Today I am sharing how we eat frugal organic chicken on a budget and a recipe for crock-pot seasoned drumsticks. This is the most frugal way I know at this time to get organic chicken.
At the end of last year I stopped buying organic whole chickens. I had been buying them all year at Costco where they were $2.49/lb. which is a great price for organic whole chickens. I really thought buying a whole chicken was the most economical way of eating chicken. And I still do think that…mostly. Now I definitely believe buying the whole organic chicken is the cheapest way to get your hands on some white meat. If you buy them independently, organic chicken breasts can be about $5.99/lb. That’s a lot of money! So to pay $2.49/lb. to get the chicken breasts and dark meat is pretty good. Plus you end up with organic bones to make a bone broth. Can’t beat that.
Growing up we had drumsticks a lot, and honestly I prefer drumsticks. Dark meat has more flavor, and there is flavor in the bones. Even Iron Chef, Michael Simon agrees! Anyway, last fall I started buying the organic drumsticks at our Pacific Northwest Costco for $1.89/lb. Since then Costco has raised the price to $1.99/lb., but I still think it’s a bargain if you compare them to the price of conventional chicken breasts which can typically cost more than $2/lb. So, I would make Crock-pot Barbecue Drumsticks–just drumsticks and barbecue sauce. We would end up with leftovers since there three packages totaling over 5 lbs., and I would just go ahead and cook them all. Then I started shredding the leftover chicken for other meals and freeze the bones for bone broth.
The shredded chicken becomes a quick source of protein as it is ready to throw in so many recipes for the week. Or I can freeze meal sized portions. I find myself sometimes leaving the chicken on the bone so I can give it to JSarr as a quick portable protein for lunch.
Some of the recipes I use the shredded chicken for are:
- Crock-pot Chicken & Dumplings
- 10 Crock-pot Freezer Meals for $5.64 a Meal
- Crock-pot Chicken or Veggies with Vegan Thai Peanut Sauce
- Fettuccine Alfredo, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, G-F option
- Crock-pot Orange Ginger Chicken
- Crock-pot Sweet & Sour Chicken
- Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free
- Spicy Ginger Sauce Recipe with Veggies
- Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie, G-F option, Dairy-Free (No Cream of…Cans)
- Crock-pot Turkey or Chicken Tetrazzini & 10 Other Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe Ideas
- Applebee’s-Inspired Oriental Chicken Salad
- Crock-pot White Bean Chili with a Lime Option
- Healthified Raw Alfredo Sauce Recipe
- Crock-Pot or Not Super Quick Tortilla Soup
- Easy Stir Fry Recipe
- Crock-Pot Chicken Taco Salad
- Crock-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Crock-Pot or Not Chicken Taquitos Recipe
- Easy 4 Ingredient Pizza
- Crock-Pot Lasagna (I usually use chicken instead of ground beef or sausage)
- Crock-Pot Chili Recipe
- Easy Turkey or Chicken Nachos Recipe
- Crock-Pot Enchilada Recipe
- Slow Cooker Chicken or Turkey Enchilada Soup
And the chicken is just great if it is crock-potted twice, by the way.
Crock-pot Seasoned Drumsticks
Ingredients
- drumsticks 2-6 pounds
- water
- sea salt pepper, paprika, or seasoning salt like Homemade Red Robin Seasoning or Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning
Instructions
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Place a thin layer of water on the bottom of the crock-pot.
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Place chicken in the bottom of the crock-pot.
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Season meat as desired.
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Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.
Have you made your own Montreal Steak Seasoning? It’s just 4 ingredients!
Have you tried Crock-pot Barbecue Drumsticks?
Do you have any tips and tricks for eating organic meat on a budget?
GO HERE FOR THE COMPLETE LIST OF RECIPES.
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Yum! 🙂
Ha– this makes so much sense! One of my LEAST favorite things to do is taking the meat off the whole chicken… the legs aren’t nearly as tricky as the rest of the bird, and there’s plenty of meat there. Thanks for the tip!
Hi Kathy! You are so right that deboning the drumsticks are much easier than the whole chicken. I never thought of that! You are welcome.
Sonia, thanks so much!!! That was fun – I just made a Chicken Leftover Recipe booklet with your drumstick recipe on top!
Hi Piper! You are welcome. Glad you enjoy! Good idea to have chicken leftover booklet. I just discovered another chicken recipe to make I haven’t made in a long time, and it’s always nice to have variety. Thanks for sharing, Piper!
What a great idea! I try to buy as much organic as possible, but organic chicken/pork has always been out of the budget for us. We don’t have a Costco near us but I am thinking more and more it might be worth the drive to get a membership. I much prefer dark meat to white…much more flavor!
Hi Liz! I would call that Costco to see if they have the organic drumsticks before getting the membership since all Costcos vary their selection a bit. But Costco also has MANY other organic items and they keep adding more! I am working on updating my new Costco Natural and Organic Price List now and will post in the next couple of weeks if you are interesting in knowing more prices.
I didn’t realize how inexpensive the Organic Chicken Drumsticks are at Costco! That is a great deal and your recipe looks delicious as always!
Hi Serena! I know! I was pleasantly surprised to find the drumsticks last year, and I love buying them!