Chicken woes: Spagnetti Meat or Woody Breasts

[Mike Nolan]

The WSJ has an article on the problems with chicken breasts. In addition to the 'woody breasts' problem, they're now seeing chicken breasts that fall apart, looking like spaghetti strands.

Researchers aren't sure what causes these problems, but they seem to be related to the selective breeding over the past 40 years that has increased the rate at which chickens put on weight. Today's chickens are at 6.3 pounds in 47 days.

Some restaurants have started purchasing smaller birds, which seems to reduce complaints. (I know when I buy chicken breasts, I buy the package that weighs the least these days.) Costco is building a chicken operation in Nebraska, but they don't let their birds get huge.

The article might be behind the WSJ's paywall, but here's a link:
ast-Growth Chickens Produce New Industry Woe: ‘Spaghetti Meat’

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[BakerAunt]

Last night I used the last frozen chicken breast from the freezer--bought back in the fall. This one also had the "whiting," and it was chewy, even though my husband tried to cut out those parts before I sautéed it. We had it in stir-fry, so it was a bit less noticeable. We will not buy any more large chicken breasts. The large ones at our local grocery have definite white lines through them.

[Italiancook]

I buy my chicken from a meat market, because they sell ones without hormones and (I think) without antibiotics. They're pricey, but for medical reasons, I need to avoid the hormones and the antibiotics. So when I check-out and pay, I write it up as a medical expense. Fortunately, they're still selling a good product.

I ordered chicken breasts at a different meat market for the first time. I didn't specify that I wanted them from a 3-1/2 pound chicken. I ended up with meat weighing 14-16 ounces each (my guess). I had never before seen such large chicken parts. They were for the slow cooker, so they worked out fine and tasted normal in spite of their size. I didn't know beforehand that chickens were allowed to grow so big.

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