Chicken gone bad....

[RebelSS]

Anyone ever buy a certain brand of "Air-chilled" chicken? (Has cartoon like drawing of chicken head on blue Pkg.) Supposed to be natural and never frozen...I buy the drumsticks, because they are REALLY big, and it is better tasting.

But...I have now had 3 this year that when I open them and take a whiff (I always smell poultry and pork) YUCCHH!!! They smell rotten! Last one smelled a bit like ammonia..I will not buy these anymore. I'm gonna stick to the frozen or been-frozen chicken. I'm starting to wonder if this "Air-chilling" leaves the meat warm enough to breed bacteria....anyone have any input on this?

[reinhard1]

nothing wrong with "air chilled chicken". the problem is the price. when i was still working we handled that type. to me they were more meaty and were very fresh when delivered. the problem was that they had a longer code date that the grocers could provide in some cases. also once it hits the cases with the defrost cycles involved those code dates become shorter and shorter. it is a good product but i would stick with the brand gold-n-plump in my opinion. that brand is grown here up north and has a reasonable code date and is often on sale.

most people will not pay for this chicken because of the price. and this natural buisness is nuts as well. they are fed as stated, and not that much difference than organic. but in this case if you have the plant within a certain milage of a paved road, even though you feed them with organic vegies in cant be classified as organic.

i have bought this type of chicen before and was satisfied with it. however gold-n-plump is not that much different and a lot cheaper. i would complain to the grocer in this case for not paying attention to their products. i rarely buy frozen chicken except boneless chicken breast and when on sale of course. good luck.

[RebelSS]

Thanks, rh. That's exactly what I'm buying now for chicken brand. I liked the "Smart Chicken" (that was the brand) because of the big drumsticks, which I BBQ'd on the grill...when it was on sale. I complained to the "Manager" at the store where I bought it, (Big national Chain), but I've got tennis shoes older than the "Meat Manager". It was obvious he didn't know a "drumstick" from a dipstick. I'm back to Golden Plump.

[reinhard1]

ya, smart chicken, good product but way too high of a price. we threw more away than we sold and only because of the price. now, it may sell at lunds or other places but not with joe six pac. good luck.