Weight of a whole chicken is 4kg a lot??

[Bookpreviews]

I was just looking at the market I order meats from and one vendor there is selling whole chickens that are 4kg in weight!
To me that sounds quite big.
From what I know the chickens are grain fed and left alive longer...up to 10 weeks and I was told that is why the chickens are so big.

-one of these chickens is around $25 though and that kind of seems like a lot.

How much do those bbq chickens usually weigh?
I do not buy that much chicken,so I will try and look the next time I am at a store.

I know 4kg is almost 9lbs though!

[Asagiri]

iirc the weight of an average supermarket chicken is about 3-3.5lbs. Although there are variations between certain breeds of chicken, affecting the size/weight/maturity, the biggest chicken I've seen is about 5-6lbs.

[No Frills]

Those big 4kg ones are roasting chickens.

The 'normal' sized ones are usually just over 1-1.5 kg.

[neutral]

That's a big chicken....

[the_fm]

That's a big chicken....

or a small turkey. but yeah, it's a big one :-0

[Sauerkraut]

That's a big chicken....

It obviously didn't cross the road very often

[Bookpreviews]

or a small turkey. but yeah, it's a big one :-0

That's kind of what I thought also!
Esp when I saw how small some of the cheaper turkeys are at the grocery store.

I guess you can say I don't buy much whole chickens...and don't even recall actually roasting a whole chicken at home- usually buy the cut up stuff like legs, chicken breasts or the already bbq chickens that are always cheap.

But I'm kind of tempted to get one of those giant grain fed roaster chickens.
From what the farm that raises them told me they are raised for at least 9+ weeks while regular grocery store chickens are only 4-6 weeks at most.

Only other thing is I'm one person here...and that would be a lot of chicken to eat...guess I could freeze some anyways!

I think it will be quite a challenge to try and cook one of those large chickens just because they also happen to be frozen and vacum sealed...so will have to defrost the thing too.

[CSK'sMom]

Sure sounds like a capon to me. The only way you'll get a capon these days is through small producers. Capons weigh in between 7 and 9 pounds. The meat of a capon tastes slightly different as well, not gamey and has more fat...

[Bookpreviews]

Sure sounds like a capon to me. The only way you'll get a capon these days is through small producers. Capons weigh in between 7 and 9 pounds. The meat of a capon tastes slightly different as well, not gamey and has more fat...

That's interesting.
I am not sure if the chicken farm they raise just capons or regular chicken also.
I know on their website it states they make dishes and pies with capon,but you can also buy chicken meat (pretty cheaply for small bits), or drumsticks and other parts.

I will email them to ask,now I'm kind of curious.
The producer seems pretty small and their website stated they sold at a few stores in Quebec and through a farmers market.

[CSK'sMom]

A capon is a neutered (de-sexed) rooster so if they are a small chicken farm it's capon they are selling. Only small producers raise them as there is little benefit in an industrialized farm setting. They are actually quite nice to cook, I do several throughout the year.

[slowtyper]

I've been hearing a lot of advertisements lately on the radio for someone (I can't even remember who) selling Capons. And each time I hear it, I always wonder what the hell a capon is.

The More You Know

[superbundance]

I was just looking at the market I order meats from and one vendor there is selling whole chickens that are 4kg in weight!
To me that sounds quite big.
From what I know the chickens are grain fed and left alive longer...up to 10 weeks and I was told that is why the chickens are so big.

-one of these chickens is around $25 though and that kind of seems like a lot.

How much do those bbq chickens usually weigh?
I do not buy that much chicken,so I will try and look the next time I am at a store.

I know 4kg is almost 9lbs though!

Around 1.4kg is what u are looking for.

[megs_600]

If it is really a chicken would it be a hormoned ones. I heard that some chicken raisers give the chicken some hormones to make them grow faster and fatter.

[flypretty]

where can i go (regular supermarket like Metro or something?) to buy a small sized chicken (feeds family of 4 for just 1 meal) that is NOT the frozen vacuum sealed kind? do they have fresh whole chickens just sitting behind the glass window at the butcher? i've never bought a whole chicken before but would like to try as I want to make this Thai dish using a whole chicken.

PS: Do they already remove the non-edible parts (guts and such) or do i have to do that myself?....if they dont, maybe i'll just stay away from the whole chicken and use chicken breasts or legs instead lol

[ippon]

where can i go (regular supermarket like Metro or something?) to buy a small sized chicken (feeds family of 4 for just 1 meal) that is NOT the frozen vacuum sealed kind? do they have fresh whole chickens just sitting behind the glass window at the butcher? i've never bought a whole chicken before but would like to try as I want to make this Thai dish using a whole chicken.

PS: Do they already remove the non-edible parts (guts and such) or do i have to do that myself?....if they dont, maybe i'll just stay away from the whole chicken and use chicken breasts or legs instead lol

if you haven't taken a whole bird apart yet, watching a vid would help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhoIOwht6ts

you can find whole chickens at regular markets. usually 2-3 dollars a pound. and they come all cleaned up, so you won't have to mess around with the guts.

[Bookpreviews]

If it is really a chicken would it be a hormoned ones. I heard that some chicken raisers give the chicken some hormones to make them grow faster and fatter.

The place I am getting the chicken from it is a small producer and only grain fed with no hormones or anything.
They just keep the chickens alive longer-like 4 months I was told, while the Loblaws chickens are just a few weeks old and that's why they are small.

I also read that in Ontario and maybe all of Canada you are not allowed to feed chickens anything but grains?
So that means all chickens are grain fed anyways?

[flypretty]

if you haven't taken a whole bird apart yet, watching a vid would help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhoIOwht6ts

you can find whole chickens at regular markets. usually 2-3 dollars a pound. and they come all cleaned up, so you won't have to mess around with the guts.

thanks for the video. great for learning but i dont plan on buying a whole chicken and taking it apart before cooking. i was just gonna toss the whole chicken into the oven. if i wanted to use certain parts i'll just buy them separately :)

probably just gonna stick to buying the breasts or legs...

[ippon]

thanks for the video. great for learning but i dont plan on buying a whole chicken and taking it apart before cooking. i was just gonna toss the whole chicken into the oven. if i wanted to use certain parts i'll just buy them separately :)

probably just gonna stick to buying the breasts or legs...

if you want to roast it whole, this vid would be worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLt6G85zC4

he's supposed to be one of the best chefs in the world.

when i do whole chicken, i usually roast it with jerk spices. comes out quite nice.

[vonfunk]

it's true, they can't use hormones in chicken Production in Canada. All chicken is "grain" fed in Canada, however for the purposes of animal feed they classify corn as a grain which makes for fattier meat and a larger bird.

[flypretty]

if you want to roast it whole, this vid would be worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWLt6G85zC4

he's supposed to be one of the best chefs in the world.

when i do whole chicken, i usually roast it with jerk spices. comes out quite nice.

you're making me reconsider between roasting a whole chicken or just using certain parts for my dish this weekend lol..hmm

that is a great video! i'm gonna watch some of his other ones as well.

[CSK'sMom]

Whole chickens usually come with the gizzards in a bag inside the body cavity. The gizzards include the heart, liver neck. If you don't use them for gravy or anything else, just toss them. Always rinse the cavity well though and make sure things like the lungs were well removed from inside the bird. Often, during mechanical removal some may be missed...

[Sauerkraut]

Whole chickens usually come with the gizzards in a bag inside the body cavity. The gizzards include the heart, liver neck. If you don't use them for gravy or anything else, just toss them. Always rinse the cavity well though and make sure things like the lungs were well removed from inside the bird. Often, during mechanical removal some may be missed...

We always called them giblets. My grandfather would eat them but I never acquired a taste

[Bookpreviews]

Whole chickens usually come with the gizzards in a bag inside the body cavity. The gizzards include the heart, liver neck. If you don't use them for gravy or anything else, just toss them. Always rinse the cavity well though and make sure things like the lungs were well removed from inside the bird. Often, during mechanical removal some may be missed...

I did not know this!
I think the place I get chicken and turkey from they sell those things separately for really cheap.
You can also buy 15 kg of chicken bones for $20 for making stock or "giving to your canine friends??"

If your whole chicken was frozen, wouldn't they take out the insides first?
I guess I will email the producer to find out!

[gordholio]

It's almost 9 lbs, which is pretty good.