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I wonder if you are  finding chicken thigh pieces much smaller than in the past.  Or perhaps it is only in California.  I remember them much bigger in size.  Fior some recipes, I find small sizes hard to work with.  

My observations re: this are not exactly "just recently" but I will say (and I have commented in more than one recipe note) that the boneless skinless thighs that I consistently purchase are far smaller than those called for in recipes.  One recipe called for "6 boneless, skinless thighs (about 2 lbs)" AND my 6 thighs barely wieghed 1 lb.  Another recent recipe called for "4 b'less, sk'less thighs (around 1 lb)" and again - mine aren't even close.  This applies to chicken purchased both locally and in a nearby urban centre.  I also find the boneless skinless breasts to be smaller but as I usually have a selection of sizes in the freezer to sort thougth, the difference somehow doesn't seem as dramatic.

Thanks.  Yes, it has been maybe 4-5 years.  Some Japanese recipes require one regular boneless sized one made even bigger by slice and spread out method and finally sliced fan like. With smaller ones, it does not work out well.  

I would tell my husband 45 min to bbq bone in/skin on chicken thighs on coal bbq and he used to enjoy that leisurely time sitting out watching and minding bbq while listening to ballgame.  But now it is done very quickly. The pieces are like for little kids.

I tried to find evidence of a change thinking it might be a broiler/roaster sort of thing but could only find a very consistent 1 boneless thigh equals 3 ounces of meat / 1 serving equals 2 thighs.

I find the rotisserie chicken available at my local grocery also to be smaller than before.  While Costco's famous product is traditional size, smaller local producers are using tiny young Cornish Cross chickens, probabably less than 8 weeks old.  While I can make 2 or 3 evening meals for me as a single eater, these little guys seem to be what used to be called Cornish Game Hens (in reality, a very very young chicken).

Originally Posted by: rivergait

I find the rotisserie chicken available at my local grocery also to be smaller than before.  While Costco's famous product is traditional size, smaller local producers are using tiny young Cornish Cross chickens, probabably less than 8 weeks old.  While I can make 2 or 3 evening meals for me as a single eater, these little guys seem to be what used to be called Cornish Game Hens (in reality, a very very young chicken).

At the responsible age of 9 I bought 50 Leghorn chicks in order to earn my own spending money by selling the eggs. About 9 months later I had the money saved up for a car-coat. How is this relevant? I was taught that (Rock) Cornish hens were simply a separate breed of chicken (along with the nasty bantams my cousin had), one that was usually slaughtered at a younger age than the Leghorn or Rhode Island Red. Yes, the breeds have changed substantially since my car-coat days, but I would suspect that the (Rock) Cornish hen is still a designation of breed/group of breeds.