Expensive free range chicken was tasteless!

4allweknow - organic standards restrict gflocks flocks are limited to a maximum of 3,000 hens. In a flock of 20,000 a bird has to navigate through thousands of other chickens to go out.

Also organic regulations require more exits in the first place than ordinary free-range systems.
Then, because there are more openings and fewer birds blocking them, the physical barrier to going out is massively reduced.

Then the organic pasture has more natural vegetation, bugs, and worms.

The chicks are outside much younger too so outside becomes "normal" and the environment encourages foraging. The hens, basically, have more reasons to stay outside and peck around.

Because they learn to explore the outside world before they are fully grown, they are less fearful altogether and learn that outside is interesting.

I have no interest in eating chicken but am interested in welfare.

Pittcity

There is a supermarket hierarchy when it comes to the quality of meat. Tesco and Asda are the bottom as they prefer to pay the suppliers less and make more profit.

Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl have better product at reasonable prices.

Of course the M&S and Waitrose more expensive chickens are nicer but their budget meat is no better than that at Aldi.

What I discovered recently is that Waitrose actually sell 5 grades of chicken.

Tier 1: Organic – The highest standard. Birds are free-roaming, fed an organic diet, and have access to large outdoor pastures.
Tier 2: Free Range – Birds have continuous daytime access to open-air runs and pasture, allowing them to forage naturally.
Tier 3: Free Range (Corn-Fed) – Similar to standard free-range, but these birds are fed a specifically enriched corn-based diet that gives the meat a distinct flavor and yellow hue.
Tier 4: Slower-Reared (Indoor/Barn) – Reared to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) standards. They are slower-growing breeds housed in enriched barns with natural light, pecking objects, and more space than standard birds.
Tier 5: Standard Indoor – R reared to the UK's legal housing requirements. Note: Waitrose restricts this tier exclusively to slower-growing breeds that have more space to roam than conventional supermarket standard

What you get at each store will vary. Where we used to live I bought all my organic chicken in Waitrose. Where we live now the local Waitrose only stocks Tiers 3 - 5. I have to drive 16 miles to a Waitrose in a town with a different social demographic profile to get organic chicken.

Yes same here fish, omelette or vegetarian meals.

Plevey08

I've been disappointed with free range chickens from different supermarkets. Stringy and tough. I prefer Tesco finest as usually tastier or chicken thighs. Is it me or doesn't chicken taste as good these days?

I don’t think it tastes as good. It is the toughness and lack of taste that puts me off. Chicken thighs are ok as I said earlier.
These days we eat more fish and vegetarian dishes.

I've been disappointed with free range chickens from different supermarkets. Stringy and tough. I prefer Tesco finest as usually tastier or chicken thighs. Is it me or doesn't chicken taste as good these days?

IMO if I eat chicken (and it is the meat we eat most frequently) I don’t go into how the chickens lived.
If I did I would probably be vegetarian.

I buy British chickens but go for the cheapest which are Aldi’s near me.
Roast in the bag - delicious. Good price.

I am always amazed at all the free range chicken and eggs on the market and peoples perception of what free range is. How many of use have seen say 5 thousand chickens on a chicken farm all wandering about pecking away at their food rations? Chicken farms can have 20 thousand birds and they are accommodated in sheds. To be classed as "free range" the sheds have openings like window slots for the chickens to access the outside. However chickens really only go outside if any others go, kind of like follow the leader and not many do. There is space in tge dheds for tge chickens to move about not like tge system where they were held in one position all the time.
Even organic can be in the same conditions but fed organic food. You may have a farm shop near you and if lucky they may well have what is everyone's idea of truly free range but the price will obviously be high even higher than Waitrose and M & S.

Best fowl (Christmas turkey) I ever tasted came from a grotty sawdust-on-the-floor butchers in Tooting in the early 70’s, when I hadn’t realised you had to book M&S turkeys in advance.
It looked scruffy and scrawny but I put herby butter under the skin and a lemon as well as stuffing in both cavities and it was amazing.
But to look at when I brought it home? You can’t tell by appearances can you?

I get Creedy’s free range from my local farm shop. It’s the best tasting chicken I’ve ever had and worth every penny. I use every bit mind even down to making my own soup.

There is a supermarket hierarchy when it comes to the quality of meat. Tesco and Asda are the bottom as they prefer to pay the suppliers less and make more profit.

Sainsbury's, Aldi and Lidl have better product at reasonable prices.

Of course the M&S and Waitrose more expensive chickens are nicer but their budget meat is no better than that at Aldi.

I agree with M0nica chicken thighs are better imho than breasts, have tried chicken breasts and mostly find them dry and tough. But thighs are much moister and usually cheaper.

Just read this back.
It sounds garbled now.

Fast growing free range = cheaper and killed earlier. Little foraging.
Organic killed not before 80 days (ish) more muscle and a little fat. Foraging more = expensive
Similarly the slower growing "RSPCA Assured" free range birds.

​M&S and Waitrose signed up to the "Better Chicken Commitment."
For their premium and Free Range birds they use slower-growing breeds apparently - i want to say "Hubbard" types.
Anyway, the birds ghey choose are naturally more active and inquisitive so spend much more time actually roaming, scratching, and foraging outdoors.

I read thst lots of cheaper free range sellers use birds that grow very quickly and put on more breast than muscle so they don't forage a lot.

Also, because they aren't so fast growling the meat is developed. The cheaper chickens (even free range are killed at something between 30 and 50 days (ftom memory) whilst the others are 50 to 90 days old.

Organic chicken can't be slaughtered till 80 (or maybe it's even 80-something days).

I expect Tesco and Asda etc still sell tasty chickens in their "premium" ranges.

I expect it felt like a bargain after M&S etc Witzend!

This is just one of the cons the bigger supermarkets pull on us now. Yes, free range is better than battery on welfare grounds, but even then there is free range and free range. The word can cover a wide range of alternatives - then there is what they are fed, some are fed high nutrition foodstuffs that ensure they grow to slaughter weight as fast as possible, other higher welfare birds, still free range, have more space and grow more slowly.

I moved to organic chicken many years ago. I buy mainly chicken thighs, preferably boned. They are just as tasty and just as good as the expensive breast fillets.