Whole Chicken vs Chicken Breast

Rubadubchub

I was wondering if anyone new if there was a big difference in cooking a whole chicken and eating chicken breasts. I usually eat grilled chicken breast but the prices are getting ridiculous and i cant afford it at the moment.

Is there much difference in fat/ calories between eating chicken breast and a whole roasted chicken with the skin removed? (Home cooked)

Glitter

The dark meat; legs, wings etc, will have have a bit more fat on them than the breast but it's very good for you. You can check the calories of the various components on www.myfitnesspal.com or similar.

thegreatiam

a whole chicken will tend to be bigger than a chicken breast, so it will be more calories ;-)

but yes, if money is your concern getting a whole chicken is better, will feed 1 person for most of the week.

2 breast = 2 meals,
remove the legs, and make another meal, maybe 2.
boil the carcass for soup or stew.
you can probably get 5+ meals from one chicken and some veg. a chicken can be bought from as low as €3 in some shops, (this aint great chicken tho) but for less than a tenner in other shops for a better quality bird.and it will be quite healthy.

weigh the cuts when you remove the meat from the bones to work out the protein/fats from fitday, or mfitnesspal.

john_cappa

A chicken for the week! Lol! More like a day!

Brown meat will have higher fat content hence is much tastier! Love the thigh and under carcass.

Brian?

1. don't fear the fat. It's over all calories that matter for weightless.

2. A whole chicken is one meal to a lot of people in these parts.

3. Eat more steak and eggs

What are your goals with all the chicken eating?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

I tend to go through 2 chickens a week. throw it in the halogen oven, rip all the meat off and store it in a covered bowl in the fridge and it's lunch meat for 3-4 days. I try to eat it in 3.. dont know if four day old chicken is dangerous but.. why take the risk.

Gummy Panda

I'd love a whole chicken now. A superquinn whole chicken

TriStar6

Make sure to check the packaging for horseshoes.......

harvester of sorrow

thegreatiam wrote: »

a whole chicken will tend to be bigger than a chicken breast, so it will be more calories ;-)

but yes, if money is your concern getting a whole chicken is better, will feed 1 person for most of the week.

2 breast = 1 meal.
remove the legs, and make another meal.
boil the carcass for soup or stew.
you could maybe get 2 meals from one chicken and some veg. a chicken can be bought from as low as €3 in some shops, (this aint great chicken tho) but for less than a tenner in other shops for a better quality bird.and it will be quite healthy.

weigh the cuts when you remove the meat from the bones to work out the protein/fats from fitday, or mfitnesspal.

FYP.

Rubadubchub

Brian? wrote: »

1. don't fear the fat. It's over all calories that matter for weightless.

2. A whole chicken is one meal to a lot of people in these parts.

3. Eat more steak and eggs

What are your goals with all the chicken eating?

The chicken is for lunches. Pull it apart and store in the fridge as some others have suggested. Prefer to have chicken, veg and a grain for lunch opposed to a sambo or some junk food. Steak and eggs arent really accessible in work but i eat them for dinner and breakfast (not every meal) throughout the week.

Goals are general health and maintenance i suppose. Im not overweight and like to think i have a clean diet but wasnt sure if there was a big difference in grilled/roasted chicken.

Thanks for the feedback folks!

frankosw

Whole chickens,especially the cheapo ones tend to be full of fat..i roasted one the other day and the roasting tray was two inches thick with liquid when i'd finished.

Seems most of this fat on battery chickens is located on the underside of the carcass so its literally soaking the bird in gloop.
Breast fillets may contain a bit of water but its preferable imo.

Tipsy McSwagger

Brian? wrote: »

1. don't fear the fat. It's over all calories that matter for weightless.

2. A whole chicken is one meal to a lot of people in these parts.

3. Eat more steak and eggs

What are your goals with all the chicken eating?

Good advice especially if you are on a Keto Diet.

uberalles

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

I tend to go through 2 chickens a week. throw it in the halogen oven, rip all the meat off and store it in a covered bowl in the fridge and it's lunch meat for 3-4 days. I try to eat it in 3.. dont know if four day old chicken is dangerous but.. why take the risk.

halogen oven > what do you think of them? More energy efficient ? Faster ?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

they're meant to be more energy efficient alright but I just have to take the manufacturers word for that, they do cook faster though so even if they weren't more efficient you'd end up using less power


i use mine all the time for chicken and any kind of meat really. if it needs grilling or roasting it goes in the halogen oven. cooks a full chicken (prob around 1800g.. dunno I buy the cheap ones based on cost rather than weight) in about an hour and it tastes lovely.

i've used it for veg too and it works great for that but I generally steam or stir fry my veg. it's not much faster than a regular oven for potatos but I thinkt hat's about the only thing it's not faster with. a big plus for me is how easy they are to clean. but of warm water, bit of washing up liquid.. the grease/fat just slips right off with no effort at all.

thegreatiam

uberalles wrote: »

halogen oven > what do you think of them? More energy efficient ? Faster ?

for convenience and speed yes, Like digby i use mine to do chicken all the time.

I find veg aint great in them, but roast a chicken works well, less time to preheat and get back up to the right temp when you baste the chicken. so speed wise they are better. cleaning is easier, depending on if you have a low or high oven, i dont use my conventional oven cos its low and a pain in the arse to get into. halogen wins there. Drawback is it takes up a lot of space on the counter, so youll need room for it.

frequently Ill do a chicken breast or 2 in a pyrex dish, with oil salt and pepper, 30 mins in the halogen and its perfect and juicy.

Hailhail1967

Check out some of the wholesale places that are popping up everywhere, they have some great deals on better quality and size chicken breasts if you can afford to buy in bulk.

Its how I always get mine as I am lazy and like the convenience of the breasts.