First of all, thank you so much for your kind words and support on my last post. I believe that I've found my focus again and if you've been watching my Facebook posts, you've seen how I am back to logging my food intake. A neccessary evil. But it seems to be working...I saw a high of 144.6 lbs on Sunday morning (yikes), but this morning I am already down to 141.8 lbs.
Second, can we please talk about my rotisserie chicken addiction for a sec? It's kinda a good addiction I suppose since I get most of my protein from chicken....oh and dairy 'n eggs too.
I usually buy one or two rotisserie chickens at my local grocery store each week. They're about $6-$7 each.
I take the chicken home and immediately carve it up into four or five, 3 ounce servings. Lots of little Tupperwares hang out in my fridge and are ready to go when I get hungry. They're easy to take to work for lunches and make a quick dinner when I'm busy in the evenings. I've been doing this for over two years now. It's easy. It works for me.
Anyways, I've been thinking about the quality of those rotisserie chickens that are mass produced and distributed on the huge corporate scale.
A little background for you: I was an Agricultural Business major in college. I took crazy yet interesting classes that I never use in my real life today like "Soil Science" and "Poultry Science." Yes. I have disected a chicken (feathers and all). Wait, let me clarify. My lab partner disected a chicken while I stood a good five feet away. Anyways, I digress.
One fateful day in Poultry Science class, we took a field trip to Foster Farms in central California. We got to see the ENTIRE process of how chickens are produced. We saw live chickens waiting in trucks outside the facility and saw them move through to slaughter, cleaning, and processing. We saw EVERYTHING. And I still eat chicken today. Yum. I know for a fact that my local large corporate grocery store does not source from a high quality operation like Foster Farms.
So, I thought that I would give this chicken cooking thing a try. How difficult could it be?
I bought myself a locally produced, organic chicken (by the way, I named her Eloise 2.0). She cost $13. Ouch. That's twice the price of my rotisserie chickens.
Being a firm believer in the saying "You Get What You Pay For," I pressed on.
I decided to cook her in the "beer can" chicken style. But alas, I had no beer, so I used a can of apple juice. I added lots of lemons, lemon juice, salt/pepper, seasonings, and even gave her a fashionable lemon hat and into the oven she went:
Here's how she looked when she emerged from the oven about an hour and a half later. The kitchen smelled freaking AMAZING.
Now, on to the important part...how did it taste? FABULOUS. So much more flavor than those rotisserie chickens.
Was it worth the extra work? Yes, it was. But I will probably only do this occasionally. My life's too busy usually.
Was it worth the extra cost? Yes, the better quality and taste was totally worth it. There's something about the lack of antibiotics and being organically produced that also makes it worth it.
I'll have to pinch my pennies though and save up.
Second, can we please talk about my rotisserie chicken addiction for a sec? It's kinda a good addiction I suppose since I get most of my protein from chicken....oh and dairy 'n eggs too.
I usually buy one or two rotisserie chickens at my local grocery store each week. They're about $6-$7 each.
I take the chicken home and immediately carve it up into four or five, 3 ounce servings. Lots of little Tupperwares hang out in my fridge and are ready to go when I get hungry. They're easy to take to work for lunches and make a quick dinner when I'm busy in the evenings. I've been doing this for over two years now. It's easy. It works for me.
Anyways, I've been thinking about the quality of those rotisserie chickens that are mass produced and distributed on the huge corporate scale.
A little background for you: I was an Agricultural Business major in college. I took crazy yet interesting classes that I never use in my real life today like "Soil Science" and "Poultry Science." Yes. I have disected a chicken (feathers and all). Wait, let me clarify. My lab partner disected a chicken while I stood a good five feet away. Anyways, I digress.
One fateful day in Poultry Science class, we took a field trip to Foster Farms in central California. We got to see the ENTIRE process of how chickens are produced. We saw live chickens waiting in trucks outside the facility and saw them move through to slaughter, cleaning, and processing. We saw EVERYTHING. And I still eat chicken today. Yum. I know for a fact that my local large corporate grocery store does not source from a high quality operation like Foster Farms.
So, I thought that I would give this chicken cooking thing a try. How difficult could it be?
I bought myself a locally produced, organic chicken (by the way, I named her Eloise 2.0). She cost $13. Ouch. That's twice the price of my rotisserie chickens.
Being a firm believer in the saying "You Get What You Pay For," I pressed on.
I decided to cook her in the "beer can" chicken style. But alas, I had no beer, so I used a can of apple juice. I added lots of lemons, lemon juice, salt/pepper, seasonings, and even gave her a fashionable lemon hat and into the oven she went:
Here's how she looked when she emerged from the oven about an hour and a half later. The kitchen smelled freaking AMAZING.
Now, on to the important part...how did it taste? FABULOUS. So much more flavor than those rotisserie chickens.
Was it worth the extra work? Yes, it was. But I will probably only do this occasionally. My life's too busy usually.
Was it worth the extra cost? Yes, the better quality and taste was totally worth it. There's something about the lack of antibiotics and being organically produced that also makes it worth it.
I'll have to pinch my pennies though and save up.
YUM. Yeah, it's more expensive. But worth it. I wait for the organic chicken parts (I prefer boneless skinless thighs) to go on sale and then stock up. I'll marinate and grill a bunch of them and then freeze portions to use for everything from chicken tacos to chicken salad (my favorite! - I chop the grilled chicken and mix with Greek yogurt, a little light olive oil mayo, chopped apple, onion, and dried cranberries...so GOOD!). So yeah, whole chickens are great, but look at chicken parts as alternatives if you don't want to break the bank.
ReplyDeleteOrganic always tastes better,albiet more expensive. We love beer can chicken and make it quite often. Yours looks devine!
ReplyDeletehe came out looking like a little soldier! I agree they taste great when you cook them yourself but like you I don't always make the time to do it...easier to pick up one premade at store!
ReplyDeleteOooh Eloise is so pretty!! Glad you found an occasional alternative and it looks like it worked out great for you!
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing every week... so if you are as busy as I am... Stick that bad boy in the crockpot on some foil balls and when you get home you have a fantastic chicken!!
ReplyDeleteYum, I love those roasted chickens too. I have an old Chef Paul Prudhomme recipe that I've been using for many years but I hate the mess of the oven. Buying the already prepared grocery store chickens is definitely easier.
ReplyDeleteEloise 2.0 looks tasty! :)
ReplyDeleteTwo words: PRESSURE COOKER. Perfectly cooked chicken + chicken stock for a week's worth of flavor-packed meals. Also a great way to use up the veggies that are going bad soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's not as pretty, but damn good and super easy.
I don't like the ones from the stores but love the ones I make :)
ReplyDeleteI have never made a whole chicken...I must try this...love the apple juice replacement. I have had beer/turkey they do come out very moist when they are cooked with some kind of can drink....cola, beer, apple juice...looks very tasty!!!
ReplyDeleteCompromise: Whole foods rotisserie chickens--better tasting chickens and better chicken sourcing. Tuesdays on sale for $7 in these parts.
ReplyDeleteLove the lemon hat!
ReplyDeleteWe made the switch about a year ago. I agree with you the taste is much better but the cost is sometimes painful. some costcos sell them a little less expensively but you have to hunt for the ones that stock organic stuff.
ReplyDeleteI do look at it this way..I get so much less food now that I am by goodness going to make it the most flavorful little bit I can get :)
xxxooo
mmmmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteYum, yum, and yum. I will have to try this.
ReplyDeleteLove doing chicken this way but on the BBQ...now you got me wanting Beer Can Chicken!
ReplyDeletegirl, I didn't know you were an ag major! SO was I... for a midterm once I had to properly butcher a side of hog. I got a 98% because I missed a lymphnode, dang it haha
ReplyDeleteand we've done beer can chicken on the grill before - came out great but we grilled two birds and it was way too much meat! those little suckers have a lot of meat on them!
Love the idea of apple juice. Will have to try this. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete