Close Menu
    Frugal Living

    Chicken leg quarters not such a great deal

    I have been buying chicken leg quarters on sale for .69/ lb. and you have to buy a 10 lb bag for that price.

    I cooked up the chicken and stripped the meat off to use it in dishes. I weighed the meat before freezing it. It weighed only 3 lbs. So, there were 7 lbs of bones, skin, and fat. It comes out to $2.30 lb for the actual chicken.

    I realized that it wasn't such a great deal after all. Although I have the benefit of using the bones to make broth. I'm thinking I'm better off buying boneless chicken breasts at $1.99 lb when they go on sale. Plus, I save the prep time. Live and learn.

    Chicken leg quarters not such a great deal
    byu/1234568654321 inFrugal



    Posted by 1234568654321

    11 Comments

    1. Popular-Capital6330 on

      You’re doing it wrong.
      That 7 pounds of bones, fat and skin will make 12 QUARTS of high quality stock.

    2. Beginning-Row5959 on

      I like the chicken quarters for multiple purposes: I make broth with the bones, bake the skin until it’s crispy to use as chips, and obviously use the meat. My dog also loves the cartilage. But if you can get boneless skinless chicken breasts for $2/lb that does sound like a good deal 

    3. JamesKPolkEsq on

      Did you weigh the scrap?

      Cooking meat drives out liquid and reduces weight, chicken typically loses about 25% of its weight when cooked

      That means you have an effective yield of about 50%

    4. tackleboxjohnson on

      Water weight too. Be sure to try this experiment with the boneless breasts and see what weight you end up with that cut of meat.

      Also the skins are edible. This is r/frugal. Make stock or eat em!

    5. COKeefe88 on

      You prob cooked 4-5 lbs raw to end at 3.

      And…you’re skinning your quarters and throwing away the skin?? I assume since you mention skin with the 7 lbs side.

      A quick google suggests that edible yield from a whole chicken is 65-70%, tossing the skin takes 10 points off that.

      And like others are saying, if you want to eat frugal, you gotta be making stock and making all kinds of soup.

    6. michaelesparks on

      Comparing cooked chicken weight to price per pound uncooked seems like an apples to oranges comparison. When you buy boneless, then cook them what’s that price per pound?

      Also a nice hack is going to Costco or Sam’s and getting their rotisserie, debone and freeze in 1 lb packs, great for soup, enchiladas, pot pie etc. We pick up 2 or 3 and do that.

    7. BikeTough6760 on

      Boneless skinless breasts do not, IMO, taste as good as chicken leg quarters. But YMMV.

      You are correct that you’re paying for the bones and skin and if you’re not using those, it’s driving up your actual price per pound eaten.

      FWIW, I use the rendered fat in lieu of vegetable oil. I use the bones and skin (at least the skin we don’t eat) to make stock. Those are both cost savings that you’re not considering. You’re also comparing the cooked final weight of quarters to the uncooked weight of breasts, which is an unfair comparison.

    9. earthdogmonster on

      You know the skin is edible right? What I do with chicken quarters is separate into thighs and drumsticks and then season and cook. Either baked, pan cooked, grilled, or deep fried. If it’s baked or pan fried I will usually cook other things in the grease later.

      If you want boneless, skinless breasts, you should buy boneless, skinless breasts.

    10. Apprehensive-Crow-94 on

      I fail to systematically measure the actual chicken versus bones when I buy, too. I think I’ll do that next time I get thighs. But I think precooked comparison would be more accurate.

    Leave A Reply
    Share via