Fresh vs Frozen Chicken - can you tell?

[vernplum]

Recently, in Singapore, there was some kerfuffle with Malaysia about an import ban on Malaysian chickens which caused the price of fresh chicken in Singapore to spike to about $20 a kilo.

I bought some frozen boneless chicken legs ($5 a kilo) and to be honest, it was fine and I couldn't really tell the difference in the dishes I was making (simply roasted or in things such as a supreme, fried..).

Do you think you can tell fresh vs frozen unless it is some very specific dish that requires the freshest best chicken? (and what would those be?).

 

[Yorky]

We always buy fresh chicken (in 400 - 500 gm portions) but if it's not to be cooked within two days it is immediately put in the freezer. The difference in taste between them is beyond me but that could be because of the 50 years of smoking and 60 years of drinking.

I believe that boneless chicken breast is currently around US$ 6.00 - 7.00/kg here.

 

[Morning Glory]

I don't generally buy frozen chicken but on the odd occasion that I have I couldn't really tell the difference. I suppose at the end of the day it depends on the quality of the original product. I suspect most frozen chicken here isn't free range but I haven't actually checked that.

 

[TastyReuben]

I buy mainly fresh, but I do buy both fresh and frozen wings, and there isn’t a whole lot of difference to me, once I’m done baking them and covering them in butter and hot sauce.

Like Yorky, I do freeze the fresh chicken I don’t use up immediately (or buy on special), but I haven’t noticed much difference that way, either.

Truth is, though, I don’t really think about it when I’m cooking it or eating it.

 

[caseydog]

The chicken I buy fresh was probably forozen at some point between the farm and the grocery store shelf. I sometimes feel partially frozen meat in the fresh chicken packages.

The "fresh" chicken that I freeze at home get's vacuum sealed, so it is just fine when I defrost it weeks or months later. If I buy it frozen, it will eventually freezer burn, so I can't keep it as long.

CD