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?

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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!

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

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!!!

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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