The joy of cooking (with a rotisserie chicken)
I’ve long been an advocate for cooking a whole chicken as a cost-saving strategy for meat for sandwiches, casseroles and other family meals. I’ve always believed that a fresh raw chicken was the most economical choice. But an Extension client in a neighboring town told me that buying a supermarket deli-roast chicken in Garden City was cheaper than buying a fresh chicken in her own town. So I decided to check it out. Sure enough! Here in town the price of a fresh chicken is nearly equal– about $5.00– to the price of a rotisserie chicken. And the work is all done for you!
One chicken, many meals
The best thing about investing $5 in a roasted chicken is that I can usually get about 3 meals for my family of 3 from just one bird. Stretching the roasted chicken meat stretches my food budget– the price for nine servings of chicken averages about 55 cents per serving. Here’s how- we enjoy the first meal of hot roasted chicken with our favorite sides; the second meal is chicken sandwiches with mayo and lettuce or our favorite chicken salad; and finally, the leftover pieces go into soup or top a salad for a light lunch. During soup season I don’t even let the bones and skin go to waste– I add water and simmer them until I’ve got a cup or two of flavorful chicken broth for my next pot of soup.
Six meals, one chicken
My Extension colleagues in Alabama do even a better job with one chicken– they stretch it to make SIX meals! Their how-to fact sheet “How to Make Six Meals From One Chicken” gives instructions and recipes for six meals that each serve at least 4 people. That’s about 20 cents per meat serving. Wow!
Buy fresh chicken on sale; otherwise buy roasted and enjoy!
When fresh chickens go on sale, stock up! If you can get a whole chicken for less than the $5 price of a rotisserie chicken, you’ll save money by roasting your own. But if the price is comparable, let the store do the work and buy the roasted bird– and discover the joy of cooking with a rotisserie chicken!
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