The price of chicken

I got a new (to me) smoker and I'm dying to fire it up. With good supplies of brisket, pulled pork and spare ribs in the freezer, the only thing I can justify smoking is chicken (or perhaps turkey.) I've been watching the sales and the best I can seem to find is $0.89 a pound - and for small birds (about 4 lb) at that. I found some larger birds at Sam's for $0.99/lb but they're "enhanced" with up to 12% "natural stock."

I was excited to see a BOGO sale at Jewel (yes... other thread on their pricing) so I stopped there. They are Perdue roasters at about 6 pounds and would be nice except they are priced at $1.99/lb. I did study the label and as near as I can tell, they are not "enhanced." There was a note about up to 3% water...

Is the best I'm likely to do? I understand that the drought has hit a lot of producers pretty hard so higher prices are no surprise. I just haven't been watching chicken prices much.

BTW the smoker is a 22.5 Weber Smoky Mountain and I think I can fit 8 decent size chickens in it.

thanks,
hank

For what it's worth, I believe Peoria Packing regularly has Miller Farms antibiotic free / veggie fed Amish chickens for somewhere around $1.49 - $1.69 per pound. They're usually in the 3-4 pound range. It's a much higher quality product for a comparable price, IMO.

Hi- I am not an expert on smoking, but I do know where to find a bargain, and you are not going to find any decent whole chickens for even $,89 a lb., let alone less. I don't buy Perdue or Tyson, because they are all factory farmed. You might try Fresh Farms for some naturally raised chicken. They probably either have Bell & Evans or Miller's, both of which I have had before, and are much better than perdue. They are probably going to run you $1.50/lb. though. Some people here swear by Aaron's Kosher chicken, which can be found at the Jewel on McCormick and Howard in Evanston. For anybody that only keeps kosher, I highly recommend this Jewel. There are a ton of orthodox Jewish families that live across the street in West Rogers Park, and that is who the store caters too. They even have kosher Chinese take out.

I have no idea how much Aaron's is. When I need whole chicken, I go to Whole Foods, but I don't buy it that much, and it is going to cost you $2.00/lb, or more if you want to buy organic. Hope this helps, Nancy

HankB, the cheapest chicken I have ever seen in my life was at Gene's Sausage shop on Belmont. As of last week it was 49 cents a pound for legs and thighs and 79 cents a pound for whole chickens. I've never bought them so I can't speak to quality.

Gene's is worth a visit for other reasons though. They have a big selection of Polish groceries like smoked sausages, pickled stuff, canned fish, cheese and mysterious-looking imported liquors. They also have steer carcasses hanging in the butcher area where you can request fresh-cut meat.

Caputo's had Sanderson Farms whole chicken on sale for 89 cents last week. I don't really know how "natural" their all natural label claims to be but it sure did taste yummy after my husband used a recipe from Fifty Shades of Chicken.

HankB wrote:Is the best I'm likely to do? I understand that the drought has hit a lot of producers pretty hard so higher prices are no surprise. I just haven't been watching chicken prices much.

I do watch prices closely and, yes, I think that's about as good as you can hope for, especially if you don't want them solution enhanced. Chicken has been, in my opinion, absurdly cheap compared to other meats. Beef and pork have gone up in price significantly in the last two years or so, while chicken has stayed pretty steady. The cheapest I've seen chicken is $0.49/lb for leg quarters. Whole chicken at around $0.89/lb, and these are the dirt cheap chickens, not some kind of special organic stuff. I also prefer smaller chickens to larger ones, so I'm not paying attention to pricing according to size.

Thanks all for the feedback and info.

best,
hank

I am in my 50's and remember prices of chicken (whole) around 29 cents a pound for a long, long time. My mom always cut up her own chicken to save money and she also noticed that the breast meat was not the whole piece. plus you got the heart, gizzards and liver. Now when I buy a whole chicken I am amazed how expensive it is. But admittedly I do buy amish chicken because of the no hormones/antibiotics and it does taste better. We buy whole chickens at Yoders in Shipshewannee, IN to save money.