2 years, 4 months ago
via
I want to make chicken salad. Super cheap. Where can I get the cheapest, quickest chicken for this? in a can at the grocery store?
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M$5 Answers
Look at the sales at your supermarket.
I know that mine puts their rotisserie chickens on sale for $4.99 maybe once a month or so, and their whole chickens (that you do cook yourself) sometimes are down to 69 to 99 cents a pound, which makes the purchase very reasonable.
You can do so much with a whole chicken and can make so many different meals as well as soup that you can't get much cheaper than doing the work of roasting one time (and it doesn't take that long) and then using the chicken in a large variety of recipes so that no one gets tired of it.
Plus you can use the bits and pieces taken off the bones for your chicken salad.
I know that mine puts their rotisserie chickens on sale for $4.99 maybe once a month or so, and their whole chickens (that you do cook yourself) sometimes are down to 69 to 99 cents a pound, which makes the purchase very reasonable.
You can do so much with a whole chicken and can make so many different meals as well as soup that you can't get much cheaper than doing the work of roasting one time (and it doesn't take that long) and then using the chicken in a large variety of recipes so that no one gets tired of it.
Plus you can use the bits and pieces taken off the bones for your chicken salad.
source(s):
personal experience
personal experience
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M$Report Abuse
Yep, the cheapest and quickest chicken is in the can. It is not so bad, either. Just a little extra salty, but most people salt chicken for chicken salad, anyway. The canned chicken brand that I have tried is Picket Fence. We got eight cans of it in a grocery bag that someone donated to our family over the holidays. I have added it to Rice A Roni, so far. I might try making chicken salad out of some of it, now that you mentioned it.
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M$
No, Do not use the canned stuff.That is just plain gross.
Most stores have the ready made.Rotissery chickens. They are around $5-6 each for a whole cooked chicken.That will give you the best results.Just pull it off the bones and chop it up with your fixings.
Most stores have the ready made.Rotissery chickens. They are around $5-6 each for a whole cooked chicken.That will give you the best results.Just pull it off the bones and chop it up with your fixings.
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M$
You don't mention how much you want to make, so you have a few options.
For quick - just buy it at the deli counter. Depending on how much you need, that may be the cheapest way as well. Buying individual ingredients can get costly, but that also depends on how you like your chicken salad.
You need mayo and chicken definitely. If you don't want to cook the chicken then you can buy a pre-cooked bird for around $5-$6. You'll get white and dark meat that way. Most chicken salad is made with white meat I think but you can do either if you like both. Other things that go in chicken salad could be celery, spices, dried cranberries, onions, etc.
If you need alot, then it's probably worth buying all the parts and making it (say for a party). If you just want a little, buy it at the deli counter and save yourself the trouble.
For quick - just buy it at the deli counter. Depending on how much you need, that may be the cheapest way as well. Buying individual ingredients can get costly, but that also depends on how you like your chicken salad.
You need mayo and chicken definitely. If you don't want to cook the chicken then you can buy a pre-cooked bird for around $5-$6. You'll get white and dark meat that way. Most chicken salad is made with white meat I think but you can do either if you like both. Other things that go in chicken salad could be celery, spices, dried cranberries, onions, etc.
If you need alot, then it's probably worth buying all the parts and making it (say for a party). If you just want a little, buy it at the deli counter and save yourself the trouble.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Yummm...Chicken Salad! What a versatile dish. It can be dressed up with grapes, walnuts, and cranberries and served on lettuce or smooshed up with mayonnaise, pickle relish, spices, and celery then slathered on bread. Can't blame you for wanting to make it.
Now, do you want "cheap" or is "quick" more important to you? Because you can't have it both ways and still come out with excellent chicken salad. If all you want to do is grab a fork, spoon out some mayonnaise, and make some glop for sandwiches on the spur of the moment, then canned chicken will work very well. Please bear a couple of things in mind when using canned chicken, however. First off, it can look, smell, and taste amazingly like tuna. So if you want to serve this to other folks, you might want to steer clear of canned chicken. Secondly, most canned chicken is extremely high in sodium content. If you need to watch your salt intake, don't reach for the can. Lastly...do you know what chicken parts you're eating? I know, I know...the can says "All White Meat." But still...if I had my druthers, I'd much rather plan ahead a little and be completely certain what chicken parts are going into my chicken salad.
Let's look at the next cheapest option. This does require a little planning ahead so it cannot be classified as 'quick', but you will end up with enough cooked chicken for several recipes, as well as the option to make chicken soup. Even at full price, a whole uncooked frying chicken is an incredible bargain. Look for whole chickens in the meat department -- they'll be the ones in little bags. Now...you have a couple of choices on how to cook your whole chicken for your eventual chicken salad. Easiest thing to do is throw it into a pot with a cut up celery stalk, a cut up onion (skins and all,) a few cloves of garlic, a cut-up carrot, a little salt, and some peppercorns plus enough water to cover everything completely. Bring that baby to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer your little poultry friend for a couple of hours...a good doneness test is when the legs pull away from the rest of the chicken, or the meat is falling off the bone. Pull your cooked chicken out of the pot and let it sit until cool enough to handle. (Strain the broth in the pot, and save it for some glorious chicken soup!) Once the chicken is cool, remove and discard the skin, then pick the chicken from the bones. You will have LOTS of meat there, enough for a chicken salad, soup, and maybe even a noodle casserole.
An alternative way to prepare a whole chicken is to roast it. This leads to some absolute deliciousness. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, Toss the bird into a roasting pan, season it inside and out with salt and pepper, and roast it for about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on weight. Obviously, larger chickens take longer to cook. Baste it with butter a few times, then you can use the pan juices to keep it moist as it is cooking. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. It should register 180 degreesF when done. Never EVER undercook poultry! When the chicken is done, use the roast chicken as one meal. Pick the rest of the chicken off of the carcass and use it to make chicken salad. And save those roasted bones, because you can follow the steps in the above paragraph using only the bones, and still come out with some amazing soup!
OK, if you're not already comatose from reading about "all things chicken," let's look at "quick" but not necessarily "cheap." Ta-Daaa! The classic grocery store rotisserie chicken. The roasting has already been done for you, so all you have to do is pick the meat from the bones. As an added plus, these are usually available in many flavors, from mesquite to classic bar-b-que, so you can tailor your chicken to the type of chicken salad you wish to make. Once again, you can make soup from the bones, so don't discard them. Personally, I have found that any type of whole chicken turns out to be cheaper than canned because of the amount of meals provided.
But to each his own.
Good luck, and enjoy your chicken salad!
Now, do you want "cheap" or is "quick" more important to you? Because you can't have it both ways and still come out with excellent chicken salad. If all you want to do is grab a fork, spoon out some mayonnaise, and make some glop for sandwiches on the spur of the moment, then canned chicken will work very well. Please bear a couple of things in mind when using canned chicken, however. First off, it can look, smell, and taste amazingly like tuna. So if you want to serve this to other folks, you might want to steer clear of canned chicken. Secondly, most canned chicken is extremely high in sodium content. If you need to watch your salt intake, don't reach for the can. Lastly...do you know what chicken parts you're eating? I know, I know...the can says "All White Meat." But still...if I had my druthers, I'd much rather plan ahead a little and be completely certain what chicken parts are going into my chicken salad.
Let's look at the next cheapest option. This does require a little planning ahead so it cannot be classified as 'quick', but you will end up with enough cooked chicken for several recipes, as well as the option to make chicken soup. Even at full price, a whole uncooked frying chicken is an incredible bargain. Look for whole chickens in the meat department -- they'll be the ones in little bags. Now...you have a couple of choices on how to cook your whole chicken for your eventual chicken salad. Easiest thing to do is throw it into a pot with a cut up celery stalk, a cut up onion (skins and all,) a few cloves of garlic, a cut-up carrot, a little salt, and some peppercorns plus enough water to cover everything completely. Bring that baby to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Simmer your little poultry friend for a couple of hours...a good doneness test is when the legs pull away from the rest of the chicken, or the meat is falling off the bone. Pull your cooked chicken out of the pot and let it sit until cool enough to handle. (Strain the broth in the pot, and save it for some glorious chicken soup!) Once the chicken is cool, remove and discard the skin, then pick the chicken from the bones. You will have LOTS of meat there, enough for a chicken salad, soup, and maybe even a noodle casserole.
An alternative way to prepare a whole chicken is to roast it. This leads to some absolute deliciousness. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, Toss the bird into a roasting pan, season it inside and out with salt and pepper, and roast it for about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on weight. Obviously, larger chickens take longer to cook. Baste it with butter a few times, then you can use the pan juices to keep it moist as it is cooking. Use a meat thermometer to test for doneness. It should register 180 degreesF when done. Never EVER undercook poultry! When the chicken is done, use the roast chicken as one meal. Pick the rest of the chicken off of the carcass and use it to make chicken salad. And save those roasted bones, because you can follow the steps in the above paragraph using only the bones, and still come out with some amazing soup!
OK, if you're not already comatose from reading about "all things chicken," let's look at "quick" but not necessarily "cheap." Ta-Daaa! The classic grocery store rotisserie chicken. The roasting has already been done for you, so all you have to do is pick the meat from the bones. As an added plus, these are usually available in many flavors, from mesquite to classic bar-b-que, so you can tailor your chicken to the type of chicken salad you wish to make. Once again, you can make soup from the bones, so don't discard them. Personally, I have found that any type of whole chicken turns out to be cheaper than canned because of the amount of meals provided.
But to each his own.
Good luck, and enjoy your chicken salad!
source(s):
40 years of cooking (and stretching!) a single whole chicken.
40 years of cooking (and stretching!) a single whole chicken.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
