recession buster - Chicken thighs *PICS*

[DrPizza]

Costco sells their bone-in chicken thighs for $0.99 lb. The thighs are packed in 8 separate bags, 4 thighs per bag. Bulk chicken, I guess. Hard to beat the price.

Bone in chicken breast: 96 cents per pound. Boneless, skinless chicken breast - $1.49 to $1.78 per pound, depending on the week. Demand for chicken wings is so high that the rest of the chicken is practically given away.

 

[Marinski]

I think it depends where you live. I get the 10 lbs bags of chiken breasts from Costco for around $20 and you don't need to trim any fat off them. Not knockin the thighs, I like them too. But, for the price I dont think your saving with thighs over breasts.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Bone in chicken breast: 96 cents per pound. Boneless, skinless chicken breast - $1.49 to $1.78 per pound, depending on the week. Demand for chicken wings is so high that the rest of the chicken is practically given away.

I might have to give the bone-in breasts a try to see how they come out in my casserole recipe. Their big drawback is that one side of the breast is much thicker so in order to cook it to the proper doneness the other side has to be overcooked. Besides that, I'm not a fan of breast meat on poultry. Chicken, duck, turkey - doesn't matter - imo, thighs and legs are tastier.

 

[idiotekniQues]

amen. best part of the chicken is the wing and thighs.

i also buy thighs at costco - 6 plastic packs of either 5 boneless/skinless or 4 regualr thighs per pack.

i cook them similarly - I'll use a grill pan on the stove and get a nice crust on them after rubbing them with some herbs/spices, then finish them in the oven at 350. sometimes throw on a bit of bbq sauce about 10 minu before they are done.

this is all because i live in an apt. with no outdoor grill.

RUB TIP: Montreal Chicken Rub and Montreal Steak Seasoning are both fantastic. also, Stubb's marinades are great. ive marinated chicken thighs in that stuff for 2 days (even though i know they say longer than a day will make them mush but i forgot them in the marinade once and they came out fantastic)

for great chicken wings i put them on a foil covered tray and cook them, skin on, at 500 degrees in the oven for like 15 minutes, then down to 450 for another bit, then finish them off at 375. they come out with crispy skin, fat has been left on the foil, no frying involved. better than any fried chicken wing i have had.

 

[DrPizza]

I might have to give the bone-in breasts a try to see how they come out in my casserole recipe. Their big drawback is that one side of the breast is much thicker so in order to cook it to the proper doneness the other side has to be overcooked. Besides that, I'm not a fan of breast meat on poultry. Chicken, duck, turkey - doesn't matter - imo, thighs and legs are tastier.

Part of the problem is the breeds of chicken, duck, and turkey that you get at grocery stores - not that I go out of my way very often to get different. i.e. ducks: most ducks sold in stores are Peking ducks. Reason: they reach butchering size very quickly. Ditto chickens - cornish cross for meat birds - maturity in about 6 weeks. And ditto turkeys. For commercial purposes, the breeds have been crossed to produce a breed that matures at an incredibly quick pace. Given up in the process is some of the flavor inherent in other slower growing breeds. If you've eaten duck before, compare Peking to a Muscovy or Rouen. The latter are far more delicious & much less fatty. There are hundreds of varieties of chickens to chose from - not that you get a choice in the grocery store.

Oddly, with beef, people have figured out that some breeds such as Angus simply taste better. Of course, that name has been bastardized to mean only one thing: the cattle was at least partially black. And, what they've eaten, how they've been raised, etc., has a huge influence on flavor. i.e. grass fed vs. corn fed.

Thus, grocery store meat generally = cheapest raised meat you can get. Oddly, I started raising chickens for meat, but it just wasn't worth the effort when I can drive 20 minutes & have boneless skinless for $1.50ish, or whole chickens for about $1 per pound. I don't like plucking feathers.

 

[sjwaste]

Definite win. Chicken thighs are the best part of the animal, and I commend you for not going boneless/skinless.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Part of the problem is the breeds of chicken, duck, and turkey that you get at grocery stores - not that I go out of my way very often to get different. i.e. ducks: most ducks sold in stores are Peking ducks. Reason: they reach butchering size very quickly. Ditto chickens - cornish cross for meat birds - maturity in about 6 weeks. And ditto turkeys. For commercial purposes, the breeds have been crossed to produce a breed that matures at an incredibly quick pace. Given up in the process is some of the flavor inherent in other slower growing breeds. If you've eaten duck before, compare Peking to a Muscovy or Rouen. The latter are far more delicious & much less fatty. There are hundreds of varieties of chickens to chose from - not that you get a choice in the grocery store.

Oddly, with beef, people have figured out that some breeds such as Angus simply taste better. Of course, that name has been bastardized to mean only one thing: the cattle was at least partially black. And, what they've eaten, how they've been raised, etc., has a huge influence on flavor. i.e. grass fed vs. corn fed.

Thus, grocery store meat generally = cheapest raised meat you can get. Oddly, I started raising chickens for meat, but it just wasn't worth the effort when I can drive 20 minutes & have boneless skinless for $1.50ish, or whole chickens for about $1 per pound. I don't like plucking feathers.

Great point. Breed varieties have a huge impact on flavor along with what they are fed. I've found local, organic breeders for beef and pork and my wife and I usually buy a side of beef once a year. I've learned that I much prefer corn-fed to grass-fed beef. imo, it just has a better, beefier flavor.

I need to see if I can buy some duck that's bred locally, along with some duck fat. It's my favorite poultry, by far. Duck confit is heaven on a plate.

 

[Squisher]

Does anyone else find it unsettling that user TastesLikeChicken is discussing the taste of chicken with the Doctor of Pizza?

 

[CraigRT]

thanks for sharing.. i gotta do that
i spend waaay too much money on food.
spaghetti is another of my fav for cheap meals.

I spend too much as well, but at least sometimes I screw my head back on straight and do the right, frugal thing

(I'm not bad overall, but food spending is way too easy)

 

[sandorski]

Does anyone else find it unsettling that user TastesLikeChicken is discussing the taste of chicken with the Doctor of Pizza?

Chicken on Pizza is awesome! Not sure what the Porn variety might be though.

 

[zinfamous]

on sundays I buy 5 or so pounds of chicken thighs. They are usually on sale for about $3.00 total not pound. I rub them with assorted spices and spice mixes. I'll do some jerk, some lemmon pepper, some classic roasted chicken.

Then I put them in the over @450 for 40-45 minutes. When done crank on the broiler to high and for a min or two watching closely I crisp the skins up.

When I'm done I have 7+ meals for the week(just add salad or veggie side) for about $3.00 bucks a meal.

Is this a win?

heh, this is pretty much what GF and I have been doing for a few weeks now. Thigh+ leg chicken halves super cheap at Safeway. We pretty much roast them the same way too. usually throw some taters, unskinned, into the pan to cook with the chicken.

sometimes israeli couscous, which has pretty much become crack for us.

 

[HannibalX]

What?

If that post was confusing to you turn off your computer.

 

[Dominato3r]

I think the last time i ate chicken wings was about 9 months ago at boston pizza. They have horrible wings, never eat there.

 

[child of wonder]

Just cooked up some thighs tonight with a little olive oil, crushed black pepper, and seasoning.

Delicious!

Thanks OP!