Do you get more meat from one large chicken or two small chickens?

aintreemaid

Interested to read that the weight of Mr S's chickens can vary so much - anyone thought of taking a small scale (such as those sold for luggage or fishing) to the store to make sure you get the heaviest ones?

moneysavingnomads

My first post!
I do have a bit of a life (nomading) so I don't think I'm really sad but this notion sure is food for thought and quite intriguing!
Perhaps there will be more bones from two small chickens but I joint my chickens into 4 before cooking so I know I would then get 4 portions from EACH chicken...and would we really notice (or need) the larger portion....fill up the plate with more veg?
Just my take on it!
Whatever,......still cook both chickens at once and the extra meals freeze or plate up & store in the fridge ...you only have to spend time cooking once and batch cooking is more economical fuel wise?

johnmc

Very valid research. OP has stripped edible meat from the carcase for sandwiches.

That's not how we use a chicken. Once cooked we portion with the wings and legs as seperate meals. We then portion the breast meat.

So in practise we would get more meals with the smaller birds than the larger ones, thus less cost per meal (albeit smaller portions).

downright_mean_with_money

aintreemaid wrote: »

Interested to read that the weight of Mr S's chickens can vary so much - anyone thought of taking a small scale (such as those sold for luggage or fishing) to the store to make sure you get the heaviest ones?

well it's a thought but those scales are even less accurate than the manufacturers would be. there is a degree of tolerance in everything made, so long as the supplier is not selling anything "underweight" or under what is labeled there not doing anything wrong - then that's a bonus for the consumer...it's upto the supplier to make sure they are not giving too much away.. if your in a big supermarket you could take it to one of there "calibrated" scales and ask to use that...if you were really scrimping

Emily_Rachel

moneysavingnomads wrote: »

My first post!
I do have a bit of a life (nomading) so I don't think I'm really sad but this notion sure is food for thought and quite intriguing!
Perhaps there will be more bones from two small chickens but I joint my chickens into 4 before cooking so I know I would then get 4 portions from EACH chicken...and would we really notice (or need) the larger portion....fill up the plate with more veg?
Just my take on it!
Whatever,......still cook both chickens at once and the extra meals freeze or plate up & store in the fridge ...you only have to spend time cooking once and batch cooking is more economical fuel wise?

I quite agree. You get more portions per penny from smaller chickens. I often buy the packs of whole legs from Aldi/Lidl and always look for the ones with 5 or 6 smaller legs rather than 3 or 4 large ones. Same weight and price, but I split the portions into thighs and legs, and a piece of chicken is a piece of chicken. We get more (smaller, but fine) portions for the same price this way. I bone the thighs and casserole the legs as I find drumstick meat a little boring, and find this adds more flavour. Thighs are really good fried, and each thigh can make 2 or even 3 pieces of home-made 'southern-fried chicken', and 3 or 4 pieces is certainly enough for one adult portion with salad and potato wedges. When I make fried chicken I make a lot at once, but only fry it until crisp, ie not fully cooked. I then either bake it for a further 15 minutes to finish cooking, or if cooking to freeze, cool it quickly and freeze, and cook from frozen for about 25 minutes in a hot oven for a quick meal. Amazing how much fat comes out if you finish cooking in the oven instead of serving it straight from the fryer!

geordie_joe

downright_mean_with_money wrote: »

well it's a thought but those scales are even less accurate than the manufacturers would be.

They wouldn't need to be accurate as you are just looking for the heaviest one.

~Chameleon~

aintreemaid wrote: »

Interested to read that the weight of Mr S's chickens can vary so much - anyone thought of taking a small scale (such as those sold for luggage or fishing) to the store to make sure you get the heaviest ones?

Why not just use the scales in the fruit/veg dept?

jm2926

aintreemaid wrote: »

Interested to read that the weight of Mr S's chickens can vary so much - anyone thought of taking a small scale (such as those sold for luggage or fishing) to the store to make sure you get the heaviest ones?

I just pick up one in each hand to compare then swap the lightest one a couple of times for a new sample. Lidl steak varies hugely in weight. Obviously a visual check to ensure its not just extra fat is good.

John_Pierpoint

I would think the turkey sized chicken would be tougher (or better flavoured?) because it has been flapping about longer.

Think I will continue to buy on weight, with the outlook that it might have been filled with water.
[Is that fiddle still legal? - I remember getting a lump of slush out of a thawing chicken that would have made a handy snowball for a school playground]

SoWhatIsNext

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

Why not just use the scales in the fruit/veg dept?

Hygiene...