Chicken

[DonRocks]

I just bought some Bell & Evans chicken at Whole Foods, and when I opened it, it had a distinct smell of hard-boiled eggs. Not overwhelming, but prominent enough for me to take notice, and Google "When chicken smells like eggs." Sure enough, there were some conflicting entries.

It is *such* a pain to take things back, but I'm wondering if I should.

Is it "bad?" The smell is by no means overwhelming, but it is there.

[weezy]

Check the diaper in the bottom of the packaging.  Often that's where the smell is coming from.  If the diaper stinks but the chicken doesn't, cook the chicken now and it (and you) will be fine.  If the chicken is independently stinky w/out the diaper, return it.

[DonRocks]

5 minutes ago, weezy said:

Check the diaper in the bottom of the packaging.  Often that's where the smell is coming from.  If the diaper stinks but the chicken doesn't, cook the chicken now and it (and you) will be fine.  If the chicken is independently stinky w/out the diaper, return it.

I usually buy Whole Foods brand chicken, and I've never encountered this smell before. I have some left in the freezer, so I'm going to go ahead and cook that, and return the Bell & Evans chicken - I think it's probably fine (it doesn't smell rotten, but it's starting to throw some sulfur). Sell-by date is Nov 20, btw.

There actually *is* no diaper - it was a family pack of boneless, skinless thighs, and shrink-wrapped in plastic, but without any paper underneath. 

I just don't need to be thinking about this while I'm eating, and Whole Foods has gotten more than enough of my money before where I don't feel badly about this.

[Pat]

20 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

I usually buy Whole Foods brand chicken, and I've never encountered this smell before. I have some left in the freezer, so I'm going to go ahead and cook that, and return the Bell & Evans chicken - I think it's probably fine (it doesn't smell rotten, but it's starting to throw some sulfur). Sell-by date is Nov 20, btw.

There actually *is* no diaper - it was a family pack of boneless, skinless thighs, and shrink-wrapped in plastic, but without any paper underneath. 

I just don't need to be thinking about this while I'm eating, and Whole Foods has gotten more than enough of my money before where I don't feel badly about this.

I've noticed that most, if not all, of the Bell and Evans I see at the Old Town Whole Foods is vacuum sealed. I've been buying and keeping it sometimes quite a while before opening but still opening before the "sell by" date, and I have not encountered this.  Sometimes with Whole Foods, if you call about it, they will just tell you to bring your receipt in next time and they will credit you for it. That way you don't have to hang on to it if you think it is spoiled.

Since you've already opened it, wash it off and see if that helps with the smell.  If you are going to use it, today is the day and make sure it is very thoroughly cooked.

It sounds like your local Whole Foods has some freshness problems, based on other things you've posted. Maybe you should try a different location?

 

 

[Poivrot Farci]

On 11/18/2016 at 2:37 PM, DonRocks said:

I think it's probably fine...

As per America’s debatable and arbitrary greatness, the onus for food safety rests almost entirely on the consumer via cautionary stickers indicating “cook thoroughly”, whatever that means, and not so charming words of caution at the bottom of the menu. In more modern & advanced European countries such as Denmark, salmonella is checked for in chick hatcheries and when detected the chicks are destroyed before they enter the food chain.  Their interwebs & trains are faster and the food more expensive than ours, but it is also much better.

[silentbob]

On 11/18/2016 at 3:03 PM, Pat said:

I've noticed that most, if not all, of the Bell and Evans I see at the Old Town Whole Foods is vacuum sealed.

We are recent converts to Bell and Evans.  The easy peel-off vacuum sealed containers are superb.

[Al Dente]

Just thought I'd share a chicken story. When I got out of college I got a gig managing a data entry department for a company that handled coupon fulfillment. It was in Salisbury MD where Purdue is headquartered. They had a deal where you could send in proof of purchase and they'd send you back a coupon for a buck off your next purchase. Well, people being what they are, there were some assholes who would send in the juicy wrapper with the price label on it. Didn't even bother to rinse it off. You can imagine the smell. My employees would refuse to work on any Purdue job-- I'd have to pay people extra.

[Pat]

4 hours ago, silentbob said:

We are recent converts to Bell and Evans.  The easy peel-off vacuum sealed containers are superb.

This is mostly what I've been buying for a while now, and I agree. I often pick up one more package than I need (especially if something is on sale) and stash one in the freezer for another time.