The Pros And Cons Of Buying Whole Chicken

Whether as a soup base, dinner roast, or salad addition, chicken is a versatile and lean poultry protein. There are many different cuts and parts of a chicken to choose from, each of which offer certain savory tastes and textures. When reviewing plans for a home-cooked dinner, selecting a whole chicken has a great deal of benefits as it essentially allows you to have all of the pieces in one, plus a leftover carcass, which itself can also be utilized. The pros and cons of buying a whole chicken are numerous and worth considering to make the most of your meal and stretch your dollar at the grocery store.

There is no dearth of the best chicken recipes to satisfy any palate. Starting out with a whole chicken is essentially the gift that keeps on giving. For one, there is a lot of flavor to be enjoyed with bone-in chicken. This goes even further in the context of a whole chicken that has all of its bones, cartilage, and collagen intact for cooking. A medical study published in Science Daily has even proven the health benefits of the collagen in chicken. Moreover, it's incredibly simple to prepare whole chicken recipes that will impress your guests, which also allow you to reuse any leftover meat, bones, or bits for something like an easy chicken carcass soup among others.

For a chicken meal that requires pieces, the simplest route would be to select what you need that is already cut up for convenience. Time-saving though this is, it's not the most economical choice. Cutting up a whole chicken might seem daunting, but it's not as difficult as you might think. In fact, taking the time to get to know your whole chicken piece by piece will give you a more holistic understanding of the meat with which you are cooking, thus improving your skills in the kitchen. Further, although storage might be a concern, cutting up a whole chicken yourself will make quick work of separating out all of the necessary pieces and keeping everything organized for your next meal as well as allowing the opportunity to safely freeze your raw chicken for later use.

By starting with a whole chicken and either roasting it as-is or cutting it up into pieces for other specific dishes, you're getting more bang for your buck. You're also opening up your kitchen exploration for more creativity and fun. If you've always wanted to try a certain dish but haven't wanted to go out of your way to get a particular cut of chicken, take it from your whole chicken to use. Try a dinner of Vietnamese-inspired lemongrass chicken thighs, for example, and elevate your taste buds to new heights. Any way you slice it, a whole chicken presents perfect poultry possibilities.