Chicken Breast With Or Without The Skin- Which Is The Most Economical???

[Texas Ranger]

Guys, In your opinion which is THE most economical way of buying Chicken Breasts? Every few weeks at the H.E.B(Supermarket in Texas)there's a sale on Chicken Breasts. They sell them .99/lb and whenever I go to Sam's or Costco they sell the skinless variety for $2.00-$2.50/lb. Do you think it's better to just buy them cheap and skin them yourself? Or just shell out the extra cheese and buy the skinless? What do you think???

 

[SoreArms]

I usually buy a bag of about 5-8 (the qunatity depends on the size of the breast) frozen, skinless chicken breast at Trader Joes for about $6

 

[jenscats5]

I buy both, depending on what I'm using them for. The bone-in skin-on breasts I like to use in crockpot/stew/soup recipes as I hate boning them myself.

I prefer the boneless, skinless for everyday eating and I feel the $2.49 per pound is worth it, at least at the stores around here. The chicken that's .99 to $1.99 per pound is filled with gristle, skin pieces, fat, etc and I have to throw so much away it's not worth buying. The Costco chicken is cleaner, thus more economical.

 

[obiwan9962]

you will always pay more the more the butcher has to do
i buy bone in chicken and debone and deskin myself
but not everyone is a chef/cook
if you do not know how to ask your butcher to show you
and try it
skinning is easy
deboning is harder
kinda messy and maintain cleaniness when you do
do not use the same cutting board after for any other prep unless you sanitize first (soap and warm water or a touch of bleach added)

if you do not have the time or wherewithall to do it yourself may i suggest just get the bone in skin on variety ....cheapest
and cook as is
take the skin off before eating
yes according to most dietians that is almost as good as skinless
as for the bone i find cooking meat of any kind on the bone tastier and juicer (certain protiens from the bone leeches out during cooking and is rendered onto the flesh)

and if the bone is a big deal it really is not that hard to rip the flesh off of it before eating
think of it as a therapeutic way to greet your primal side

 

[Texas Ranger]

Yeah, I can skin them without too much hassle. I can also get most of the bone out. Then, throw them on a Foreman Grill.

 

[SubjectiveIllusion]

If you wanna find out for sure you could spend a fixed amount on both kinds, say $2.50 worth, then skin and debone the one of them and weigh them both separately. The one that weighs more would be the better deal provided you skinned and deboned well. This would take some effort but you would find out for sure.

You could also cook both and then skin and debone (less mess and germs), just as obiwan9962 was saying, then weigh comparably. It shouldn't take more then 5-10 minutes and after you'll never have to question it again.

With different brands, styles of cuts and prices you might have to just find out yourself...

Good luck.

 

[charmander]

If you can save $1 a pound then you should deskin them yourself. I usually wait till the local store has the boneless skinless for $1.89lb and buy in bulk.