Photo by V’ron via Flickr.comWelcome to the Frugal Food Series-the place where we get together and share our fantastic family tested and approved frugal recipes. In doing so we are all helping to create a resource—sort of an online cookbook of budget stretching recipes to help during the lean times. In past week’s we’ve covered Eggs, Tuna, Beans and Ground Meat.
This week’s food is Chicken, which I qualified with “Whole and Wings and Thighs”. Let’s look at the difference in price between some different cuts. These prices were compiled from several different sales fliers and stores in my area-obviously sales and your region will affect the prices.
Boneless Skinless Tenders $3.99 LB
Boneless Skinless Breasts- $2.49 LB
Split Breasts (ie bone still attached) $1.69 (sale)
Chicken Quarters $1.69 LB (sale)
Chicken Thighs & Chicken Wings $1.79
Whole Chicken $.99 Lb
Obviously there are some recipes that require boneless skinless chicken breasts-for example if you are going to pound the meat flat and then wrap it around a filling (such as with chicken divan or chicken cordon bleu). But why spend the $2.49 a lb for the breasts if you are just going to cook it and shred it? Why not cook up the $.99 lb whole chicken and then shred it? Who is really going to know the difference? Chef’s and food professionals say (according to my very scientific research method of watching a lot of Food Network TV when there is nothing else on) that the dark meat, and bone in meat is more flavorful anyway.
Now I know what some of you are thinking: “What about the bones? You may be paying only $1.79 for those chicken thighs, but they have a bunch of bone and junk in there, while the boneless skinless breasts are solid meat.”
Yes, that is a point. I remember once reading something online that addressed this and showed how much meat/serving size that you got from each different cut. Of course although I researched and googled every way I could think of I couldn’t find said article to save my life! (if you know where to find it PLEASE email me and I will adjust this article for everyone’s information) As with many things in frugality, you have to go with your gut. Personally I feel that the bone issue isn’t all that relevant-especially when I find something like thighs on sale for $.49 a LB (which I do a couple of times a year).
So what can you make with chicken? Just about anything! And hey-if you ever see an incredible deal on pork you can usually sub that into any chicken recipe. Here are some of the favorite uses of chicken in the Frugal Upstate household
- Roast Chicken-This is so easy and classy. I like to use the “Rubber Chicken” method where you stretch a chicken until it screams! The first night the chicken is roasted, then the additional chicken is sliced off, and any bit of meat that I can is picked off the bones (this usually makes 1 to 2 more meals). The carcass goes into the crock pot with water to cook overnight (try to remember to add a small slug of vinegar -this helps leach calcium out of the bones and into the broth!). The broth goes back into the fridge to let the fat solidify and rise to the top, and then the carcass is picked over one more time for those last little bits of meat to go into the soup.
- Chicken Pot Pie-I very roughly follow the directions in my cookbook. Basically I use broth, thicken it with some flour, add in spices (poultry seasoning, salt, pepper etc), add in my veggies (sauteed onions, pepper, carrots etc-sometimes I cheat and throw in a can of mixed veggies, sometimes I use leftovers from the fridge), then top with either a drop biscuit crust or mashed potatoes.
- Grilled Chicken-You can marinate in some Italian dressing or Teriyaki, brush on some BBQ sauce, or add any rub you like. Chicken on the grill is just a summer classic.
- Chicken & Gravy-Chunked up chicken in gravy over rice or biscuits. Yum.
- Mustard Chicken-I learned this one from my mom growing up. You make a sauce from plain unflavored yogurt, Dijon mustard and some French onion soup mix. Heat until warm (don’t boil) and then mix with cooked chicken chunks. Again serve over/with rice.
- Chicken Soup-self explanatory
- Chicken Curry/Fried Rice/Stir Fry-These are all typical “use up leftovers” dishes at our house. Chicken can be used as the protein.
- Chicken Salad-Great not only on sandwiches, but as part of a nice cold salad plate dinner when it is just too blasted hot to eat something hot!
Those are just a few typical uses from my house-I’m sure you all have tons of excellent recipes! So this is the part where you get to join in! Please write about your recipe (or find it in your archive) and link to it in the Mr. Linky below. It helps everyone if you remember to #1-link to the specific post and not just your main page, and #2-write the name of your recipe in parenthesis after your name. Although I am not making it a requirement, it helps everyone if you mention this post and the series in your post. That way folks who read your blog may wander by and add their own delicious recipes-making this better for all of us.
If you don’t have a blog, don’t worry! Either post your recipe in the comments, or email me (my email is in the right sidebar over there) and I’ll both post and link it for you.
Coming late to the party and realize you have a fabulous Egg, Tuna, Bean or Gound Meat recipe you’d like to share? Don’t worry, those posts are still accepting links. Feel free to head on back and add your link.
Next week’s Frugal Food Topic-Starches: Rice, Pasta and Potatoes.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I posted this one on my blog back in January. You have to scroll down quite a way on the page. It gives you both the number of servings per cut of meat, and then there’s another chart that actual does the math for you.
Sorry I didn’t get my ground meat submission in. I’m making something today that I will want to submit. I’ll also get a chicken recipe submitted.
This has been such a good idea!
Love your blog, but do not often comment. Today I had to since the picture you posted is not far from my house in Milwaukee, WI! Pretty funny to see it on your blog. Love your new series and your attitude on living frugal in most things so you can splurge when you want to on important things. We agree with that idea totally!
Heather@pagesbyheather.com
I was waiting for chicken!!! This is my favorite frugal food. Here’s how it goes in my house:
Night #1: Roast it. Eat the wings when they’re hot. Separate the thighs from drumsticks from the main beast. Separate the breasts from the bones. Toss the breasts into the freezer. Everything else into the fridge.
Lunch the Next Day: Drumsticks!
Night #2: Boil the snot out of the carcass for stock, to include the bones from both thighs and drumsticks. For dinner, make a meal of a thigh (shred and refrigerate the other thigh meat).
Lunch #2: Use half of the shredded thigh meat for a chicken salad sandwich.
Night #3: Use 1/3 of the broth, toss in rice, the meat from the other thigh, and make a pilaf. Make about 1c more rice than you mean to use.
Lunch #3: Add mixed veggies to leftover pilaf for a cassarole-like lunch.
Night #4: Toss the rest of the pilaf (and whatever leftover veggies you have in the fridge) into the soup pot and cook it! Add some noodles if you like noodles in your chicken soup.
Lunch #4: Leftover chicken soup and a sandwich.
Night #5: Defrost and shred one breast. Use whatever veggies are still in the fridge and some soy to make stir-fry. You can use that extra cup of rice for this.
Lunch #5: Top a fresh salad with your stir-fry leftovers. No dressing needed!
Night #6: Pull the last breast out of the freezer, add whatever soupbits are left, some more of the chicken stock, some more rice or noodles, and a package of tuna (yes, I know, weird). Mix it all up, cook it, and serve as a seasoned rice or noodle dish.
Lunch #6: If you have any leftovers from anywhere this week, now’s the time to eat them!
Night #7: Take anything you have left from the last 14 meals, and toss the into the stock pot with any leftover veggies, the remaining broth, and any milk or yogurt that you need to get rid of. Cook! Serve as a creamy soup, preferably with crusty bread.
(From here you can continue to add rice and water until you just can’t stand that stupid chicken anymore!)
I tend to buy the more expensive boneless, skinless breasts most often, even though I know other cuts are cheaper. I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone posts!
I found the following two pages, which talk about cuts of meat and number of servings:
http://timesgazette.com/main.asp?SectionID=28&SubSectionID=200&ArticleID=154753&TM=27275.12
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ1944.html
I just wanted to let your readers know that in most parts of the country, Walmart has 10 lb bags of chicken quarters for just under $5. I have lived in a few places, and visited a few more, and the price is always close, other than differences in tax. It is less than 50¢ a lb, which makes it a welcome addition to our menu and budget.
Is a whole chicken ready to roast as purchased? Are there innards or gizzards or anything that needs to be removed, cleaned, or cleared out? I’m always put off from buying one because I’m not sure what is involved in preparing it. Maybe I overcomplicate this because I grew up near my grandparents farm and observed parts of the whole “farm animal to kitchen table” process as a child, but they had retired from farming by the time I was a teenager so I never learned the details. – Mac
I can add that bone-in pieces of chicken bake/grill/broil better and juicier than their skinless-boneless counterparts. I prefer the bone-in, skin-on pieces, myself.
I remember years ago I used to de-bone my own chicken and butcher my own whole birds since they were cheaper. Learning how to do that does save money in the long run.
To mac–whole chickens usually do contain a bag in the main cavity which holds the giblets and neck. Therefore the chicken should be completely defrosted before cooking (if previously frozen) in order to remove that bag. The neck is FANTASTIC for making soups. I sometimes fry up the giblets for the dogs.
I buy the boneless chicken, and buy whole ones when they are on sale for making broth. The reason is dh will only eat boneless chicken ( he doesn’t like the fat on reg chicken). But I do buy it by the 40lb case from a store called Maines and pay only 1.69 a pound, 1.59 a pound on sale.
I also use the boneless chicken and my kitchen aid meat grinder to make my own ground chicken for meals, which is way cheaper then the cost in the store.
We do a homemade chiense chicken, here is a link to the recipie.
http://weblog.xanga.com/Midge8/627310653/chinese-chicken.html
Cook those bones from your whole chicken for several hours or overnight, and you’ll have extra flavorful broth. You can add chopped celery, carrots, onions, a bit of vinegar, salt or pepper if you wish, or not…it’s good however.
I’m a little squeamish about my meat. I like my meat as far away from the original form as possible! I buy only boneless skinless chicken breast but I only buy them on sale and I stock up and fill my freezer. I won’t pay over $2.00 a pound. I can usually get them for $1.79 or less. Several times a year I get them for $1.49 and then I really stock up! I posted my recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad, which uses cooked chopped chicken. You could use the leftovers from a roast chicken or bone-in breast. We eat a lot of chicken so I’m excited to see what new stuff I can find!
Jill
Hmm… Still getting the hang of the Mr. Linky thing.
I posted my name but not the recipe title. I don’t want to double up, so I’ll post it here:
bruschetta chicken
We often buy whole chickens – especially when they are selling them at really low prices – and yes, they are already gutted, with the hard organs and neck usually in a little paper bag in case you want them. They make terrific roasters, offer the added insurance of good protein for our family, and they are cheap and delicious! Highly recommended… especially when roasted with sea salt on the skin.
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com
Great recipes and tips everyone. I’ll have to post the meat per serving links and info soon.
About the bones (and also about the fat):
When you get the bone in thighs, breast and other such, I put the bones in a bag and stuff them in the freezer. Until I have a full bag of them. Then I can make a lovely stock. I usually use a gallon bag of bones and other vegetable scraps to make a gallon or so of stock/broth. Given that a quart of broth runs about $2.50 at the store, saving those little pieces of “trash” winds up putting an extra $10 in my pocket. For people who eat more chicken than I do, it adds up so much more quickly.
I always make veggie broth using my cooking scraps, too. The same can be done with beef bones, pork bones and shrimp/crab/whatever shells.
As for fat:
When I get a large roast, I trim the fat and freeze it to render later, or I render it right on the spot and store. It’s a cheap source of extra fat that can be used for cooking, or just a couple cubes tossed in vegetable/bean stews for extra flavour.
Likewise, when I buy chicken pieces, I carefully remove the skins and leave as much fat on as possible. Then I slowly render it all down to make shmaltz and store it in a glass jar in the fridge. Shmaltz is excellent to use for making the crust of chicken pot pie, matzo brei, etc. The skins are a yummy treat as well, after the rendering is done!
I mainly just wanted to illustrate that those pieces of “trash” we get with our cheap food actually can enhance our cooking in future meals.