Cut-up chickens

[lindag]

Where'd they go?

Is it just where I live that they don't sell cut-up chickens, just whole chickens or chicken parts.

Where I used to live (Portland) there were more cut-up chickens in the meat case than there were whole chickens; but not here.

Is this a change or is it a local thing?

I have to admit that I am not good at cutting up chickens to get recognizable parts!

Edited January 22, 2015 by lindag (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Same here.

I haven't seen cut-up chickens in years.

Consumer preferences change.

[Deryn]

Same here.

I haven't seen cut-up chickens in years.

Consumer preferences change.

[Martin Fisher]

It's just a guess, of course.

When there was demand for readily available cut-up chickens in the meat case..folks could expect to pay more for the convenience....and some merchants would gladly take advantage of that.

 

Times have change. Preferences have change. Meat departments have changed.

 

It's not just cut-up chicken...fresh game hens, broilers, chickens cut in half, gizzards, necks and more are things that were available in the meat case years ago but are impossible to find now....in this area anyway.

 

If one is lucky to have a good butcher in the neighborhood, they'll gladly cut-up a chicken at no extra charge.

[KennethT]

I think it also depends on location. At my local Fairway supermarket in Manhattan, NY (a local NY metro area growing mini-chain), there is definitely way more cut up chickens than whole chickens - but the demographic is very different here than in more rural areas.... The majority of the people shopping in this store (from what it looks liek every time I'm there) seem to be in their early '30s to early '50s, and since it's Manhattan, that usually means that people have less time than they'd like to have. Also, and I have no data to support this, but my feeling is that this neighborhood has fewer large families than many other areas in the US - most people I see in this neighborhood are either single, a couple, or have 1 small child - so those who are cooking at all don't really have the demand for a whole chicken...

[Martin Fisher]

I was in three groceries this afternoon.

Out of curiosity I checked the meat cases.

The little grocery with real butchers did have cut-up chicken in the display case. ...$2.49 per pound....whole chickens in the same grocery....99¢ per pound. 

Edited January 22, 2015 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Anna N]

I have to admit that I do not think I have ever seen cut up chicken for sale. Assuming that you mean by this chicken cut up into its primary parts legs, breasts, wings then packaged to include all the parts in a single unit. Is this what everybody means?

Edited.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Yes.

That's what I'm talking about, anyway.

 

 

[JohnT]

Can somebody please tell me what a "cut-up chicken is". Is it a whole chicken that has been cut into, say, 8 portions and stuffed back into a bag or punnet? Sorry for the ignorance but we do not get this in my part of the world if my thoughts are correct. Why would anybody want this when it is far cheaper to buy a whole chicken and then spend two minutes to portion it?

[Martin Fisher]

Yes, a whole chicken cut into parts.

The cut-up chickens I saw today were 9 portions (fried chicken cut)... one breast keel portion, two breast sides with ribs, two thighs, two drumsticks and two wings.

 

I only buy whole chickens so I can't answer the question why others buy what they do.

Edited January 22, 2015 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[JohnT]

Thanks for that DDF.

It was strange to see this thread tonight as I spent some time today getting prices for chicken for next Friday's catering.

[KennethT]

Sorry.. I misunderstood... I have never seen a single chicken, cut into parts, and then repackaged as a single unit... I thought everyone was talking about packages of parts - i.e. a pack of thighs, or legs, or breasts, etc.

[Shalmanese]

There's not many recipes that utilize cut up chickens anymore. Breasts, thighs and wings all cook very differently and any technique that cooks one well is likely sub-optimal for another. Back when only whole chickens were sold, cut up chicken recipes were a way to be thrifty with all the parts. But now that chicken parts are readily available, almost any recipe involving cut up chicken would be better served using only a single part.

[Martin Fisher]

There's not many recipes that utilize cut up chickens anymore. Breasts, thighs and wings all cook very differently....

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Every single grocer in our used to be small  town, now little city (pop. 150,000, and growing crazily ), suburb of Raleigh, offers whole cut up chickens, whole chickens, packs drumsticks, thighs, breast, wings. Some offer "Pick of the Chix:" breasts, and drumsticks, and ground that day beef. Lots of times I buy the whole chickens anyway to save money because I have the time and not the dinero. The differential is usually not more than 50 cents a pound except for breasts and wings.

 

But I don't shop at Walmart after finding ground beef in a package that was dated a week out from the day I was there. I hunted down my husband, showed it to him, and demanded to leave. I guess the ground meat was CO2 gassed, and it was in one of the telltale deep styrofoam packs where the plastic overwrap doesn't touch the meat. I've never been back to Walmart for groceries, and very rarely for anything else, even though acquiring things inexpensively is of utmost importance to me. Too much stockholder profit emphasis and not enough consumer value and service for me.

 

That said, I can see the gassed, mass produced packs of meat moving in alongside the better offerings. I once got duped into buying relatively cheap vacuum packed bacon-wrapped tenderloins. They tasted like hot dogs because of the preservatives.

 

I lament the reduction in service, but I now consider myself very lucky that there's at least still some service to enjoy here locally.

 

Of course the rich folks can always go to Whole Foods and the Meat House, but here in my stomping grounds, we still have a little of the good old days left ... for now.

[Franci]

The little grocery with real butchers did have cut-up chicken in the display case. ...$2.49 per pound....whole chickens in the same grocery....99¢ per pound. 

I'd prefer to turn vegetarian...since I moved to the US I cannot eat chicken, at least supermarket chicken anymore, it has such a strange texture. Is it me? Maybe really nice chicken from a good farm...but then I prefer a lamb chop at that point.

[Dave W]

The only cut up chicken I remember seeing recently was at Safeway and appeared to be packaged at the foster farms chicken factory so its provenance was dubious at best

Once you learn to fabricate a chicken though it really only takes about 90 seconds.

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hey Franci,

 

When I posted earlier about the easy availability of cut up chicken here, I was referring to mass-market chickens.

 

I agree with you on the unpalatability of mass-produced agribusiness supermarket chickens. The methods of raising them should be criminal. They're crowded into their own wastes without room to move around. Beyond the moral implications of this, I have seen many bone deformities and abnormalities which I believe are due to artificially accelerated growth rates and lack of exercise. The kidneys and livers of these animals can be very scary-looking too.

 

The final straw for me was when the government allowed processors to start pumping chicken carcasses full of "a salt water solution." This solution also contains other chemicals to help retain water, which is of course cheaper than chicken flesh; and then they sell it by weight, putting more money in their pockets by taking it out of ours. The producers state that it's ostensibly to improve moisture and flavor. I call bull, because you have to evaporate excess "solution" before you can get desirable browning, winding up with a drier end result compared to an unadulterated chicken.

 

Try the organic, vegetarian-fed, free-range chickens available. I remember seeing "less than 2% retained water from processing" on some of the packaging. I can get these chickens locally as low as $2.49 a pound. They're usually sold whole with giblets inside and tend to run smaller than mainstream chickens all the way down to cornish hen size. 

 

You may be able to find organic free-range chicken already cut up. I haven't sought them out.

 

So far, I haven't encountered any bone abnormalities or diseased-looking organs in the organic birds. The aroma of the cooked meat and broth is much better. I was calling a gravy I made with organic chicken drippings and broth "chicken perfume." It's that much of an improvement over supermarket chicken.

 

But you may have to cut it up yourself. To me it is WELL worth it.

[Franci]

 

Try the organic, vegetarian-fed, free-range chickens available. I remember seeing "less than 2% retained water from processing" on some of the packaging. I can get these chickens locally as low as $2.49 a pound. They're usually sold whole with giblets inside and tend to run smaller than mainstream chickens all the way down to cornish hen size. 

 

You may be able to find organic free-range chicken already cut up. I haven't sought them out.

 

So far, I haven't encountered any bone abnormalities or diseased-looking organs in the organic birds. The aroma of the cooked meat and broth is much better. I was calling a gravy I made with organic chicken drippings and broth "chicken perfume." It's that much of an improvement over supermarket chicken.

 

But you may have to cut it up yourself. To me it is WELL worth it.

Thanks for the advice. Butchering meat or fish is a very enjoyable activity to me. I only buy organic chicken, the few times I buy it. I have bought a couple times whole foods organic chicken breast (the one they vacuum seal) and I decided I cannot eat the stuff.

[patrickamory]

Franci, in the New York area you can get Murray's chicken, which is produced humanely and naturally by a cooperative of farms upstate. There is some quality variation, and huge price variations depending on where you buy it.

 

Then there is label rouge chicken available from some sellers at Union Square Green Market. This is true pasture-raised chicken produced in the manner Michael Pollan describes in the Omnivore's Dilemma. I haven't had the USGM ones, but I have had them from Meadowmist Farms in Lexington, Mass., and they are a whole different experience. Closer to goose or heirloom turkey for me, or poulet de Bresse that I've eaten in Europe (though these weren't the bluefoot breed - still superlative, even frozen).

 

Thanks for the Crepes: "one of the telltale deep styrofoam packs where the plastic overwrap doesn't touch the meat." I know exactly what you're talking about, and have had horrible experiences more than once from these. Oddly, the well respected Pat La Frieda ground beef in New York is sold in these. I had one of those be off as well. I don't buy his ground beef anymore (though I'll eat it at Shake Shack or Minetta Tavern)!

[sueveid]

We have cut up chickens but I prefer to cut up my own. I like to have the pulley bone.

[Smithy]

We have cut up chickens but I prefer to cut up my own. I like to have the pulley bone.

You mean the wish bone, as in you pull on it?

[Shel_B]

If one is lucky to have a good butcher in the neighborhood, they'll gladly cut-up a chicken at no extra charge.

 

We have a few good poultry stores in the area, and, as you say, they'll cut up a chicken at no additional charge.  However, their chickens cost more than supermarket birds to begin with, and they offer a wider variety and quality range of chicken than you'll ever find in a supermarket.  When I'm serious about the chicken I use, I'll gladly pay the $$$ and get exactly what I want.  Unfortunately, such is not always possible in other areas ... although, I've been into at least one supermarket here that will cut up a bird for their customers, also at no additional charge.

[Shel_B]

Can somebody please tell me what a "cut-up chicken is". Is it a whole chicken that has been cut into, say, 8 portions and stuffed back into a bag or punnet? Sorry for the ignorance but we do not get this in my part of the world if my thoughts are correct. Why would anybody want this when it is far cheaper to buy a whole chicken and then spend two minutes to portion it?

 

A lot of people around here want convenience.  Also, many people are not "cooks," and lack the skills or the equipment to cut up a chicken, or even do other basic cooking tasks.