Chicken breasts on bone with the skin on?

Haffiana

Where have they all gone? All I see are dratted, miserable, overpriced chicken 'fillets'. If I want tasteless, dry bits of flesh I am perfectly capable of preparing my own, thank you, without paying the supermarket a humungous premium for 30 seconds work. But as it happens I actually don't want 'fillets' at all; I have no use for them most of the time.

Why are 'fillets' so popular that normal chicken breasts are virtually unobtainable? And proper breast quarters with a wing on don't seem to be even sold any more? :mad:

sarah1972

I get mine from my local butcher.

adsk

Sainsburys woodland free range chicken does come with skin on. Alternatively, buy a chicken and joint it - you can get a whole chicken for not much more than the cost of the breasts alone and it works out much better value.

Coopdivi

Supermarkets will sell the cuts of meat which are the most popular and also with a decent profit margin.

The cut of chicken you're referring to, a supreme, is not popular. So supermarkets, in the main, don't sell it.

I would advise you to buy a whole chicken and make your own. After all it's only 30 seconds work isn't it?. They'll work out as cheap as getting somebody else to do the easy work for you with the added bonus of 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs and the carcass for stock thrown in for free.

Here's a YouTube video (complete with obnoxious background music) which shows how to make a chicken supreme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A53ASeL0Yac

shazzafly

If I were you I'd find a decent halal butcher, I now buy all my chicken and lamb there. Its much cheaper and fresher than suoermarket meat. They will trim all skin, fat, etc of your meat (if you want) and even cut into whatever size pieces you want.

Don't be intimated if you are not used to going into this type of butchers, they are always helpful and happy to help.

Sharon87

Chicken fillets are popular because they are used for a variety of things. I use them for curries, stir fries, chinese sauces with rice and sometimes in pasta. They're not great on their own, but they are perfect to put in things with sauces as I dice em and shove em in the wok.

They are expensive and I have a limit on how much I'm prepared to spend on them. I have diced a whole chicken up before and it worked out cheap, although it did take me a while to portion the 2 chickens I bought. Getting the leg and thigh off was the worst bit!

Dizzy_Ditzy

i've bought them before in Morrisons, about £1.20 ish a pop

custardy

Sharon87 wrote: »

Chicken fillets are popular because they are used for a variety of things. I use them for curries, stir fries, chinese sauces with rice and sometimes in pasta. They're not great on their own, but they are perfect to put in things with sauces as I dice em and shove em in the wok.

They are expensive and I have a limit on how much I'm prepared to spend on them. I have diced a whole chicken up before and it worked out cheap, although it did take me a while to portion the 2 chickens I bought. Getting the leg and thigh off was the worst bit!

its just a case of practice to butcher a checken
once you know where the joints are then its very easy

Sharon87

custardy wrote: »

its just a case of practice to butcher a checken
once you know where the joints are then its very easy

I find it a lot easier when it's cooked for a roast dinner! lol

Haffiana

I can easily joint a chicken, yes, and I often do if I am grilling. But in my family, only my husband eats the breast; everyone else prefers leg because it is moist, juicy etc, especially if cooked for longer than 10 minutes. Unlike breast. (Can you tell I despise chicken breast?! Even my cat isn't keen on it!). So if I am casseroling or baking, etc etc, I buy a pile of whole legs or thighs (because let's face it breast is particularly useless cooked this way!), and I only need one breast. Or two, if I am making enough for two meals.

Incidentally, the secret to speedy chicken jointing is to invest in a really good pair of kitchen scissors/shears. Don't bother with a knife unless you have a butchers cleaver - scissors locate the joints almost by themselves.

compmad1

Lidl sell bags of frozen ones, which are good in my opinion.