One rotisserie chicken for 12 people

[Arete]

My husband grew up in a Duggar size family and when we first got married , he seemed shocked that he got a whole chicken breast. As a kid he said you would get one or two small pieces of chicken in the homemade soup, or chicken and dumpings. Now when we get out $4.99 Costco chicken it is like thanksgiving to my husband since there are only 4 of us.

There have been many a discussion on a local coupon clipping board (in Ut) about all the wonderful inexpensive meals you can make a large family out of a Costco $4.99 chicken ( or 2 meals if you have a small family). I have tried some of the recpies and they are quite good. They contain other proteins (like beans) and a lot of vegies (the recipes usually try to incorporate what the produce co-ops like bountiful baskets give out that week). The popular uses are Mexican dishes, pot pies, and chicken and dumplings.

The one issue I have is the amount of salt water Costco injects into the chickens and what brand of chicken they use. There are some costcos that have switched to a new cooking equipment and use non foster farms chickens and you can taste the difference. I have low blood pressure so I'm okay with the salt water but it might not be the healthiest option. I know recently on the coupon blog, women were talking about soaking the chicken before using it is recipes? because of the extra salt.

To avoid chickens that have been injected with salt water, look for the label "air chilled" when buying whole uncooked chickens. I would ask at the rotisserie counter if they use air chilled chickens, but my guess would be "no" as they are more expensive.

[OkToBeTakei]

Out of interest where does the 3-4 oz serving of protein as a guideline come from?

I think it's common to add stuff/salt/weirdness to rotisserie chickens. It's strange although should not surprise me now that rotisserie per size is more expensive here to buy than a fresh chicken. There are offers though like buy two for a certain price etc, but in general fresh uncooked chicken pound for pound would be cheaper.

[August]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=chicken+serving+size#seen

[OkToBeTakei]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=chicken+serving+size#seen

Google search? (that's what the link brought me too.)

[Boogalou]

Canada food guide says a serving size of meat is 75g or 2.5 ounces.

Read all about it here!: hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/basics-base/serving-portion-eng.php

hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/choose-choix/meat-viande/serving-portion-eng.php

[Reiem]

My mom always tells the story of how her mother could take a can of tuna and make sandwiches for herself, husband, my mother, and two teenage boys, although her mom did grow up during the depression. In my house growing up she would use the whole can for one sandwich for my dad. Needless to say us kids always had enough to eat, and growing up without a dad in the house dinner was a serve yourself but after she married my step dad she would start to make him a plate while the rest of us started to get sides and then whoever gave her your plate first got the meat next lol.

[fundiefan]

I grew up in a house of women. Four, to be exact. While we didn't do rotisserie chicken from the store - I don't even know if that was a thing back then - we often had a chicken for dinner. One chicken, four women/girls. Leftovers, what there were of them, were used in chicken salad or soup, but there was never enough for much. And, my grandmother was a die hard starch woman and we had mashed potatoes with everything, as well as veggies. Maybe we ate a lot, but I don't think so. I realize everyone eats differently and all, but one chicken for more than 4 or 5 people is just absurd.

[chaotic life]

Teen boys do not eat more than teen girls per se. However, they sustain that appetite longer than teen girls. Both actually start as pre-teens as they gear up for their major growth spurts and then continue through their early teens. Boys grow into their early 20s and thus they have the reputation of vacuum cleaners because girls stop growing by mid-teens and consequently their eating habits settle back down.

It honestly only takes ONE in that high volume/high growth category for one chicken to be too little for 12 people. If you were talking about 10 children who were toddlers, preschoolers and only early elementary aged, then you might get away with one large chicken. However, the minute you add an 8-10 year old child in that mix, you have spread the food too thin for that growing child.

[chaotic life]

Teen boys do not eat more than teen girls per se. However, they sustain that appetite longer than teen girls. Both actually start as pre-teens as they gear up for their major growth spurts and then continue through their early teens. Boys grow into their early 20s and thus they have the reputation of vacuum cleaners because girls stop growing by mid-teens and consequently their eating habits settle back down.

It honestly only takes ONE in that high volume/high growth category for one chicken to be too little for 12 people. If you were talking about 10 children who were toddlers, preschoolers and only early elementary aged, then you might get away with one large chicken. However, the minute you add an 8-10 year old child in that mix, you have spread the food too thin for that growing child.

[SPHASH]

This afternoon I went to the grocery store and got a 2lb rotisserie for supper. Preparing mashed potatoes to go with it.