Which supermarkets in the UK sell good quality frozen British chicken fillets?

Posted by ohmygodadameget@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 49 comments

I have a gym diet meaning I get through a ton of chicken, and for convenience, buying in bulk and cooking a bunch of portions at once makes things far easier. Anyway, I previously used Tesco's British Grade A frozen chicken breasts as they tasted great and had something like 33.7g of protein per 100g which is the best I've seen. Anyway, they hadn't had any in for a week, and now it's been replaced entirely with this new Scoff'd frozen chicken. Aside from the name being a cringey attempt at being trendy (I'm sure it's just some Tesco in house branding), the chicken is entirely sourced from Poland, has a lower protein content, shrinks about 75g more than the previous 1kg frozen chicken and has an unpleasant chemically aftertaste (in my opinion). It's sad to see more supermarkets just go down the cheap imported meat route, and I do like to support British industry where possible, so can anyone recommend any supermarkets or other outlets that stock good quality (30g protein or better) British chicken fillets, preferably the frozen sort in 1kg bags?

49 Comments

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SeriesCurious8556@reddit

The only true answer is M&S

CheeryBottom@reddit

You’d be best off trying independent butchers. Obviously you’ll be paying independent butcher prices. I’ve just had a new diet plan imposed on me with my medication and I have to trust the quality of the poultry I consume and I’ve had to start sourcing my poultry from a local independent farm butcher.

alltorque1982@reddit

Was just about to say this. Always get butchers chicken. No shrinkage, about 5kg was £20 ish last time I bought some, or try musclefood.

cgb1508@reddit

5kg of chicken breast for £20?!

FoodEnvironmental368@reddit

5KG of Chicken Brest for £37 from my butcher https://preview.redd.it/5jx69857t55f1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57f34096696c62a144436524a49519f11bb448f7

Ah, it was a few months back, I've just checked and it's now £35. Still a bargain in my opinion

religionisanger@reddit

I’ve never met anyone on Reddit who doesn’t love a butcher. I must be unlucky because the dozen or so times I’ve used a butcher it’s either been shit or roughly on par with a supermarket. From my limited experience (controversial opinion coming up…) I think butchers are overrated.

jimicus@reddit

There are wholesalers selling exactly the same shit as you’d get in the supermarket to butchers. Those are the butchers who can’t understand why they’re losing customers to Tesco’s.

Lessarocks@reddit

My local butcher is unaffordable . it’s £8.39 for a single,chicken breast. It makes Waitrose look very cheap.

matthewkevin84@reddit

How good is the meat at this butcher, is this butchers in a particular affluent area?

I can’t speak to the quality as I can’t afford to buy it but I would hope it’s exceptional lol. Yes, it is a fairly well to do area. I’m not in that postcode but there is no longer a butcher where I live. And the expensive one is the nearest.

FilmFanatic1066@reddit

Costco chicken is great

SteamZ90@reddit

Used to get them from muscle food as they had offers on all of the time. But switched to costco as its more convenient and cheaper. Noticed the costco ones are bigger than what you'd get at a supermarket and aren't full of water and shrink.

michaelisnotginger@reddit

Agree with Costco, they are grade a too

Other_Exercise@reddit

I once met a civil servant who worked specifically on measuring UK chicken imports and exports. What he told me was quite interesting: the UK exports a lot of its high-quality chicken breasts to other countries, because there's strong demand abroad. But then it has to import chicken breasts back in to meet domestic demand. Meanwhile, the less desirable bits—like drumsticks and legs—often get left behind or are exported more cheaply. That’s also why supermarkets here are full of cheap legs and thighs, while proper British chicken breast is harder to find unless you’re shopping at places like M&S or Waitrose, where you’ll pay a premium. So weirdly, we end up importing the good stuff we actually produce.

heliskinki@reddit

Thighs are a much better cut than breast imo, more flavour, juicier, and cheaper.

Prices unfortunately now reflect this

IsWasMaybeAMefi@reddit

Iceland. I get their "Iceland Class A Fresh Chicken Breast Fillets Skinless & Boneless 1.7kg" and I'm happy with those. Tesco and Morrissons I am finding have too much added water which is very apparent when cooking in an airfryer.

ohmygodadameget@reddit (OP)

!answer This is the one, thanks man, just had a look at the nutritional info and it's brilliant, like the highest quality with regards to protein that I've seen. I would love to do what other people suggest and just buy from a local butcher, but you can never be certain of the nutritional values and with a daily protein target I don't want to take chances.

Perhaps try some online butchers?

Illustrious-Log-3142@reddit

Musclefood always used to be the place to get it from, that or a butchers

ukbot-nicolabot@reddit

[OP marked this as the best answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1l41uug/which_supermarkets_in_the_uk_sell_good_quality/mw5xtm1/), given by /u/IsWasMaybeAMefi. > Iceland. I get their "Iceland Class A Fresh Chicken Breast Fillets Skinless & Boneless 1.7kg" and I'm happy with those. > > edit: Not tried their frozen but I would think they are very similar. > > Tesco and Morrissons I am finding have too much added water which is very apparent when cooking in an airfryer. --- [_^(What is this?)_](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/jjrte1/askuk_hits_200k_new_feature_mark_an_answer/)

Evening-Tomatillo-47@reddit

Costco do massive packs of everything like that. I don't know if you can buy them frozen but still

PokemonTrainer_A@reddit

They’re still frozen. The breasts are still massive and good quality. Even the southern fried chicken breasts and kievs are good quality breast meat.

pinkdaisylemon@reddit

Muscle food online. Nice big chicken breasts.

Hyperion2023@reddit

It might be more convenient just to go for Quorn, in terms of buying it frozen and ready to throw into every meal for maximum protein, and it cooks quickly. It has the advantage that it’s not factory-farmed low welfare standard chicken, and has just as much flavour (chicken breast doesn’t taste of much anyway, compared to thigh, drumstick etc).

DameKumquat@reddit

Or any TVP (textured vegetable protein) in the supermarket. Even cheaper than Quorn chunks.

warboys35@reddit

Don’t a lot of people use muscle foods ? Though I’m not certain it’s British!

mining-ting@reddit

I used to and thought it was good some things I was quite dubious of tho

Upper_Push_5860@reddit

Frozen would be fresher. Don’t like to think how long the fresh breast has been sitting from slaughter to me eating it

Purescience2@reddit

You almost certainly don't have to, there will be a traceable kill date either on the packaging or directions to find it.

BlueHornedUnicorn@reddit

I am SO fussy when it comes to chicken. It's one of these meats that can absolutely turn my stomach if I get a bad bite, and so many supermarkets have got chicken that, when you cook it, is completely rubbery, chewy and just feels HARD. It's so unappealing. I would suggest you look for free range or corn fed breasts from M&S or Sainsbury's. Those are the two that I've had the most success with, but also - would it not be more economically friendly for you to just buy a whole chicken and using all parts of it?

DropDeadDigsy@reddit

Aldi

UKGentlemanDom@reddit

Stick with retailers who have signed up to The Better Chicken Commitment. Sadly, that's only M&S and Waitrose.

antdd_c@reddit

How time poor are you? it might be worth buying a couple of whole chickens instead - take the skin and bones off and out of one and chop it up into the bits you want to freeze and roasting the other with some Fry Light instead of cooking oil, shredding it all and using it how you need for a couple of days like Nan used to do in the 60s. Plus, you could make broth out of the bones for a ridiculous amount of protein and collagen at lower calories. A quick look at the Tesco website reckons Scoff'd frozen chicken/frozen Tesco brand Chicken Thighs are £5 per kg and the Fresh whole chickens range from £2.60-£3.60 per kg.

Anxious_wank@reddit

I stopped buying frozen chicken breast fillets because the quality in them dropped dramatically. Specifically, notable things you've listed and throw in the questionable practices of Poland which a lot of the supermarket frozen chicken seems to come from. Frozen chicken is cheaper but the quality is noticible, so its pricier but I buy fresh chicken fillets and portion it how I'll need it and freeze it myself.

Winter_Parsley8706@reddit

I would go to your local butcher and just freeze them your self. Get your self a load of freezer bags and go and buy in bulk from a good butcher. It will work out cheaper and the quality will be better, if my experience is anything to go by. I do the same with steak and pork now. Overall it does work out cheaper as you are less likely to buy shit you don't need from the big shop. Sod the supermarkets.

Atrixia@reddit

Butcher the best source by far.

MegaMolehill@reddit

My butcher sells 5kg packs of unfrozen chicken breasts for £30. The quality of the breasts seems better as they shrink less when cooked so I imagine more protein and less water. Worth looking at few butchers and freezing yourself.

Repulsive_State_7399@reddit

Agreed. I brought 3kg of chicken breasts today from my butcher. £19. Far larger and nicer than any supermarket offerings.

S3THI3@reddit

I dont usually like to comment on this kind of thing without exact facts but I recently read something about Poland skirting chemical use in chicken farms and the UK being a direct buyer of these. It qas something along those lines, and it was bad for the chicken, the human, and the environment. Regardless of vegan or carnivore, animal welfare should be the bare minimum. IMHO. Perhaps have a look if its something you'd consider continuing to eat.

Comfortable-Bug1737@reddit

Iceland and Farmfoods

P2P-BSH@reddit

Do they have to be frozen? Can't you just freeze fresh chicken?

YodasGoldfish@reddit

I'm guessing already frozen stuff is cheaper ?

Cause it's lower quality, and OP is complaining about low quality produce.

LobsterAstronaut@reddit

I get ours from Sainsbury’s. Their own brand feels and acts like real chicken, good to eat as a hunk of meat. But there’s a basic-er brand for the same price that is hard to describe but it’s got a texture that’s best for shredding and mixing into other stuff. My other half prefers the latter as it’s creepily moist but I’d recommend either depending on what you’re doing with it.

HairyGorilla33@reddit

Tesco

jabber_91@reddit

A lot of the supermarkets all source from the same place they are just graded accordingly. If you want frozen specifically try out Farmfoods, they’re cheap and normally pretty good quality

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