"Old/Soup Chicken" from H Mart

[Hassouni]

I've seen whole chickens at H Mart labelled either soup, stew, or old chicken, as distinct from the rest of the poultry for sale there. I was wondering if anyone had tried these, and if they are in fact better for long cooking, and also any speculation about the provenance of said chickens? Industrially raised chickens are slaughtered very young, so what about these?

[liuzhou]

4 hours ago, Hassouni said:

I've seen whole chickens at H Mart labelled either soup, stew, or old chicken, as distinct from the rest of the poultry for sale there. I was wondering if anyone had tried these, and if they are in fact better for long cooking, and also any speculation about the provenance of said chickens? Industrially raised chickens are slaughtered very young, so what about these?

 

They are, I believe, chickens used in egg production. When their ovaries pack in and they stop laying, they are sold as you describe. I don't know your store, but that's certainly what they are here. They certainly make better soups and stocks.

Edited October 23, 2018 by liuzhou (log)

[chromedome]

I can't answer for supemarkets in your area, but yeah...as Liuzhou said, usually "retired" laying hens. They'll vary in size depending on breed, but on the infrequent occasions I find them in the store I always buy a few for my freezer. They're like any other critter, the longer they live the more flavorful they'll get. They're too tough to cook conventionally, but I still like to work with them.

 

Aside from stock or broth, they're great for stewing in a slow-cooker. They take a long time to break down, so you can treat 'em as an all-day braise at the lower setting. If I get a large one, I'll also usually cut off the breast and use that separately. I slice them horizontally into 2, 3 or 4 oblongs (depending on size) and give them the schnitzel treatment. That works well, and (given that the birds themselves are usually fairly inexpensive) makes for some cheap meals. Also, you still then have the rest of the carcass for more conventional uses.

[rotuts]

ive never seen chickens like this in my routine area stores.

 

they all ' work ' on bulk deliveries , and Im betting there are not enough of these older birds to keep a steady supply

 

granted they must be a huge number of older egg-laying birds in the USA

 

I wonder if they go to processing plants for

 

industrial soup makers , and the like

 

they must enter the ' industrial Food Chain ' in a different manner

 

I wonder if these are the source of all the chicken in wet and dried  pet foods in the USA

 

noting the tons of pet food in your average supermarket

 

that's a lot of chicken

 

interesting topic

 

Ill ask around to see what the butchers think

 

and I bet they do taste better than commercial 4 mo chickens

Edited October 23, 2018 by rotuts (log)

[kayb]

Living in a chicken-egg producing state, I can answer some of your questions. A lot of older chickens do, in fact, go to soup making plants, while others go to processors that cook, grind and reform the chicken into nuggets and cutlets. Most pet food plants work off the trimmings from other processing plants (lots of skin, fat and bone meal in there, not a lot of meat).

 

Laying hens are generally retired at something less than 18 months old from commercial operations. Barnyard chickens can last longer, but in any event not much more than two years. 

[ElsieD]

My dad owned an egg farm with some 5 or 6 thousand chickens.  When their productive season was over, they were shipped to the Campbell's Soup factory.

[FeChef]

Never seen this ever. I i go to every grocery store in my area on  a weekly basis for at least 2 decades. That said, if i seen a package of chicken labeled "old chicken" my initial reaction would have been "eww" followed by "lol" and i can assure you i would never forget that.

[chileheadmike]

Back when they carried them, my local store called them stewing hens. 

 

Really good for chicken and noodles.

[btbyrd]

 

Julia Child dropping some poultry knowledge. She goes over the difference between broiler, fryer, roaster, capons, and stewing chickens. Julia's opening is sure to put a smile on your face. Or my face, at any rate.

Edited October 26, 2018 by btbyrd (log)

[lindag]

On ‎10‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 2:55 PM, chileheadmike said:

Back when they carried them, my local store called them stewing hens. 

 

 

That's what they were called in my part of the world too.  

Haven't seen any in a very, very long time.

[heidih]

Yup - mainstream markets here are all about breasts, and organic.