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Original poster

Chicken from butcher

29 replies

Silentfrog · 14/08/2020 10:44

I've just bought a medium sized chicken from the butcher and was fairly aghast to find that it cost me £16. I just gulped and paid up, but can anyone else tell me if that's normal of overpriced?
Thanks (I normally go to supermarket but wanted to support local business)

OP posts:
FortunesFave · 14/08/2020 11:35

I pay about `17 Aussie dollars from my local butcher for a chicken in Oz. That's under a tenner in pounds. Seems very steep to me! Was it organic?

Thisismytimetoshine · 14/08/2020 11:41

Well, Sainsbury's free range chickens are around 7 quid, so it sounds extortionate... Was it organic?

TheLovleyChebbyMcGee · 14/08/2020 11:52

that sounds really expensive to me

thisstooshallpass · 14/08/2020 13:17

Crikey 😮

cultkid · 14/08/2020 13:18

Wtf

Organic is less then that

IdrisElbow · 14/08/2020 13:23

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IdrisElbow · 14/08/2020 13:24

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TeddyIsaHe · 14/08/2020 13:25

That’s mad! A large, organic butcher chicken here reared about 5 miles from the shop is £11 and I thought that was pricey.

niceupthedance · 14/08/2020 13:27

That would be average to cheap in our posh butcher

Original poster
Silentfrog · 14/08/2020 13:51

It's a very busy well stocked country butcher so maybe also posh niceupthedance
I do have grand plans for it and it should stretch to a few meals plus stock.
@IdrisElbow I'm hoping that a decent life for the chicken is what I paid extra for!

OP posts:
FinnyStory · 14/08/2020 13:53

Our local "proper" butcher is doing them 3 for £10. I don't like that either TBH. He doesn't claim to be organic or special breed, grass fed etc but I generally find his meat to be of much better quality than the supermarkets.

bowchicawowwow · 14/08/2020 13:53

I saw an organic corn fed chicken on sale at the local farmers market for £31 a few years ago so I can sell believe it

Original poster
Silentfrog · 14/08/2020 13:53

Thanks for the replies - I think we're agreed that it was pricey. I did wonder if it was a mistake or the butcher saw me coming.
I'm going to look in a few other local butchers to see what they offer. If prices are comparable I'll suck it up as they seem a decent business.

OP posts:
MyCatReallyIsAGit · 14/08/2020 22:38

Our local butcher charges that for free range - it’s maybe £8 a kilo and apparently they’re all 2kg or bigger (didn’t look that big to me). I thought that was very steep.

Otherpeoplesteens · 15/08/2020 11:41

I was a bit miffed when Lidl put up the price of a 2kg RSPCA and Red Tractor chicken from £3.85 to £4.29 a few weeks ago so did a double take when I read the OP.

I checked one of the online posh butchers which I use as food porn when I've got the computer to myself and, sure enough, £15 for a 1.6kg non-orgasmic chicken seems so attractive they are out of stock. These are admittedly "Heritage Breed" free range birds, but another online butcher wants £13 for a frozen 1.4kg French bird.

We live in a place where we only have supermarkets without long journeys. A few months ago I wanted a cut of meat which none of them can supply, so turned to the internet to find it. I still cannot get over the sheer mind-boggling difference between the price of supermarket meat and that of "quality" butchers.

formerbabe · 15/08/2020 11:42

Yikes...I once was in the supermarket queue and the woman behind me had an organic chicken and it was £12 which seemed a lot. I guess you get what you pay for. Let us know if it's worth it please op.

Longdistance · 15/08/2020 11:47

@Otherpeoplesteens I want an orgasmic chicken now 😂

Is this going to be a MN chicken thread where we turn a £16 chicken magically into a weeks meals for a family of 6?

iklboo · 15/08/2020 11:55

Jesus for £16 I'd want it to cook itself and peel the carrots!

EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide · 15/08/2020 12:08

I am not in a posh area by any stretch but one of the butchers here charges £7 for a pound of beef mince. I bet a full chicken is similar priced to what you paid!

nicenames · 15/08/2020 15:33

To be honest, I think that is probably the going rate of the chicken has actually had a good life. A lot of free range supermarket chickens really get the bare minimum of free ranging and are fattened very quickly and killed much earlier. Really it depends

Justajot · 15/08/2020 15:45

That's exactly what happened to me with our local butcher. We'd just moved to the area, so I had no idea that it was a crazily expensive butcher. £16 for a chicken and I've never been back.

orangenasturtium · 15/08/2020 16:13

We used 2 local very fancy local butchers (Central London) and Farmdrop for deliveries during lockdown and were paying £16 for a medium sized chicken (1.6kg).

To fair, they tasted so much better than supermarket chickens, even the corn-fed, free range, organic, supermarket chickens. They are a little tougher though because they actually get to use their muscles...

I would say the increase in cost is proportional to the increase in quality. It's worth it for a special occasion, if not every day.

FreeButtonBee · 15/08/2020 16:18

Just bought one today from local posh butcher. A 1.9kg free range bird was £14.50. It’s expensive but I think reflects a chicken that has actually had a bit of a life. The meat is really beautiful though. No supermarket chicken even Waitrose or M&S can touch it. And I get two big tubs of proper stock for risotto after

netflixismysidehustle · 15/08/2020 16:42

This is the Tesco price

Chicken from butcher
Bonkersblond · 15/08/2020 16:54

About £12 average from my butcher, farm reared and he removes all the bones, I will never buy chicken on the bone again, so worth the extra, quicker to cook so save on utility bill.