So maybe I'm a little behind in figuring this out, but I always thought that buying a whole chicken was waaay cheaper than buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts. So even though it's much more of a hassle, I have been buying them and roasting them or boiling them, and spending all afternoon with greasy hands picking all the meat off, congratulating myself on being so frugal.

Well, today I figured I'd see how much money I was saving. I boiled it up and picked every little piece of meat off and weighed it.

Whole chicken: 4.77 lbs. at $.72/lb = $3.43
Actual, edible cooked meat: 1.77 lbs.
What I'm really paying: $1.94/lb

Seriously?! Frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts are $2.00/lb! Next time I'm at the store I'm going to buy them, trim them, cook them up, and compare, but I can't imagine it will come down to more than $2.15/lb for cooked meat! So all that work to save $.60?!?!

Based on the above math, total cooked meat was about 37% of the whole bird. Does anyone know if that is about normal, for my own future reference?

__________________

Trust God. Whatever risk there is in doing so, the risk of not trusting in him is far greater. - Spurgeon

Wow! I'd be interested to see what you find out about the boneless skinless chicken breasts. I've wondered if buying a whole chicken was cheaper and always figured it was, but this is good to know!

I can't believe a whole 3 lbs was inedible!

__________________
www.myspace.com/vioburn

Frugal is being wise with your money and resources and cheap is forcing everyone else to.

Check out my blog, I'm starting to add more to it, as I can...vioburn.blogspot.com

good info. We usually buy only turkey breasts for that same reason because my dh always said turkey bones are very heavy, but we never did the math.

I agree, if you can find chicken breasts on sale it is almost always cheaper than buying the whole chicken! You're right, it is SOO much work using a whole chicken too! Also, chicken thighs are really inexpensive and a good way to use chicken in the crockpot. I usually do 1/2 chicken breast 1/2 thighs in recipes.
I buy turkeys after Thanksgiving/Easter and freeze them and then use them throughout the year. Soo cheap and much more meat.

Wow that is such a great idea... I had never thought of doing that. Thanks!!!

__________________

Trust God. Whatever risk there is in doing so, the risk of not trusting in him is far greater. - Spurgeon

I buy the flash frozen chicken breasts. You can usually get them on sale 3lbs for $4.99. It is so convienient to take out one or two to use for recipies.

__________________
~Happiness is a large family~

Let us know when you figure out how much for cooked chicken breasts. I was so proud of myself for buying my first whole chicken... Although I only paid .59 cents/lb

__________________
It's not what you make; it's what you spend.

I agree with you about the cost of the usable chicken. But I use all parts of the chicken. I cook up the insides and give them to my dogs. I use the bones to make chicken stock. So I really use all of the chicken except the fat.

I've found that if I wait it out I can get boneless skinless chicken breasts for $1.69 or $1.77 depending on the store, so I stock up then.

__________________
:love:

I can't believe you were going to all that trouble!! Talk about saving your time over a little amount of money! I buy a huge bag of frozen chicken breasts at Costco for under $2 a pound.

__________________

A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.-Eleanor Roosevelt