One Pasture-Raised Chicken

This past weekend, I was planning to keep track of exactly how much I spent on food at the farmer's market and create a menu plan. One of the nice things about sticking to your budget at a farmers market is that most vendors only accept cash. So if you plan on spending $20, that's it. :)

I had a list and $40...more than I thought I'd need really. Good thing I had it though, because the only meat vendor is a fabulous lady who sells grass-fed beef. That day she had chickens too! Score! I've been buying organic meats despite my initial sticker shock. Now, I am used to spending $6-$8 on a package of chicken. But pasture-raised chicken? Wow...it cost me $20. At this point I thought, well this is just reality. You can't put a price on your health and I knew I'd get a lot out of this one chicken.

I wish I'd taken a picture. The chicken I bought weighed 5 lbs and looked very different than store bought chicken. It's meat looked darker, the neck was attached. This was great because if you're looking to make bone broth, you want things like neck and even feet.

First, I made a huge pot of stock with the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, apple cider vinegar and parsley. It simmered all day. I ended up with a huge amount of amazing stock. I simply cannot put a price on this stock. It is far, far better than anything you can buy in a box or can. Even organic. I got close to 2 gallons of stock.

The chicken itself I deboned and separated the meat into four piles. We will get four meals out of the chicken, plus all that stock. $5 per meal between the three of us is about $1.67 per person. Not bad at all!

You may be wondering if the taste was different and that much better/worth the extra cost. I have to say YES. Even my parents, who can be a little skeptical, were really impressed.

There are so many uses for broth and it makes me feel really good knowing that this simple food brings so much nourishment to my family. I truly have no idea if broths sold in stores are even made with bones. That is a very important part of making stock. Here's the scoop:

As the bones cook in water – especially if that water has been made slightly acidic by the inclusion of cider vinegar – minerals and other nutrients leach from the bones into the water.   Homemade broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and other trace minerals.   The minerals in broth are easily absorbed by the body.   Bone broth even contains glucosamine and chondroiton – which are thought to help mitigate the deletorious effects of arthritis and joint pain.     Rather than shelling out big bucks for glucosamine-chondroitin and mineral supplements, just make bone broth and other nutritive foods a part of your regular diet.

Further, homemade bone broths are often rich in gelatin.   Gelatin is an inexpensive source of supplementary protein.   Gelatin also shows promise in the fight against degenerative joint disease.   It helps to support the connective tissue in your body and also helps the fingernails and hair to grow well and strong.

I read that cooking chicken feet will give you more gelatin! :)


As of now, I am budgeting $20 per month for a pasture-raised chicken. We will have one chicken dish per week. Yum Yum.

I could also give myself an extra credit this month because the lady who sold me the chicken had beef soup bones for sale. I really wanted to make good quality beef stock and wanted those bones, but I had to choose between chicken and beef this week. I told the lady this and she just gave me the bones for free. Oh yeah! It never hurts to ask. :) She knew I was a good customer and would buy from her again. So I scored some awesome bones that would have cost be around $10.

It can definitely pay to give local farmers and businesses your patronage! I feel very blessed.