why does my store bought chicken always smell!!!

[Martha27]

this is like the 5th time this has happened to me in the last 4 months- I but chicken (natural hormone free kind not 100% organic as i'd like but still gives me peice of mind and I can afford it...sort of) anyway I leave it in the fridge for a day or 2 until I need to use it, well within the sell by/use by date, open it up and get knocked down by a strong yucky egg smell to say i'm mad is an understatment! I cant afford to keep ditching all this meat b/c it goes bad! what do i need to do different when storing my chicken??

[texaspeach]

get a thermometer for your fridge. it might not be cold enough

[CookiePie]

I have returned bad chicken the store with my receipt a few times! They never question me, it stinks!

[allnaturalmom]

Originally Posted by CookiePie

I have returned bad chicken the store with my receipt a few times! They never question me, it stinks!

Yes, I have also returned chicken to the store a few times lately, too. Maybe three times in the past three months. Soooo annoying when you have everything planned for dinner, open the package and are bowled over by the nasty smell. Ugh! And my refrigerator's meat drawer temp is fine - set to the highest setting. Our local grocery store has a double price back guarantee, but still it is such an inconvenience, especially w/kiddos in tow. OT: One time the customer service girl wouldn't give me the double amount back and the kids were starting to act up (we had been waiting in line for a long time) so I didn't have time to ask to see the manager to resolve the issue... oh well, at least I got the purchase price back.

[Holiztic]

Even the store-bought cage free organic stuff often smells before the sell by date, so take heart in that!

Also (not to ruin your piece of mind) but all chicken is "natural hormone free". It is illegal to use hormones on chickens, and "natural" means absolutely nothing with chicken. The issues with chicken are what they are eating (ideally bugs, grass, organic feed) and how they live (ideally mostly outside, not packed in a house with no grass and no light). Oh, and antibiotics, of course, unnecessary if the above are ideal.

I don't tell you this to make you feel bad about what you are buying, but more to tell you that you might be spending money you don't need to on the same exact product that is on sale for a lot cheaper!

As far as cost--do you buy the whole chicken and use it all (back, etc)? Do you use it twice (roast it for dinner, then make stock with the carcass?) Do you buy thighs instead of breasts for things like casseroles, mexican, etc? Those are things we do in order to afford the best chicken.

Just a few thoughts (unsolicited, sorry!)

[Martha27]

Originally Posted by Holiztic

Even the store-bought cage free organic stuff often smells before the sell by date, so take heart in that!

Also (not to ruin your piece of mind) but all chicken is "natural hormone free". It is illegal to use hormones on chickens, and "natural" means absolutely nothing with chicken. The issues with chicken are what they are eating (ideally bugs, grass, organic feed) and how they live (ideally mostly outside, not packed in a house with no grass and no light). Oh, and antibiotics, of course, unnecessary if the above are ideal.

I don't tell you this to make you feel bad about what you are buying, but more to tell you that you might be spending money you don't need to on the same exact product that is on sale for a lot cheaper!

As far as cost--do you buy the whole chicken and use it all (back, etc)? Do you use it twice (roast it for dinner, then make stock with the carcass?) Do you buy thighs instead of breasts for things like casseroles, mexican, etc? Those are things we do in order to afford the best chicken.

Just a few thoughts (unsolicited, sorry!)

oh dont be sorry, no worries!
yep the stuff i buy also says antibiotic free and (i think) free range. but I would feel better getting organic b/c even when they say veggie fed I worry about GMO corn or soy they might be getting so organic would be my first choice! hopefully getting some local organic chix in bulk soon and not having to worry about this anymore at all!!
and yes I almost never buy breast, just thighs and drumsticks and whole chickens used 2Xs!

[JudiAU]

If the chicken is processed and then packed, there is a lot of blood/nasties that can be really stinky when you open the package. It may or may not be spoiled. Sometimes it is hard to say. But really, regardless of what the package says, you should use poultry within 24h of buying it. It is quite perishable and those sell by dates can be WEEKS after the bird was slaughtered.

[ikesmom]

Originally Posted by JudiAU

If the chicken is processed and then packed, there is a lot of blood/nasties that can be really stinky when you open the package. It may or may not be spoiled. Sometimes it is hard to say. But really, regardless of what the package says, you should use poultry within 24h of buying it. It is quite perishable and those sell by dates can be WEEKS after the bird was slaughtered.

I have had the stinky chicken issue just recently and then a few months back. I will say I did notice a few of the thighs had bloody spots on them. This is gross in its own with or without smell. I skin the chicken and roast it all as soon as possible. I bag it and freeze it for quick meals. This helps me with planning, time, cost, and less worry about if it is good or not.

[Kelilah]

Chickens in feedlots are often fed cow feces as filler. It makes the meat smell bad. (The reverse is true too - if you ever get a whiff of chicken poop off your grocery-store beef, that's why; it's what they're eating.) I believe sometimes they feed the chickens their own waste as well. "Free-range" doesn't mean the chickens are outside in the sunshine eating bugs and grass, it just means that for the last 2 or 3 weeks of life they have a little door to an enclosed run outside. Most of them don't go out because they've spent their whole lives in the building and don't understand what the door means. And there's not much for grass and bugs out there, so they're still getting the processed feed.

Add on the slaughter methods, the time spent trucking the meat all over the country, and the time spent sitting in the grocery store... that's a recipe for stinky chicken, right there.

If you can spring for organic, you'll probably have better luck. Or even better yet, find a butcher that sells locally-raised *pastured* chicken. Life on pasture, where they actually are getting grass and bugs and all those goodies, really does make the healthiest and tastiest chicken.

[tatsu15]

Originally Posted by Holiztic

Even the store-bought cage free organic stuff often smells before the sell by date, so take heart in that!

Also (not to ruin your piece of mind) but all chicken is "natural hormone free". It is illegal to use hormones on chickens, and "natural" means absolutely nothing with chicken. The issues with chicken are what they are eating (ideally bugs, grass, organic feed) and how they live (ideally mostly outside, not packed in a house with no grass and no light). Oh, and antibiotics, of course, unnecessary if the above are ideal.

I don't tell you this to make you feel bad about what you are buying, but more to tell you that you might be spending money you don't need to on the same exact product that is on sale for a lot cheaper!

As far as cost--do you buy the whole chicken and use it all (back, etc)? Do you use it twice (roast it for dinner, then make stock with the carcass?) Do you buy thighs instead of breasts for things like casseroles, mexican, etc? Those are things we do in order to afford the best chicken.

Just a few thoughts (unsolicited, sorry!)

I agree. The best chickens feed on natural stuff like bugs and grass. Most conventional chickens are fed really bad stuff with high amounts of arsenic in them which is passed on to us when we eat them. I try to avoid giving my toddlers chicken when possible unless I buy it myself and know the source but it is hard sometimes.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/0...c-in-children/

[newcastlemama]

I had the same problem until I started using the chicken within 2 days or freezing itright away.