I used to buy whole chicken.
I would cut it up, freeze it, or cook with it and all in all spend a lot of time de-boning this chicken.
But then after my 1st child was born I started buying bagged chicken breast to cook,
All the while promising myself I would go back to the $.79 per pound whole chicken.
Then my second child was born. And I have now gone back and forth and back and forth between the two. Finally deciding to use the bagged chicken breast for whole breast recipes or quick meals and the whole chicken for meals such as King Ranch Chicken, or Chicken Pot Pie. ( I can usually make both out of one chicken.)
Here is what I had left after making chicken pot pie for supper tonight:
About 4 1/2 cups of chicken pieces and a jar of broth. (Recipe took 2 cups of chicken and 2 cups of broth)
So my question to you is: Is it worth it?
At .79 cents per pound is it worth it to buy the whole chicken and spend the time boiling it and taking it apart? Or should I stick with the bagged chicken?
What do you think?
I think it's more about the convenience at this point. The monetary answer is obvious: the whole chicken is less expensive. But... bagged chicken is so darned easy. I go back and forth between the two depending on how much time I have. Lately I've been buying whole chicken legs to cook which are a lot easier to debone (no ribs) and are still less expensive than the bagged breasts.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that you pay for bones when you buy the whole chicken. So if you can get chicken breast and not pay the price of the heavy bones, is it worth it?
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated you doing this experiment! I feel much better about buying the bagged chicken breast knowing that the whole chicken isn't like a super steal that I'm missing out on! I will hopefully get to have chicken that we've raised, this year, but it's really nice to know about the whole vs bagged!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
You pay for the bones..but you can make good broth with that. I like the ease of bag..but almost always buy hole. I never cut them up..I just boil them and pick the meat off.
ReplyDelete