On the hunt for some good chicken breast.
I've bought a couple of brands but all seem to encounter the same problem. Its called "woody chicken". When cooked well, it has a grainy texture to it.
Lillydale and Coles chicken breast were my usual go to but as of late ive noticed the problem more and more.
Any tips on where to buy good chicken breasts in Melbourne?
Cheers
What about any places in Melbourne?
Will obviously go when restrictions are completely eased.
You have not indicated a preference for price, so it's difficult to make recommendations. You can try Belmore's Biodynamics chicken breast in Thornbury. They've been around for as long as I can remember, so their quality must appeal to many people to justify their prices. Next down the list would be organic butchers, then traditional butchers.
Yeah my bad. Tbh im happy to spend whatever.
Im just sick of the grainy taste. Just want to find a place where its more consistent.
Thanks for your tip
@iNeed2Pee: and also completely agree with your "woody chicken" defination. I purchased some from Woollies and they were disgusting. Looked fine but when cooked were very fibrious.
@jannym27: I noticed the Coles standard cooked chicken was way better than the Woolies one more than 5 years ago and never looked back because the Woollies one is consistently disgusting - I don't know how anyone can eat it.
But I find the organic variety from Coles and Woollies are usually OK, if anything, a bit dry sometimes but not fibrous.
Best chicken fillets in Melboure - Rendinas in North Balwyn and the butcher in Macedon Road Lwr Templestowe. You pay the price but the chicken is second to none.
I’ve never noticed a grainy texture when I buy chicken from Coles. How are you cooking the chicken?
Safeway are the worst for it, we won’t buy there anymore….
Grow your own maybe😀😀
Honestly, I notice the woody texture as I am preparing the meal. I usually look at the colour and the outside of the breat but lately its still been fairly bad in the inside.
Raise your own? A lot of cages chickens are pumped with hormones.
right. thanks for sharing
No problem!
@foursaken: In the US steggles and Tyson use it heavily. Do these inspections happen often by Aus agri dept?
@life is suffering: I wouldn't say often. But if you get caught, you've broken so many laws that you're done. I would imagine that countries that import our bird products probably test them quite often for hormones, other residues, bird flu, etc.
The only hormones that I'm aware of in Aussie meat are beef growth promotants, and fertility hormones. And they're used at very low levels.
Grow your own, only takes 40~ days
Chickens take a lot longer than 40 days to reach full size.
Not according to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation
https://www.chicken.org.au/chicken-meat-production/#Rearing_…
In Australia, it is usual practice for a percentage of chickens to be harvested for processing on several occasions.
The first harvest might occur as early as 30-35 days and the last at 55-65 days.
Therein lies the problem with 'Woody Breast Syndrome'. Chickens are being bred to grow too quickly and too big.
That's not when they are full-size. That article is referring to thinning out the numbers while they are still small.
@kahn: Possibly, possibly not? As they say, it depends on market requirements, and no one defines 'full size' or even 'over size'?
According to the Australian RSPCA, most chickens slaughtered for sale whole are between 28-42 days.
https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/how-are-meat-chickens…
Processing
Meat chickens are typically slaughtered between 4-6 weeks of age. Depending on the weight requirements of the market, meat chickens may be ready for slaughter as early as 30-35 days (whole birds) and up to 55-60 days (chicken pieces). If birds are to be sold as spatchcock (younger meat chickens), they are usually slaughtered around 21 days of age.
In relation to OP's question, I would assume that to mitigate getting 'woody breasts' (did i say that?) it would be better to buy whole chickens, and joint/debone them himself, thus more likely getting breast meat that is not over grown?
Now i've heard everything
Local butchers is where i get mine.
Yeah Im going to suss mine out.
They have changed owners heaps of times now
Bannockburn chickens have the most flavour imo (or just any flavour). Many specialty stores or butchers / chicken shops will offer it.
Maybe check their website for stockists?
Also - thigh has MUCH more flavour than breast.
Buy chicken thighs instead. Less likely to encounter it.
Its called "woody chicken". When cooked well, it has a grainy texture to it.
You sure you're not buying plant/tree-based "vegan chicken"? LOL
I hope not🤣
This is why I have changed to thighs. Yes they need a bit more trimming but are cheaper, more tender and have much more taste.
They're not cheaper around here, a couple of dollars more per kilo than breast for some odd reason.
Macro organic chicken breast from woolies is quite good, they are small chicken breasts so from young chickens. Also Hagens Organic butcher sell good ones too and free delivery in Melb metro if you spend over $70.
Not cheap though, $18/kg @ woolies
No, not cheap, but op asked for good not cheap chicken.
To people recommending getting chicken from their local butchers, it's there that much of a difference? I imagined the supermarkets, local butchers, Asian butchers, etc would end up generally getting the same chicken from a few big poultry producers.
Is there that much variety available? Apart from brand name products, I'm talking about the generic unlabelled chicken breast tray at a butchers.
And is there much processing done at the butcher level? I assumed for poultry an average butcher would be bringing in preprocessed product rather than breaking down chickens themselves.
Slightly off topic but David Jones roast chickens are delicious - so much better than Woolies.
Is that off topic though?
How much are they?
$12
Not bad will try them out!
If u dont have any religious issues try kosher or halal meat, with less blood left in the meat for some people it tastes better/tender. Although i think most meat at coles and many fast foods is from one of the halal certified slaughter houses. Some will openly confirm some wont.
Harris Farm has pretty good chicken suppliers - i've tried their breast, tenderloins, thigh - really nice taste & texture.
What would be the equivalent of a Harris Farm store in Vic?
But as others have asked - how are you cooking the chicken? Maybe you're overcooking it? I use to overcook my chicken in the fear of salmonella but i've learned to cook it to when its just right or just before take it off the heat & leave it to rest as meat normally keeps cooking for a few mins after its off the heat.
Go to the butchers within a 5km radius of your house.