Free range fresh chicken is often discounted at supermarkets to $6/kg mark so $5/kg is better than usual. Aldi's price is about $6/kg as well.
I find that free range chicken does taste better especially if roasted or poached so it's worth paying a little extra. Wouldn't make any difference in a curry though :)
my sentiments exactly
FYI The price is for whole chickens.
The last whole chicken I bought was a Steggles and it was $2.25/kg but I don't recall if it was a free range one. The whole chicken cost me $4.50.
Might grab this to see how it compares. Thanks!
I used to buy Lilydale as I thought free range was a better outcome for animal welfare etc. Unfortunately it might be good for chickens but the company behind the brand, Baiada Poultry is responsible for exploiting foreign workers and hiding information from corporate and fair work regulators.
See https://www.google.com.au/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=…
Been in the news recently.
You might be surprised at what "free range" means as well.
I have no idea about this particular company or it's products but the regulations allow a very loose definiton of "free range" and seeing some operations that label their products as free range (not that they'll let you see it under any circumstances of course :p ) … I can't say I look at the huge sheds with thousands and thousands of birds with a few feet each and think "free range". It ain't chickens roaming around scratching where they want to and doing whatever dumb stuff chooks do.
even if that were the case, wouldn't that be a bit better than having them all locked up in small cages unable to move at all?
Doesn't make them taste any better. It's just a placebo effect.
I find that free range chicken does taste better
maybe, but the a placebo effect is very strong. You'd need a double-blind test to be sure.
There is a common misconception that non-free-range birds are kept in cages. Not true, that is only egg-laying birds.
In Australia, there is no one standard for free-range, and they might not have any different conditions than regular barns.
The Liliydale website is more honest than some:
Whilst many chickens are content with the comforts of a barn, during an average day, a proportion of the chickens will venture outside
Many people, even knowing this, will buy free-range for the halo effect, perceiving it to be better in other ways than the chickens welfare. (e.g. taste, health benefit)
Read on the news days ago that there were saying at least in Victoria, there is NO REAL FREE RANGE chicken….
Don't know if it's true or not…
Regardless of taste free range chicken looks better. This is probably done on purpose to make free range sell better… but either way it still looks better.
I know this may be slightly off topic but I'm still fuming over the fact that chicken/egg supplier does not need to adhere to a standard before they can label their products as free range.
Hopefully this link will help promote awareness of the term "free range" label on chicken/eggs. Don't pay crazy amount of money just because "Free range" is stamped on the product.
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/what-youre-really-ge…
https://www.choice.com.au/~/media/619b60e5a1f04b2191d09fd9da…
http://www.freerangefarmers.com.au/uploads/7/4/2/0/7420102/f…
I buy free range eggs because I'm against caged battery hens.
I usually buy from Aldi as it's not that expensive, ~$4.50 or something for 700grams eggs.
Makes me feel better, however disappointed at the hens having 1sqm each.. still much better than battery hens.
Rhodes clare valley eggs have the best value for a proper free range eggs at 1,500 hens per 10,000sqm but they are in Adelaide. At say 20% more than the Aldi, I'm happy to buy it but it's not available in Victoria (checked website).
But most of the proper free range eggs (at 1,500 hens per 10,000sqm) are 50% or 100% more than Aldi, it's beyond what I'm willing to pay.
I guess I'll tell myself that 1sqm per hen (aldi) is better than squeezing 20 battery hens per sqm.
I plan to get a couple of these and cut them myself into separate pieces, wings, drum sticks, thighs, breasts etc.
I'll then use the bones and left over for stock.
=D
Steggles chicken was $2.25 kg which tasted fine to me, I guess if you are after free frange this is an alright deal. .
Isn't Steggles frozen chicken?
Unfreeze it.
Then it's not fresh chicken…
Nice deal but how do you take skin off the chicken - my wife hates this type of chicken as she don't like skin on and it's really hard to take skin off these … any recommendations ?
At least cook with the skin on, then removed before eating, if you don't want it to be utterly bland.
You need some fat, just not KFC levels.
Sometimes I use paper towel to peel the skin off or a cloth wipe should do the job.
We use laser
Hmm the skin usually comes off quite easily for me just pulling with my fingers, especially when lifting it off to rub some flavoured butter between the flesh and the skin before roasting.
This is the best type of chicken. I love to cook with the skin on and take it off before eating. It just keeps the chicken moist and succulent whilst cooking (some of us are waiting for those Sous Vide contraptions to go dirt cheap).
IMO chicken skin is the best part of a roast where all the flavours have been rubbed in. It's a shame when people don't eat it :P
you must be circumsized!
Nandos needs to buy chickens from Coles
Do Coles sell wholesale now?
don't think so, but Nandos must be paying too much if they charge what they do.
The ones in store are no longer free range….
No one cares, they all taste the same.
Don't know about how chicken are raised but just how they taste…and yes Lilydale's chicken does taste "better" (meaning taste more "chicken") than Coles branded chicken and Aldi's free range products. Good to see $5/kg which is better than usual sale.
Your only tasting the placebo effect.
I don't think any placebo effect. For eggs NO I can't tell any difference between free range and caged ones (even though many TV chefs claim), but for chicken the difference is more obvious. You may do an easy experiment by steaming or poaching the same amount of chicken with same amount of water and time, and then compare the broth and meet (no salt at all). In this way I believe any layperson can tell the difference. :-)
Hubby be like "chicken is chicken".
Winner winner chicken dinner.