What's goin on with chicken quality?

[prand]

Has anyone noticed chicken breast that is very fibrous and tough recently?

i've found several batches over the last year or so are tough, rubbery and with visibly thick muscle fibres. Not very tasty at all, and it's getting to the point I don't want to eat chicken any more.

I expect this is a result of chickens that have been reared from egg to slaughterhouse 20 days or so, resulting in high meat yield but is frankly inedible. Worst case is this is some kind of cheaper chicken substitute (seagull, ostrich?!) that's being put into the food chain.

I din't buy the most expensive hand reared organic chicken, i've had this from various shops and outlets.

I have not complained to the shops yet, but will do so next time this happens. It would be interestin to hear if others have noticed this too.

[prand]

Turn7 said:

Only buy from a Butcher,not a supermarket.

Cheap chicken is awfull and wasting money .

You say that, but I have been buying cheap(er) non butcher chicken for years, I've been pretty happy with it and it hasn't had this problem. What's happenning now to make it so noticeably poor?

I'd be more than happy to patronise my local butcher too if I could get there when he was open, but he closes at 4pm and is not open at weekends!

[prand]

technodup said:

Try a backstreet halal butcher. I have several local to me and boneless chicken is less than £3/kg, and tastes better than any supermarket prepack stuff.

I hate to say it, but one of the places I got some ropey chicken was from such a place. Their lamb was on though.