‘It caramelised beautifully’: the best (and worst) supermarket chickens, tasted and rated | The food filter

Today’s test confirmed my conviction that knowing where your food comes from is among the most effective actions consumers can take. This means buying from farmers’ markets, butchers or directly from farms (online or in person). Some supermarkets also now work with independent family farms to provide better levels of transparency (although, do beware of fake farms, because some supermarkets have been known to make up fictional brands).

After roasting today’s chickens, it was abundantly clear to me that birds from independent family farms are leagues above supermarket own-brand chickens, even organic ones. It’s generally accepted that properly slow-grown, free-range and organic chickens develop firmer, more flavourful meat from the exercise they get by scratching around outdoors. Feed matters, too: pasture, herb and corn-fed birds have much more complex flavours and often sweeter, more buttery flesh.

I roasted all the birds, seasoned simply with sea salt and sunflower oil, on a high heat at first for colour, then low and slow to finish. I then rested them under clean tea towels for at least 10 minutes, to ensure maximum tenderness.

I tasted the breast and leg meat from each bird, not least because the latter is far more succulent and characterful; the breast, meanwhile, tends to be pretty neutral in flavour.

The chicken’s raw condition is probably the clearest marker of quality: dry, blemish-free skin not only signals good welfare and careful handling, but also roasts to a rich, golden finish. Nearly all the best birds arrived dry and pristine. By contrast, chickens that were damp with red marks, excess feathers or wrinkled skin often betray poor treatment, rushed processing and evidence of “plumping” (water injected to inflate weight), all of which often mean more disappointing results.

The tasting spanned price points from £6 a kg for entry-level free-range up to £11 a kilo for premium organics. But price isn’t everything: ultimately, slow-grown, pasture-raised and transparently farmed chickens were superior in flavour and condition, and often better value than premium supermarket options. Which is yet more evidence that better farming and good eating go hand in hand.

The best supermarket chicken

Best overall:
Packington free-range medium whole chicken

★★★★☆

Slow-grown and with strong transparency on animal welfare and sustainability. The flavour is outstanding: sweet, rich and umami, and really delicious. The raw condition is blemish-free, with pale-yellow skin, strong yellow fat and dark breast meat. Two-star Great Taste Award, too.

Best bargain:
Thoughtful Producer free-range whole chicken

★★★★☆

A slow-grown chicken raised on open pasture at Copas Farms. A complex, savoury flavour with herbaceous, mineral notes, and nicely presented in a large bag with blemish-free, pale, yellow-white skin and dark-ish breast meat. Farm management appears strong, but I couldn’t identify any published impact targets. Still, excellent value with solid transparency.

And the rest …

The Black Farmer organic whole chicken

★★★★☆

Reared on small farms with 24-hour access to the outdoors. Cooked, the taste is excellent; raw, the appearance is very clean and blemish-free with yellow skin. Top-of-the-range price, but one that really delivered, which is why this would be my best splurge.

Herb Fed free-range whole chicken

★★★★☆

Slow-grown in small flocks on Yorkshire pasture with shed access, these birds are fed herb trimmings from a nearby farm. The flavour has a complex, umami depth and creamy texture. Nicely presented raw, too, with moist, blemish-free, pale skin. The farm shows independent, transparent practices. Excellent value for its quality and provenance, and Great Taste Awards-starred.

M&S free-range corn-fed whole chicken

★★★★☆

Slow-grown and RSPCA Assured. This caramelised beautifully, and scored very highly on flavour, with distinct depth and a rounded sweetness. It arrived in excellent condition, too, with clean, pale-yellow skin and darkish breast meat. Great value and exceptional taste.

Morrisons the Best free-range corn-fed whole chicken

★★★☆☆

A slow-grown, East Anglian reared, Red Tractor-certified chicken. Sweet, mineral and full-flavoured, with good depth and a buttery texture. Its raw condition was excellent, with clean, corn-yellow and nicely dry skin. A decent price per kilo for a solid roaster in great condition.

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference free-range whole chicken

★★★☆☆

Slow-reared and RSPCA Assured. Site says the chickens are raised in sheds and fields, with access to woodland – a major bonus because it’s the birds’ natural habitat. The flavour has subtle, gamey, mineral notes and a creamy texture. Raw, it has pale, yellow-white skin with a few small blemishes and feathers, but nothing of concern, though it was a bit moist. Overall, good value for the quality.

Tesco organic whole chicken

★★★☆☆

Described on the packaging as “free to roam and play”, which may or may not indicate less outdoor access than standard free-range birds. The flavour is sweet and mineral-rich, while its raw condition featured moist, white skin with a couple of minor blemishes. Greater transparency and clearer provenance would improve confidence, though.

Duchy Organic free-range whole chicken

★★★☆☆

Rather scrawny-looking, but with a sweet, mineral and earthy flavour. Its raw condition was excellent – dry, pale-white skin and outstretched legs, suggesting careful hanging. Very expensive for the size, though I’m sure you’ll find better value by selecting a larger bird in store (and with a better meat-to-bone ratio).

Asda organic free-range whole chicken

★★☆☆☆

The flavour is sweet, savoury and full-bodied, but the raw bird was in poor condition, with red blemishes, moist skin and wrinkled patches from the packaging, all of which caused slightly uneven roasting. Disappointing for an organic bird.