Gonna ask what feels like an insane question…has chicken been tasting different these days

[u/madness2135]

I’m buying from Whole Foods and it’s been off lately?

[u/chriswaco]

I've seen more comments about bad stringy chicken in the last few months than ever before.

https://www.delish.com/kitchen-tools/a63935665/stringy-chicken-science/

[u/Basic-Alternative442 → u/chriswaco]

I don't live in Michigan and I'm not sure why this post came across my feed, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents and say I've also been seeing this complaint all over recently too. https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/1jo55aw/im_done_with_the_woody_stringy_boneless_chicken/

[u/ruinedbymovies]

I’ve seen a few posts like this across different subs lately, so it’s not just you. Someone else mentioned woody breast which is a prevalent thing. Whole Foods buys most of not all of their chicken (and beef) from Tyson and Perdue and mega producers like that are making changes due to bird flu and market demand so that might be part of it. My grandfather was a butcher in Detroit when the supply chain was very different and everyone in the family that was alive then swears up and down that meat tastes different since the rise of factory farming. I have no idea if it’s just nostalgia or a real thing. Depending on where you live there’s probably a butcher counter or farmer’s market that has meat that originated from a non-mega producer. Marrow in Detroit, Pure Pastures in Plymouth, Sparrow in Ann Arbor, are the ones I know of.

[u/kialthecreator → u/ruinedbymovies]

You can even call a local farmer and buy beef/pork/chicken straight from them if you want to avoid factory farming.

[u/VanillaScoops → u/ruinedbymovies]

Marrow has been on Toogoodtogo lately and it’s always sold out. Now I know why, it’s higher quality

[u/Lax_Ecstatic → u/ruinedbymovies]

C Roy's in Yale, mico producer

[u/CreedRocksa22]

Yes, its been nasty for years. The odor and taste is so gross, even with some of the higher end sellers. We get our meat from a farm now and it’s totally shocking how good chicken can actually taste.

[u/madness2135 → u/CreedRocksa22]

What farm? Am very interested as I’d like to make a change with how I get my meat!

[u/CreedRocksa22 → u/madness2135]

They are called Rebel Farms. They are located in Rockford, which is outside of Grand Rapids. They deliver, but only for orders over $175 I believe. I order on a Saturday, meat is delivered on a Tuesday. They are expensive, but it’s worth it to us to know the animals are treated like animals and are well cared for.

[u/mr_upsey]

Was it breast and was it woody? I never buy breast anymore because of this.

[u/Kyleforshort]

The chicken ain't chickenin like it used to...

[u/Breddit_]

100% Been saying this for a good few+ months now.

[u/Lax_Ecstatic]

I do a lot of catering, and yes, I notice a strange texture with some breast or portions of some breasts. These are typically from a warehouse store but sometimes my local grocer as well. It makes it completely inedible and has actually made me want chicken less because of the potential waste.

[u/c0l245]

I definitely got some chicken from Costco that tasted like it had some kind of cleanser on it or something.. I took it straight from Costco and froze it. When I unfroze it, it smelled funky. Couldn't wash it off, just threw it away.

[u/ConfusedNegi → u/c0l245]

Take it back for a refund.

[u/nathansikes]

Taste seems ok to me but it has been oddly tender. Like almost squidgy.

[u/ThickerSalsa]

Not that I’ve noticed…

[u/VanillaScoops]

I agree past 2-3 years like 60% of the chicken we buy and cook we end up eating and hating it… very stringy and that weird meat taste.

We got Cornish hens last week that were insanely good though. So there are alternatives. But buying a bulk chicken breast or thigh pack truly tastes awful if you don’t buy organic.

So ground turkey it is…. Shits too expensive to taste that awful

[u/inononeofthisisreal → u/VanillaScoops]

No idea why this was downvoted. People are weird I guess

[u/Substantial_City4618]

I had 2 BJ’s chickens and it was very soft.

Isolated, but they used to good.

[u/ankole_watusi]

It’s the bleach and Ivermectin RFK Jr. is making them inject in the chickens to kill the Bird Flu.

[u/inononeofthisisreal → u/ankole_watusi]

This makes sense.

[u/Prestigious-Set-4510]

Idk but captain jays hasn’t been good since before the pandemic and im still not over it

[u/Alextricity]

i'm sorry but............ lol.

why are people continuing to eat something they don't like? insane. 💀

[u/ktpr]

Have you had covid recently?

[u/Logic411]

What are they doing with those culled chickens with bird flu why are eggs so expensive but chicken is still reasonably priced? Things that make you go “hmmmm?”

[u/The_Real_Scrotus → u/Logic411]

What are they doing with those culled chickens with bird flu

Killing them and disposing of the bodies.

why are eggs so expensive but chicken is still reasonably priced?

Egg-laying chickens and meat chickens are two different types of birds, and it's the laying hens that have been hit hardest by bird flu. Plus Michigan recently passed the law mandating all eggs are cage free and that has increased egg prices.

[u/Hubbardd → u/The_Real_Scrotus]

 Plus Michigan recently passed the law mandating all eggs are cage free and that has increased egg prices.

Let’s be clear, the law passed in 2019, but went into effect the beginning of this year in order to give suppliers enough lead time to become compliant. Did they do that? Absolutely not. 

[u/The_Real_Scrotus → u/Hubbardd]

True, I should have said the law took effect, not it was passed.

[u/Unlikely_Sandwich_ → u/The_Real_Scrotus]

This is exactly correct. Chickens don't lay eggs right away. Egg laying birds are old. You eat young chickens.

[u/The_Real_Scrotus → u/Unlikely_Sandwich_]

Egg laying birds are old.

Not old exactly, but yeah, older. Hens start laying at around 20 weeks old whereas broiler chickens are usually slaughtered around 8 weeks. So if a farm has to cull a bunch of birds because of bird flu then it takes a lot longer to recover egg production than it does meat production.

[u/Sunny-Day-Swimmer → u/Logic411]

ok doomer

[u/Substantial_Risk_535]

Been off for years I only buy meat from papa Joe’s , however evrything else from whole foods I like veggies fresh bread fresh pasta products

[u/Public_Cranberry4152]

Try getting thighs instead of breast.

[u/ALWAYS_have_a_Plan_B]

Very.

[u/howlongwillbetoolong]

Yep, the taste changed maybe 2 years ago. Thighs still taste the same.

[u/MoonRiverRob]

YES! Even Costco has terrible chicken now, it used to be a good go-to.

[u/doublecalhoun]

it tastes the same to me because i mostly eat raw red beef right off the bone like liver king

kidding i'm plant based, idf w any animal flesh

[u/inononeofthisisreal → u/doublecalhoun]

You had me lol.