If you've ever gone to the grocery store to buy chicken, you might have been intimidated
by the offerings at least once or twice. Organic? Cage free? What does it mean... and does it
even matter? This is what you need to know about buying chicken.
Chicken is chicken is chicken, right? Not really. So, what's it supposed to look like,
anyway? Here's what Bart Pickens, executive chef at Party Fowl, has to say:
"The skin should be a yellow tint, and the meat should be pinkish and natural-looking
in cut or shape. Fresh chicken should not have an odor. [...] Breasts should be pale
pink with very little fat and dark meat should be dark pink with some white fat."
If you know what chicken should look like and how it should smell, you'll be able to
make the right choices when faced with rows upon rows of chicken in the refrigerated case
at the grocery store.
Reading the label carefully and knowing how to decipher the information can tell you quite
a bit about the meat you're purchasing. According to chef Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti Earth,
a New York restaurant focused on sustainability, one good thing to look for on chicken labels
is the halal stamp - whether you need to seek it out for religious reasons or not. Mehta
says,
"The chickens are very fresh, and you'll be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that
your chicken was farmed humanely and responsibly."
He also recommended looking for grass-fed chicken, rather than chicken that was fed
corn or other feeds.
Though buying large quantities of frozen chicken is easy and convenient, it's not going to
result in the tastiest meat. For that, you want chicken that's fresh — meaning it's
never been frozen.
Chicken that's labeled as "fresh" has never had an internal temperature below 26 degrees
Fahrenheit, which is the freezing temperature for poultry. Why does that matter? Well, freezing
and thawing can change the texture of foods, and chicken is no exception. Brian Smith,
co-owner of The Butchery says,
"Much of that grocery store chicken is frozen during transport, then thawed before it hits
the shelves. Once chicken is frozen, it eats differently, and can typically only be frozen/thawed
once. The texture and water content are noticeably impacted."
"Free-range" is a popular choice among chicken buying experts. According to the USDA's Food
Safety and Inspection Service, chicken can be labeled as "free-range" if the producer
can prove to the USDA that the chickens have been given access to the outdoors. You might
think it's just a chicken buzzword, but for some chefs, it's more than that. KYU's chef
Michael Lewis puts it this way:
"The more humane the chickens are raised and butchered, the less stress they endure and
thus the more pristine their meat will be. Low stress plus good diet equals healthy.
Holds true for all of us."
But, you might also see chicken that's labeled as "pasture-raised", and that wasn't actually
regulated by the USDA until 2019... and it means just what it says, if Food Safety guidelines
are being followed. "Farm-raised" labels are much more vague, since most chickens are raised
on farms — and the type of farms vary greatly. If you're really looking for chicken that
spent some time outdoors, free-range is your best bet.
Another buzzword you'll often see on labels of your poultry is "hormone-free." While it
might make it seem like that particular chicken is healthier and more natural than other options,
it's probably not. The FDA hasn't approved the use of hormones for raising any type of
birds that will be used for food, so the hormone-free label is completely unnecessary. All chicken
legally sold in the US is hormone-free. If it appears on the label, it's pretty much
just a marketing tool.
Antibiotics, on the other hand, absolutely can be added to poultry, but many feel you
should avoid them if possible. A designation of "No antibiotics added" can, according to
the USDA, be added to the label of chicken products so long as the producer can provide
proper documentation proving it's true.
And that's actually pretty important. Both the FDA and CDC blame antibiotic use in farm
animals as a reason for growing human resistance to the drugs, but it's only recently that
the FDA has begun to set any regulations about their use. This means it's up to you to make
a decision about antibiotics in your chicken — and to check the label carefully if you
opt to avoid it.
If the chicken is labeled as certified organic, that means that it's been certified to meet
the qualifications that the USDA has set for organic products. Buying organic products
can help your family avoid questionable additives, as well as making strides toward sustainability
and conservation.
Still, the benefits of buying organic chicken are pretty debatable. While one chef told
Reuters that it's nearly impossible to distinguish the taste of an organic chicken from a non-organic
one, others claim the different eating habits of organic chickens result in tastier meat.
Whether or not organic chicken is a healthier option is also highly debated by scientists
and nutritionists alike, meaning the decision really comes down to your personal preference.
Read the labels, and make sure you're getting what you think you are.
If all you ever buy is boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you're missing out on a lot.
Take it from chef Jehangir Mehta, who says:
"When seeking chicken, I recommend always going with thighs over another part of the
bird. It's the most tender, flavorful, and really versatile! The number of dishes you
can create with the thigh [...] is really incredible."
Chicken thighs can be prepared in practically any way with practically any flavor profile,
so while you think your family will only eat plain-Jane boneless, skinless chicken breasts,
if you take a chance on chicken thighs, you might be surprised at just how delicious they
can be.
It sounds basic and almost makes too much sense, but if you want to buy the best quality
chicken and get the best deals for it, you should be chatting up the butcher wherever
you buy your meat.
You'll find that your local butcher is a wealth of information about not just chicken, but
all kinds of meat. The Butchery's Brian Smith says:
"If you shop for chicken at your local butcher shop, you have the opportunity to ask your
butcher questions beyond what is shown on the label at a typical grocery store, such
as whether it is all-natural, non-GMO, organic/free range, etc. Beyond that label, you can find
out what farm the chicken was raised on, and whether it was ever frozen."
Shopping at small, local businesses where the butchers have relationships with the farmers
and can form a relationship with you too can help you feel certain that you're buying responsibly.
Talking to — and building a relationship with — your local butchers can make buying
chicken simple.
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