Is Expensive Chicken Worth It? Need Recipe Ideas Please….😋

[Bkhuna]

My favorite chicken was named Colin and he came with his own dossier.

[Donw]

When our kids were young we raised some outdoor chickens. My daughter loved them all and named each one. I had to kill one for dinner one day and my wife and I were worried about how our daughter would take it, so we explained what was happening. At the dinner table she ate what was on her plate, and then asked “Can I have another piece of Rainbow?” So much worrying over nothing.🙂

[Richard Chrz]

I cannot speak for expensive, but if in your area, we have found Purdue chicken to be our choice over and over again.

[JoeSousa]

I haven't had too many fancy chickens but I have had quite a few birds and chicken pieces from Pasturebird and there is definitely a difference in flavor and appearance. Depending on how you are cooking and how you are seasoning it might not make a difference but I have done a few side by side comparisons with standard roasting and smoking and the Pasturebird chickens always tasted better.

Most of the time I just get whatever chicken I need at Costco or the grocery store ($1.29 for leg quarters this past weekend) but there are times when I find it worth the $20 or $25 for a good bird.

[SheilaAnn]

JoeSousa Pasturebird is my jams! I know them personally, have been to the farm and even to farmer Paul’s house once to pick up our order for the shop. I get whole birds every other month.

[jfmorris]

I kinda expected the result.... that chicken.... is chicken! I am sure the free range organic one was healthier for you to eat though, even if flavor was just marginally different.

I think a lot also has to do with size. I am not a fan of the 5 to 6 pound birds I see in the case at Sam's Club. I prefer birds in the 3-4 pound range when I am cooking them on the grill. Which these days is usually the kettle rotisserie. And if I am going to the effort to spin chicken, I always cook two, usually giving one away. My other favorite way to cook chicken is split, NOT spatchcocked, and direct grilled.

[Jerod Broussard]

I don't spatchcock. Halves or whole. Halves to grill, whole to smoke. I'll remove the clavicles.

[Dan Deter]

Agreed, if I'm doing whole chicken I'm spinning 2 of them on the rotisserie. And wishing I could fit 3-4...

[PGH_RAM]

Me too. If I'm going to fire up the grill and spin one bird I might as well spin two and have leftovers for lunch for a few days.

[randy.56]

Long read but, I've learned a lot about chicken. I've never paid $17 for a chicken. But I might now. Very Interesting

• What kind of car does a chicken drive? A Coop DeVille.

[Panhead John]

😂😂

[SheilaAnn]

Oh wait, you asked for recipes…. I can flood this thread with recipes that are tried and true and I love.

[realdocBBQ]

Maybe start a topic - I just finished reading this thread and it took me like... I dunno, 20 minutes? lol

[Panhead John]

Thanks SheilaAnn I’m good. I was asking for one for that particular cook, spending that much $ on a chicken, I was wanting to try something besides my usual. 😎

[bbq_esq]

I find the Bell & Evans chicken to be worth the increased price - just more consistent product, better butchering/trimming, no "woody" meat. I shop at Wegmans who carries their product under a store brand for a decent price. Do I think it tastes any better than other chicken? Nah. It's chicken.

[TomfromtheSoo]

We've bought farm raised free range chicken that were absolutely awesome. Stronger bones, nicer color, looked very healthy and tasted great.

The biggest single thing that we can do to influence flavor is a dry brine 24 hours (at least) and rub with your favorite seasonings an hour or so before cooking.

If we are roasting in the oven, regardless of where the bird came from = spatchcock, dry brine 24 hours, rub two hours, and roast in oven on a rack with herbs or root vegetables or by itself if you want. Check the bird in multiple places for temp to determine doneness.

If we are grilling the chicken = cut chicken up, dry brine 24 hours and rub as mentioned above, Grill the chicken pieces, sauce about half of the pieces when they are close to done. Check the pieces individually for temp and pull as they are completed.

With chickens we always plan for at least a couple different meals. Spatchcock and oven roasted is often a roast chicken dinner with baked potatoes and sides. Left overs turn into chicken tacos or chicken gyros with tzatziki, tomatoes, etc.

Tom

[PGH_RAM]

Before my wife got downsized from her job, we bought very happy chickens from a pasture farm about an hour away. The difference in flavor was quite pronounced in the dark meat. I'm guessing that's because they really used their legs in that pasture lifestyle. The flavor difference in the white meat wasn't as pronounced, but the breasts were definitely juicier than typical grocery store chickens. Well worth it when we could afford it. It's Costco birds for us now for the time being. Hard to beat $1.69/lb.

[Starsky]

Since my local butcher had to close, I can no longer buy chicken free of antibiotics and hormones. I can buy Halal chicken at the grocery store which I understand is also free of antibiotics and hormones. Definitely smaller bird.

[Panhead John]

From Donw earlier in post:
Never tried it but I noted two points in their marketing. 1. No hormones. Federal regulations prohibit using hormones in raising poultry. 2. No antibiotics. Many large poultry companies such as Perdue do not use any antibiotics in any of their chickens. Except for the air chilled feature the Perdue Harvestland line seems to meet all the features but for about $2.00 less per pound.

(I’m not a shill for Perdue but I’m most familiar with them as they are based here.)