, and there is no denying it. Chicken cannot replace a medium rare steak so I will not try to make that argument. However, it needs to be noted that while steak may be beef’s best offering, it is overpowered by the long list of chicken varieties.

If I have to eat one type of meat for the next week, year, or rest of my life, it’s chicken. If I am stranded on an island, what type of meat is going to keep me healthy, happy and strong? Chicken. Not to mention it would keep my mental health in check. Variety is the spice of life, people.

The bottom line is anything beef can do, chicken can do better. Fried, stir fried, braised or roasted, chicken presents more options. Oh, and it doesn’t give you colon cancer. There is that small benefit as well.

So, let’s all raise a perfectly cooked chicken kebab to a long, healthy, colon-cancer free life full of protein and variety. Thanks, chicken, for all that you do. You ask for nothing in return, but today, chicken you finally get your due.

BEEF – Justin Smirlies

You know that nothing can compare to a juicy and flavourful hamburger. From the first bite to the last, the beef patty that you bite into excites your taste buds, and for a brief moment, nothing else matters. It’s just you and this burger.

The same can be said about a fat steak (if cooked the right way — medium rare) or a tasty meatball from your mom’s spaghetti. Also for a stir-fry, a pot of spicy chili or a steaming bowl of Pho soup. The varieties are endless.

Beef is the pinnacle of all meats, achieving a status that is far more superior to that of chicken or pork. As a self-proclaimed carnivore myself, I know that beef is easy to cook, easy to prepare and it sure is easy to eat. I’m also a huge aficionado of seafood, but beef, on a more regular basis, is the king of meats. It can also be nicely paired with a lobster tail (surf and turf, yo).

Red meat has been getting a lot of flack these days. It’s seen as fatty, dangerous to your digestive system and a one-way ticket to colon cancer, especially if you don’t exercise. And it’s true, I don’t think I can defend the health risks and concerns of the various parts of cow we ingest.

But live a little, will you?

Be healthy as much as you want, but enjoy a big burger or steak at least a couple times a month. Is eating quinoa salad with some vegetables and chicken a good substitute while you’re enjoying a day out on the patio with some beers? No, it’s Saturday so you chow down on red meat and you will enjoy it.

Are you going to serve the blandest kind of meat to your guests at your monthly BBQ? No, you want to serve the juiciest of all meats, and that meat is beef.

Now, my competitor in this rather “fun” Weigh-In is arguing that chicken is the superior meat, and has probably mentioned the health benefits of the bird. Don’t get me wrong, chicken is good, but it’s very difficult to cook right.

Have you ever had dry chicken? Just think about it. You know that time when your mom overcooked chicken so much to the point that you just had to drink seven glasses of water to get it down?

And don’t even get me started on undercooking chicken, which tends to happen way more often on Hell’s Kitchen than you could imagine.

A friend, who shall remain nameless, made the terrible mistake of undercooking chicken, and let me tell you, I have not seen so much vomit in my life.  Sure, you can get sick from red meat too, but if it’s undercooked it’s not the end of the world. You can eat a bloody steak, so no biggie.

So enjoy your red meat. Don’t shy away from it. And, most importantly, eat it (unless you’re vegetarian, otherwise disregard everything I’ve said).