Smart Chicken

[PattyO]

And it does, Carrot Top (LOVE your avatar ). I no longer buy any other chicken because it is that good - every time!

[jackal10]

Doesn't say free range (on their website) so I assume they are factory farmed

[Carrot Top]

And it does, Carrot Top (LOVE your avatar ).  I no longer buy any other chicken because it is that good - every time!

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Thanks, PattyO . There is sort of a look of an intelligent lecturer, knowledgeable about all things in that cat's face. Which of course is my design in life. But then of course one has to really burst out laughing at how totally ridiculous she looks, which is even better to my mind than being a great intellect .

Yes. . .if these things are factory farmed. . .wow. . .what a small miracle!

[bushey]

In our house we always say "How smart can those chickens be if they got caught"?

Our local store carries the regular SmartChicken brand and Organic SmartChicken as well. I usually spring for the organic -- though it's a little pricier overall, it's very delicious and still not bad when you consider that about $13-15 makes a great meal for the five of us. My favorite way to prepare the whole chicken is to use a spice rub and set it on the grill, using indirect heat, for about 1 1/2 hours. Leftover, if they exist, make *excellent* chicken salad.

[Juanito]

In our house we always say "How smart can those chickens be if they got caught"?

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The first time I popped one in the oven, I thought to myself, "if you were so smart, you wouldn't be going in the oven now, would you?"

[DTBarton]

I'm curious to know if people notice the difference between a Bell & Evans chicken or a Smart Chicken when roasting.  I've been buying B&E birds for years, but my market also carries Smart Chickens.  They always get a flirtive glance from me as I make my way down the butcher's case, but I haven't ventured to try one yet.

So, share your experiences!

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Hopefully we'll hear back from the vertical chicken tasting person. Our local Giant just started getting Smart Chicken (must not be the organic version because comparably priced to the regular factory chickens, maybe a little more, but the whole bird I bought was $7). It's very tasty, a big step up from Perdue/Tyson. And, the Giant's close to home, don't have to make the trip to Whole Foods for the Bell and Evans, which we also really like (actually, we like the B&E better than the more expensive free range chickens at the Whole Foods).

Guess I'll have to do my own side by side comparison.

[annachan]

I went to pick up a Smart Chicken last night at Andronico's (the only listing on smart chicken's website as a seller in San Francisco) and my husband was complaining about the cost. It's $2.99/lb for whole bird. I picked the smallest one out and it's about $8.50. I'm roasting it tonight and hope that's worth the price.

[LindaK]

This is interesting...usually I'm reading non-coast folks bemoaning their lack of excellent products, but this time it looks like you're well ahead of Boston anyway...I've never heard of SC and have never seen their products in my local markets. Bell & Evans is the best I've found thus far but will definitely keep a look-out. Thanks.

[Abra]

I took down the prices for all the Smart Chicken products we had available in the store today - all organic:

whole chicken - $2.59/lb, on special

boneless skinless breasts - $6.99/lb, on special

bone in thighs and drums - $3.49/lb

boneless skinless thighs - $5/49/lb

It's expensive, but it's worth it to me.

[Sackville]

I went to pick up a Smart Chicken last night at Andronico's (the only listing on smart chicken's website as a seller in San Francisco) and my husband was complaining about the cost. It's $2.99/lb for whole bird. I picked the smallest one out and it's about $8.50. I'm roasting it tonight and hope that's worth the price.

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I look at it from the other perspective, why is normal chicken so cheap? When you get into the details of that, the organic looks much more fairly priced. Actually, $8.50 for a whole bird sounds downright cheap to me. We can easily pay £10-12 here!

[Abra]

You're right, Sackville. Our food is way underpriced compared to much of the world. I still remember the $30 roasting chicken at a shop in Geneva, and that was 10 years ago. Smart Chicken is proving the old adage "you get what you pay for."

Today I'm making stock with a gigantic pile of SC bones from all my recent recipe testing. I can't imgine that any difference in the stock will be noticeable, but if it is, I'll report back.

[binkyboots]

Actually, $8.50 for a whole bird sounds downright cheap to me. We can easily pay £10-12 here!

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Yup, sainsburys organic chicken which frankly is not all that marvelous (but streets ahead of their bargain chickens) is about £9. In comparison an organic bird from the nice meat lady at our school is closer to £15, however hers is really delicious, none of that vile, wet mushy flesh.

Dont even get me started on chicken breasts £14.99 a kilo is not an uncommon price for them, happily my family have learned to love thighs

[PattyO]

LindaK -

I live in the Worcester area and get my Smart Chicken at the Big Y Supermarkets. Are there any in your area? They're Springfield, MA based, but there are several of them around here.

Patty

[Sackville]

Actually, $8.50 for a whole bird sounds downright cheap to me. We can easily pay £10-12 here!

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Yup, sainsburys organic chicken which frankly is not all that marvelous (but streets ahead of their bargain chickens) is about £9. In comparison an organic bird from the nice meat lady at our school is closer to £15, however hers is really delicious, none of that vile, wet mushy flesh.

Dont even get me started on chicken breasts £14.99 a kilo is not an uncommon price for them, happily my family have learned to love thighs

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I can't remember the last time I bought just organic chicken breasts. It's just not an option, they're so expensive.

What going organic has meant for us is that we eat chicken as a rare treat, a Sunday lunch maybe once a month. I will sometimes pick up some of the cheaper cuts like drumsticks and thighs too. And when we do eat chicken every last bit of that bird gets used.

A small one (about a kilo or just over) makes a good meal for the two of us, then all the remaining meat gets stripped off and used in casseroles, soups etc -- usually for at least 2 more meals. Then the bones are made into broth. If I'm getting 3-4 good meals out of it and maybe 1-2 lunches to take to work then I feel I can justify the price.

Needless to say every bit of meat is treasured and there is a fair bit of "padding" that goes on so our meals are veg heavy, not meat heavy.

I work on the principle of about 125g/meat per person.

[marlena spieler]

I always avoid buying or eating or supporting in any way, any food product called "Smart". it always feels like such a con, most smart choice is just a way of lining the food manufacturers pockets with cash, while playing on the urge of the public to eat well and healthfully and provide this healthful product for their family.

but this smart chicken just sounds like a real good chicken, like the french chickens to be honest, and like the one uk brand i think it is label anglais, god is that a good chicken.

kosher chickens are usually really good too. most american chickens that i have eaten have been dull, even the rocky the range hen. dull dull dull bird, sorry rocky.

i wish the smart chicken people would have given their birds a better name. but as long as it is a better chicken, i'm gonna have to give it a try when i'm in the usa again.

marlena

[jackal10]

Tesco organic free range bomeless and skinless chicken breast £17.99/Kg, but whole organic free range chicken is £4.99/kg

http://www.naturally-yours.co.uk/orgchicken.htm (a local farm) £19.50

[Carrot Top]

i wish the smart chicken people would have given their birds a better name. but as long as it is a better chicken, i'm gonna have to give it a try when i'm in the usa again.

"Smart Chicken. . .Dumb Name".

It might help if you think of it as a lovely bird that woke up one morning to be grabbed then dressed by bunch of card-sharps in All The Wrong Clothes.

Not her fault.

[mikeycook]

I went to Key Foods in Pleasantville, one of only 4 places in NY that the web site says have them... and they didn't have them. They did have a nice selection of Murray's and d'Artagnan, but no Smart Chicken. Can anyone confirm their availability at any of the other NY locations (Astoria, Flushing, Bronx)?

[Pat W]

Just wanted to add an unsolicited testimonial.

Those of us in Nebraska have been able to get Smart Chicken for a couple of years now. (Finally! A reason to live in Nebraska)

Everyone I know says the same thing. If our local grocer is out of it, we eat something else. It's Smart Chicken or no chicken.

pat w.

[k43]

Dean & Deluca has "chilled, never frozen, never soaked" chickens that I assume are Smart Chickens. At any rate, they're very good. No neck or giblets, though.

Edited August 8, 2005 by k43 (log)

[annachan]

I went to pick up a Smart Chicken last night at Andronico's (the only listing on smart chicken's website as a seller in San Francisco) and my husband was complaining about the cost. It's $2.99/lb for whole bird. I picked the smallest one out and it's about $8.50. I'm roasting it tonight and hope that's worth the price.

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I look at it from the other perspective, why is normal chicken so cheap? When you get into the details of that, the organic looks much more fairly priced. Actually, $8.50 for a whole bird sounds downright cheap to me. We can easily pay £10-12 here!

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I guess I'm still new in getting organic chicken, that's why the price is high for me. Consider that most chicken cost about $0.69 a lb here, Smart Chicken is consider expensive.

Though the Smart Chicken was good, I'm not sure if it's worth the price. I'm probably going to try out some other organic brands and see how they compare.

[Behemoth]

My local Schnuck's started carrying the organic Smart Chickens just this week! $2.99 per lb, which is about what I was paying before for free range organic but this is not frozen. I don't know whether the final packaging is done by the company or by the supermarket folks -- mine was missing the neck & giblets and they had snipped off the tail. Does everyone get theirs that way too? I have a couple of situations where I do use those so that might be a concern. Anyway, in the meantime there is one roasting in the oven right now, I'm looking forward to the results.

edit: k43 -- I just saw your post. Annoying, huh?

Edited August 14, 2005 by Behemoth (log)

[Abra]

No neck or giblets here either - I can't imagine why they do that, or where all the goodies are going. Won't stop me from buying it, though.

[MelissaH]

My grandma said that two of the big reasons she likes the Smart Chickens are that she doesn't need to trim them up much if at all, and there's not a lot of fat left in the pan after they've been roasted. Losing the tail could account for some of that.

MelissaH

[Chris Amirault]

Click here for the website, which is worth it for the photos alone -- (clickety again for the "air chilled" photos and the "water-immersion" method (yecch). Does anyone know anything detailed about air chilling? I'm a doofus about food science but this is pretty compelling....