Cheapest chicken for casserole

[zinaida]

Does anyone know what the cheapest way of buying chicken for a casserole is? Should I buy a whole one and joint it, or just get a load of thighs?

It depends on what offers etc there are, but I think generally buying a whole bird can work out cheapest because you can use some for a casserole and then keep a breast to use for a risotto or something with the stock from the carcass.

Compare the price per kg if you're looking for the cheapest. Using the Tesco site as a comparison. Whole chickens £3/kg. Bone in thighs & drumsticks £3.89/kg. I think thighs are the best value because they're quite meaty, stand a long cooking time and have just a single bone to dispense with. A jointed whole chicken has a lot of bones plus useless bits like wings.

Sainsbos used to do a caserole pack - about 8 drumsticks, 4 thighs and 2 legs - for 3.99.

havent seen them for a while in our store :( SHame because it was good value.

oh and a whole 1.3kg bird has approz 550g meat on it. I know because I had to pick a cracas for a weight watchers recipe and was really surprised at how little meat I had :(

Yes thighs are good value and little hassle sincew you don't need to carve u a whole bird.

If you want to make stock have a proper butcher, they will often sell chicken carcasses for just a few pence.

Thanks everyone, that's really helpful! I've always wondered how much actual meat there is on a carcass. I went for the Sainsburys casserole pack in the end, but will definitely ask my butcher for carcasses, as that seems like a really good plan.