454203 Thu Oct 25 17:34:16 -0700 2007 23 13 New England 0 3068071 We have been buying quite a bit of Stew Leonards "Naked Chicken" which is packaged as antibiotic free, vegetarian fed etc. It looks better than the regular chicken, costs more too of course. Anyone else been doing the same? We had been buying Bell & Evans before the Newington (CT) Stews opened. Any opinions of one vs. the other? Any other ideas for "natural" chicken close to Hartford? Finally, anyone tried the "naked beef " any difference? Thu Oct 25 17:34:16 -0700 2007 24881 Archimedic 1 3068123 I've been buying both the Naked Chicken and the Naked Beef (in fact, just had a NB steak for dinner). I actually find I prefer them to Bell & Evans, which I thought was just psychological but then I actually did a side by side taste test of a NC and a B&E, cooked exactly the same way. While this may have been somewhat obsessive, my dinner companions and I all prefered the NC chicken even though the others didn't know which was which. Thu Oct 25 17:55:12 -0700 2007 3068071 26353 Elizzie 1 3068157 if that's the natural chickens at steweys then jfood likes them. this week the boneless breasts are $2.99 so jfood will be breading and frying the cutlets first thing saturday morning to freeze. they are just as good as B&E which is the other brand jfood buys. Thu Oct 25 18:10:20 -0700 2007 3068071 11290 jfood 2 3069196 jfood, sometimes I wonder how often you and I cross paths.... Fri Oct 26 07:43:20 -0700 2007 3068157 26353 Elizzie 3 3069429 great minds and tongues think alike Fri Oct 26 08:45:02 -0700 2007 3069196 11290 jfood 2 3070875 I was at Stews (Yonkers) today and saw these on sale. I didn't need chicken this week but was wondering if they were any good. I'll have to pick some up next shopping trip! Jfood- How do you reheat the chicken once frozen? I would think it would get mushy from freezing and defrosting. This sounds like a great recipe I can make over the weekend, and reheat on a night I don't feel like cooking. TIA Fri Oct 26 15:14:34 -0700 2007 3068157 115445 SweetPea914 3 3070896 4 minutes at 40% power in an MV. then jfood takes a little evoo in a hot pan and "re-frys" to get the outside crispy again. Then into a hot broiler with mozzy and some sauce and voila chick parm in 10 minutes. Fri Oct 26 15:25:00 -0700 2007 3070875 11290 jfood 4 3070920 I would NEVER think to microwave something fried, so glad I asked! Do you think they would do as well in the toaster oven vs. refrying? I ask because when I make chix parm, I usually spray with some olive oil and just toast them, instead of actually "frying". Since the toaster oven provides more direct heat than the reg. oven, they come out just as crispy as if I had fried them, but healthier. Fri Oct 26 15:32:30 -0700 2007 3070896 115445 SweetPea914 5 3070948 do not own a toaster oven since almost caused a fire 20 years ago so can;t really say. But belly tells me that the tiaster-oven should work great, it's contained, it's hot and it';s close. watch real careful and don;t letthe little one distract you, probably strap him/her in the eating chair with some cheerios while watching the parm jfood does not do healthy chick parm, just can;t get there. would rather spend an extra 30 minutes on the eliptical for the 500 calories then bake versus fry. Fri Oct 26 15:41:40 -0700 2007 3070920 11290 jfood 1 3070619 By the way, when we sat down to dinner last night, my daughter (who is very discerning) took a bite of her Stew's NB steak and said, "Wow, this is really good. Where did you get this meat?" I'd like to say it's my technique, but she's been eating my cooking for 35 years now and rarely comments so I'm thinking it was the steak. Fri Oct 26 13:51:29 -0700 2007 3068071 26353 Elizzie 2 3070828 what's NB? jfood has never found the meat at stew's more than middlin'. is this a different brand? Fri Oct 26 14:58:39 -0700 2007 3070619 11290 jfood 3 3070982 I'd assume, based on my lurking: "Naked Beef" Fri Oct 26 15:53:45 -0700 2007 3070828 104345 raddoc 4 3070999 danke Fri Oct 26 15:58:05 -0700 2007 3070982 11290 jfood 5 3071250 de rien Fri Oct 26 17:42:40 -0700 2007 3070999 104345 raddoc 6 3072467 There's no Stew's in Darien....oh, I get it. Yep, I was using NB for Naked Beef. Sat Oct 27 11:31:42 -0700 2007 3071250 26353 Elizzie 1 3072536 jfood just finished. Bought a nice package for $10.50. It contained 8 deboned breast quarters so basically $1.30 per. nice price. They are NOT the natural breasts jfood normally buys but they are free range according to one of the workers (insert grain of salt here) but for $10, jfood will bite. plus the traffic was horrible so he was comitted. Home, pounded, breaded and fried. Jfood normally keeps the filets as chef's treat and did so again. A little ketchup and the perfect chicken fingers. The taste was very nice and the texture very good. So these chickens for the time being receive a thumbs up from Jfood. He also looked at the short ribs to make some tomorrow for the family to eat while he travels this week. Went to the NB brand and looked. They were $5.79/lb and they were extremely fatty. Decidied against. Jfood gives these a thumbs down this week. Sat Oct 27 12:06:57 -0700 2007 3068071 11290 jfood 1 3072633 I tried the naked beef from Stews and I felt that it had been needled to tenderize it. Much of the boneless meat today is needled to tenderize. This allows any bacteria on the surface to be driven inside where it can cause illness if the meat is eaten rare or medium rare. Sat Oct 27 13:02:51 -0700 2007 3068071 137215 cooker3 2 3073468 What is meant by needled, and how can one tell if a piece of meat has been needled? Sat Oct 27 21:31:20 -0700 2007 3072633 115445 SweetPea914 1 3394928 I know for a fact that the Stews "Naked Chicken" is the same chicken they use at the Culinary Institute of America. I have purchased it from Stews Norwalk store many times. It is WAY better than the Bell & Evans chicken I used to buy at my local butcher shop. I asked the Meat Dept guy where it comes from and he told me that they raise the chickens on real Amish farms in PA just for the stores. I like knowing that when I buy it, I am supporting the little guy. I mean the farmer, Stews isn't exactly little. Wed Feb 13 15:33:17 -0800 2008 3068071 165810 ProShopper 2 3397013 OK...so after reading all these posts, I went to the Stew Leonards Norwalk store today (I live in Norwalk) just to dig a little deeper. I spoke with the meat guys and here's the deal. The "Naked Chicken" is supplied by a small natural chicken company in PA called FreeBird. I checked their website. They are truly antibiotic free all the way and they are really raising the chickens on small family farms. (I love that!) In a world of ever increasing imposters, FreeBird looks like the real deal!! Kudos to Stew for finding this little diamond in the rough. Thu Feb 14 08:54:31 -0800 2008 3394928 165810 ProShopper 1 3399754 This is an interesting thread. I always buy Bell and Evans at Waldbaum's in W. Hartford. I tried the Stew's naked chicken once but wasn't too impressed, so I am surprised to hear people say it is the same. I guess everyone's tastes are different! Stew used to carry Murray's chicken and so did Waldbaum's, but now I can't find it anywhere around here. I prefer Murray's to Stew's naked chicken too. Fri Feb 15 04:07:56 -0800 2008 3068071 163016 ntuitive1 2 4539870 Naked Chicken is FreeBird. It contains, on average, 6% water, while B & E has zero retained water. Both are grown just miles from each other in small, family operations. B&E supplements the feed with important vitamins and the processing methods are better than FreeBird's. Just FYI, FreeBird is owned by Hain Celestial. Thu Mar 26 07:26:20 -0700 2009 3399754 277561 slava 1 4540443 I've tried both Stew's naked chicken and Bell and Evans, and I prefer B&E, it's less greasy for some reason, and the meat is moist and juicy. Thu Mar 26 09:50:40 -0700 2009 3068071 10726 TrishUntrapped 2 4560450 I will try both again...I have never found the Naked Chicken to be greasy. I do think that the Bell and Evans breasts are very dry. Maybe that water you speak of helps the Naked Chicken to be as moist as it is. My kids actually like the Naked Chicken because it is so moist. Thu Apr 02 06:50:01 -0700 2009 4540443 165810 ProShopper