Whole chicken - best size to go for?

richardw

Small ones seem poor value for money, have you found the best size for value for money and flavour?

or can a chicken never be too big?

newlywed

I find the big cheap ones can dry out a bit in cooking.

richardw

Can that be solved by basting and bacon strips on the breast?

newlywed

richardw wrote: »

Can that be solved by basting and bacon strips on the breast?

Possibly - that's too much of a faff for me to try :rotfl:

I usually roast them covered in foil with a little water in the tray and then just remove the foil to brown up in the last half hour.

Last time I got the co-op happy chicken - elmwood or something I think - it was on offer - and that was so much more moist that next time I'm going for that again, though they didn't seem to do very large ones of those.

crawley_girl

I bought a large one from Sainsburys on the weekend. I am a veggie but the meat-eaters said it was soft and tender but i do cook them for hrs and hrs on a low heat

PasturesNew

What is big and what is small?

I remember when I was younger we would have every Sunday a roast chicken between 4-5 of us and it was always 2lb 6oz. I remember mum/dad looking through the frozen chickens in Fine Fare to find one the right size and it's stuck in my mind.

(That is 1.077Kg in modern weights).

thriftlady_2

A 2lber/1 kg is tiny IMO. I generally go for 4-5 lb for 5 of us and I aim to make at least 2 meals plus stock.

At the moment I have 6 cockerels in my freezer which all weigh about 8lbs each. I got a really good deal from my butcher I think they are fab, so for me the bigger the better. I can always make use of all the meat.

kazwookie

I buy ones that are about 3lbs, it then does 2 meals each for 2 of us, and sandwiches for lunch as well x 2 days

jomo70

I love the oakham chickens from M&S Larger the better and since I've had my slow cooker I always cook them in there...lovely , just falls off the bone!

tessie_bear

another vote for oakham at m and s i go for the size thats included in the meal deal as it comes with wine and a lovely pudding

Jasper27_2

I try and go for medium size as with only 2 of us and stretching it over several meals OH starts to complain he's going to look like a chicken soon! We got a large one in the M&S offer a while back and after a week of nothing but chicken I was heartily fed up of it. I've now got some poultry shears so I can portion a whole bird myself and freeze part of it.