Fowl frustration!


 

Timothy F. Lewis

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Is it me or has it become increasingly difficult to find “young” chickens that actually might be young? It’s getting to the point where you, at least I, can’t find a four pound chicken! This morning I found ONE 3.7 pound chicken but not a chance of another anywhere, one of my normal stores didn’t even have whole chickens at any weight! A pair of four pound birds make for a much prettier presentation than a seven pound one, and they cook better! Sorry folks just ranting!
 
I'll pile onto your rant, TL! All the Foster Farms "young chickens" in my local market are between 5 and 6.5 lbs (and some of them even have two necks or two hearts......creative giblet packing to make a weight.) :rolleyes:

R
 
Odd I don't see this issue. I can find 4lb class chicken VERY easily. Actually finding a larger one is harder for me. Though this is the brand https://www.smartchicken.com/ I always seek out because they're not loaded with chlorinated water and ice. I usually buy their organic product also
 
I buy Sanderson's Farms chicken as they are sodium free with no additives at all. But like Tim said finding anything under 5 pounds now is getting very difficult. Actually Safeway had whole Sanderson chickens for .69 a pound and the smallest one Barb could find was almost 8 pounds, we named her Bubbett.
 
It's been awhile but I used to buy all my fryers from Adi's.
I split em in halve and smoke roasted them. I like that way of cooking birds, need to get back to it.

Tim
 
I can remember a time maybe 15 years ago it was almost impossible to find a whole chicken over 4 lbs, with most of them being 3 to 3.5 lbs. The last time I looked at whole chickens at Costco I noticed the package of two weighed about 14 lbs. And they were allegedly young chickens. I guess those fresh herbs they're adding to the chickens diet is really making a difference.

A little quick research suggests the difference is that farmers are simply using different breeds. Somebody has been busy selectively breeding chickens to grow very fast. A comparison of chickens from 1957, 1978, and 2005 showed that given the same treatment, the 1957 birds reached 905g, the 1978 birds reached 1808g, and the 2005 birds reached a whopping 4202g, more than four times the 1957 bird in the same time and with the same amount of feed.

So I guess they're just growin' 'em bigger these days.
 
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Found the info here and another couple pages all based on the same research. The weights were of live birds and I'm not at all sure it was meant to be over typical time to harvest. For the research they may have let them grow longer than they typically would at the farm. And, of course, live weight would include feathers, innards, blood, etc. that would not typically be part of a bird ready for consumption.
 
By and large, all I ever see are five pounders. Every now and then I'll some bigger one, but never more than about 7 lbs.





BD
 
Ya know I was recently in the market and I tried looking for birds as big as you guys are describing and honestly the largest birds I could find (without going to a roaster or stewing hen) were about 5.5lbs
 
Thanks Rich, you hit it right on the head, it’s all about the eating!
The few leftovers were turned into a simple chicken salad using the green sauce, I was out of celery but the simple set up was delicious!
 
I usually buy a twin-pack of fryers at BJs that each clock in at about 4-5 pounds. I think they're Purdue or Tyson? This past weekend, I wanted to cook a single and got a 4.5 lb store-brand (Giant food stores) "organic" which was on sale for $1.29/lb (the ones at BJs are $0.95/lb). I prepared it following this recipe: http://howtobbqright.com/2018/05/03/herb-smoked-chicken/ and cooking in my JJ with a stacker ring. It was probably about the best roast chicken I've ever cooked.

 
I usually buy a twin-pack of fryers at BJs that each clock in at about 4-5 pounds. I think they're Purdue or Tyson? This past weekend, I wanted to cook a single and got a 4.5 lb store-brand (Giant food stores) "organic" which was on sale for $1.29/lb (the ones at BJs are $0.95/lb). I prepared it following this recipe: http://howtobbqright.com/2018/05/03/herb-smoked-chicken/ and cooking in my JJ with a stacker ring. It was probably about the best roast chicken I've ever cooked.

Organic seems to be the best choice for chicken. We did an organic from H-E-B over the weekend and it was our best as well. Janis made a marinade with olive oil, lemon juice, chopped rosemary and garlic and I cooked it on the top grate of a WSM with nothing but a Kingsford and couple of chunks of pecan fire down below -- all vents wide open. Added some honey and dijon to the marinade and cooked it in a pot for a bit, then brushed it liberally on the bird during the cook. About 30 minutes per side. Easy peasy.

I like the "bed of herbs" idea -- have to try that. Thanks for the link.

Jeff
 
I like the "bed of herbs" idea -- have to try that. Thanks for the link.

Jeff

Yeah, I can't say that I definitely tasted the herbs in the meat, but it did keep the bottom of the bird from burning. In this case, it was mostly rosemary as a neighbor had given us a whole bag full of it and it was starting to wilt a bit. However, the local bulk produce place has big bags of all different stuff for dirt cheap prices (like $1.50 for a gallon ziplock bag's worth of rosemary or thyme). I rarely buy it because I know I won't use it all and just get what I need at the grocery store for twice the price. This method will make it worth buying in bulk.
 
Not to deviate from the central theme of this symposium, but many herbs will freeze nicely. Rosemary definitely freezes well, being almost like fresh when thawed out. Oregano is also a good candidate. Basil will freeze but ends up much like frozen spinach, all limp and watery when you thaw it. Still tastes okay though.
 

 

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