Buying chicken in bulk can save you a ton of money. This online bulk boneless skinless breast buy was intimidating but SO great once it was all processed!
I just got some meat from Just Meats and they are SUPER convenient. I recommend them now.
Buying Chicken in Bulk
Buying chicken in bulk can reap a lot of benefits:
- Save money
- Save time by processing it all together
- Often you get a better quality of meat by buying it all at once.
Purchasing Bulk Chicken
While I don’t have a supplier for raw bulk chicken I like — I do watch the ads, and when it’s on a good sale (and the longer you watch it the better you’ll know what a sale is) it’s time to pounce.
I like to get a lot.
Then, it’s time to process it.
** We recently bought a FoodSaver at Costco just for the time we bought the whole farm. 🙂
I mostly like that it will keep this high-quality chicken good for a long time. It did take longer to process than with just ziplocks. I hope that the effort will pay off.
I have a whole Instagram story about how I processed our last order.
How to process bulk chicken breasts:
The breasts are pretty large, but they are hormone free. And quite possibly the best chicken breasts we’ve ever had!
Who knows how those boobs get so big — little dumbells for those wings?
Anywho, I can’t just leave them as breasts. Mostly, my family doesn’t eat breasts all that frequently — does yours?
So, here’s what I do:
First off, make sure you have an ample supply of baggies. You don’t want to find out halfway through your chicken fiesta that you don’t have enough.
The chicken comes in 4 10’ish pound bags.
Bag #1: I chop it up into 1 inch pieces. I use chicken a lot in dishes. I like to keep it raw so i can marinate it or flavor it as it cooks.
Bag #2: I cut into strips. I used to buy a lot of chicken tenders, as that is what my family likes most. By cutting these giant boobs into 5 strips each I can use them in variety of ways.
Bag #3: I bag 4 bags of 3 breasts/bag. I think maybe only my husband would eat a full breast, the other two we can all split. I cut the rest of the chicken into pieces, like those in #1.
Bag #4: I stuff as much into my crock pot as possible, and fill it about 1/2 full with chicken stock, salt, and pepper corns. I try not to season it too much. I cook it for 4-6 hours until it’s up to temperature. I then let it cool for a bit, and then put it in the mixer, which will mix it to shreds (I LOVE that trick). I then package them in baggies in 1-2 cup measure amounts. I also save the liquid from cooking, and use it later when a recipe calls for broth/stock.
I pack the chicken in baggies one heaping cup of cut-up pieces or 8 strips. I push the baggies flat and freeze them in stacks (which is what you see on the top). It’s easier to defrost a flat package, and sometimes I forget (gasp) to get it out early enough. I’m sure I’m the only one.
Be careful as you clean-up – -we all know raw chicken isn’t our stomach’s friend.
Anyway, I like getting it all out of the way at once. It probably takes an hour or two, but it’s worthwhile to have some of my meal prep done in advance.
Don’t forget to defrost your freezer ahead of time. Yuck, just another job I hate.
Bock-bock-bock…it’s the chicken dance. {when it’s done}
Do you buy chicken in bulk? Do you think it’s better to process it all at once instead of in small batches. I bet that 40 pounds will last be about 5-6 months, just in time for another Savory Butcher drop-off.
Lynness says
Don’t forget canning! It costs more for the jars (1x cost) and lids (recurring), but then you’ve got shelf-stable chicken that doesn’t take up room in your freezer, or cost to maintain the temp. And, if your power goes out regularly (we can usually count on at least one extended outage per year), then it doesn’t go bad and it’s already cooked! Chicken is really easy to can- stuff it in raw, add some salt, and process for 90 minutes.
Hilary says
I have yet to get smart enough to do chicken. I had a YW leader whose canner blew-up at one point. I am still REALLY scared of pressure canning, but I hear SO many good things about canning chicken!
Havok says
(For serious, laugh out loud at your Dolly Parton joke xD)
I just got a ton of chicken on sale for 1.99 and was super proud of myself…and then realized I would have to figure out what to do with it all! I normally separate it into meal-size portions and just stick it in the freezer, but I will have to try shredding it! I watched A Slob Comes Clean’s video on doing it with a hand mixer the other day, and the Mister saw it and has been asking for shredded chicken all week! So, guess that’s on my list of to-dos, ha!
I have never put pre-cooked meat in the freezer, though, but if it works out, that will be the only way! But at the very least, cut it up into chunks instead of just portions – I always end up waiting for it to thaw, then chopping it up – which makes no sense (but that’s what I grew up with).
Hilary says
That’s what my mom did to Havok, but since I buy canned chicken from Costco, I figure this is a good alternative.
Stephanie says
Nice article. We buy from Zaycon too. We are a family of six and it saves us so much money. Last order we got 160lbs of chicken breasts. I cut a bunch into cubes. The rest I keep as breasts, but I cut them horizontally into two equal breasts. Then I save all the scrap pieces that get cut funky and can those.
Hilary says
HOLY COW. 160 pounds! Were your hands just DEAD by the end? Strong work!
Molly B says
I do this with chicken breasts as well. It saves so much time later. Here are a few things I do as well. My family seems to like the flatter end of the chicken breast better for cooking on the grill or in the pan, so I cut away the fat end. I then pound the pointy end into cutlets, season with a little salt, pepper, and EVOO, and freeze 4 at a time in a baggie. The pounding seems to really make the breast pieces juicy when you that and cook later. The fat ends go into a separate baggie which I use in the crockpot for shredded chicken. I sometimes add a marinade to these before freezing. Don’t forget to label your baggies, sometimes it is hard to tell what is what when frozen!
Laurie says
The chicken I am picking up in June was on sale in our area for $1.39/lb.!!
Hilary Erickson says
SUCH a great deal!
Diane Amundsen says
I enjoyed reading this Hilary and have decided to buy bulk little by little. In the long run I believe you save more money and do not have to shop that often except for milk and eggs, staples and such. Reading your article back in my era, we had a farmer down the road would raise steers, Maybe three at the most and my mom and my brother and his wife would always go half on the beef. It would be all cut and wrapped for you to pick up. They did that every year for years. And it helped both families. Do they do that where you live? Something to think about for you and your family. All the best to you Hilary….
Hilary Erickson says
I have a friend at work who sells half a cow, I’ve been wanting to purchase! 🙂
Katherine says
I love bulk chicken purchases. We do a lot of grilling so I cut each breast into three patty-like pieces (in half, then horizontally on the thick side) and freeze them in baggies with marinade. Sometimes a sauce, other times spices with oil or water. If I forget to thaw, I’ve already got flavor ready to go.
Hilary Erickson says
I really need to get on the marinade wagon….
Ann B says
I split our bulk bought boneless chick breasts in half (just the two of us). I add a little EVOO, taco seasoning (I use Alton Brown’s on foodnetwork.com). Another maybe EVOO, & salt free Greek Seasoning. Anyways, you get the picture
Hilary Erickson says
That sounds yummy!!!!!