I went into Harris Teeter really fast . I really wanted some whole chickens at their sale price of 79¢/lb. Then I Noticed that their split chicken breast was priced at 79¢/lb too!
I had to stop and ponder- which was the better deal? And then I grabbed several packs of the split chicken breast- because we’re a white meat family. So so much of the whole chicken we don’t eat. I take much of the dark meat and make the only member of the family who will eat it without complaining (my husband) enchiladas. I use the bones and “accessories” to make stock. But I hate all that waste and for the same amount of money per lb. we can get MORE white meat – that’s the better buy for my family.
So I came home and did some “googling” and I found this very interesting post by House to Homestead.
Of the whole chicken she cut up and weighed only 31% was skinless, boneless breast. The other 69% was dark meat, bone, skin or waste.
For my family that’s a lot of stuff we won’t eat. Even if I use the carcass for making stock that’s pretty wasteful of my money (and the chicken!)
As I like to see final numbers and what it “costs” me- I had to do some calculating:
Estimating that of a whole chicken 31% was skinless, boneless breast and adding 7% to account for the bone and skin to make it the equivalent of a split chicken breast:
Buying a whole chicken: 55¢ of every 79¢/lb would be dark meat/bone/waste
Buying a split chicken breast: $0.06 of every 79¢/lb spent would be bone/skin/waste
When I purchase a 4 lb whole chicken at 79¢/lb I am paying $2.20 for product we really aren’t going to use (out of a total price of $3.16)
When I purchase 4 lb of split chicken breast at 79¢/lb I am paying for 24¢ of a product we aren’t really going to use (out of a total price of $3.16)
When making a purchase, be conscious of your family’s preferences and how much will be wasted. Bone-in meats are often a little less expensive per lb. but if you are wasting a lot of it then it might make sense to purchase the boneless variety. Sadly, pulling out the calculator is the only way to determine where the best buy is.
Check your Harris Teeter to see if they too are having the split chicken breast on sale for 79¢/lb but this may have just been a manager special at my store. The online pricing is showing split chicken breast at $1.97/lb.
Great insight, Jessie! 🙂
Thank you! I live in the Winston-Salem area and would love to take advantage of the .79 chicken breasts. Which store did you did you find it? Thanks.
I was at the Kernersville location
Our family is the same way and I spotted this deal in Kville this afternoon! Grabbed four packages with three breast each, so I got 12 breasts for less than $8. Score!!!
There’s really no way to say this without sounding nasty, but I mean no disrespect. I just hope that consumers will broaden their thinking to include this as they determine just how great a deal truly is:
If everyone thought this way, Industrial chicken farms would have to raise 69% more birds so you wouldn’t be burdened with learning to use anything but the most select parts of the animal.
More chickens living miserable lives, more pollution, more waste and less sustainability. Other people are impacted with reduced property values, polluted water sources, increased resistance to antibiotics and increased exposure to health and safety hazards.
This isn’t really a “deal”, it’s other people picking up the tab for a luxury which in corporate speak is called externalizing expenses.
I think you may be misunderstanding the intention of my post. We only eat white meat mostly but there are millions of other families who don’t. For MY family buying dark meat is wasteful- both in monetary ways and just plain wasteful. My post wasn’t aimed at converting people to only using white meat- but to look at the BIG picture of what they pay for. So yes- buying only white meat IS a deal for MY family.
We aren’t a “luxury” family by any means so trying to connect my family’s preference to being frugal with our money when it comes to buying only food we will actually use to additional pollution, reduced property values….is a pretty big stretch.
What works for my family won’t work for everyone and I respect that but I think trying to make that connection is a bit of a stretch….