Last Day for Alison's Chicken Sale

I hope everyone had a happy Fourth! I know I did and the rain did not hinder my desire to grill in the least.

I went to the Guilderland (Westmere) Price Chopper and found Alison's all-natural air-chilled chicken to still be on sale for $1.69/lb. They were much bigger than the previous chickens that were in the case earlier this week. They were all hovering around 5 pounds each and looked so much different than the Perdue and Price Chopper brands. First off, Perdue and Price Chopper chickens are vacuum sealed in bags with some sort of liquid. Whether the liquid is just secreted by the birds or added on purpose to somehow keep them fresh I do not know but either way that liquid is coating the bird and adding (or detracting) from the flavor. Alison's chickens are dry in the packet they come in (due to the fact that they are air-chilled) and are a beautiful shade of pale white, unlike the very yellow appearance of other brands. They are all-natural and antibiotic free. Check them out raw for yourself in the following photos.





I prepared a simple spice rub of paprika, onion & garlic powder, cumin, chili power, sugar (regular, brown, turbinado, choose whatever), salt & pepper. I rubbed the birds with a small amount of olive oil and generously applied the spice rub all over, including sprinkling inside the cavities. I lit a charcoal grill and "roasted" the birds whole off to the cold side of the grill, covered. I added some mesquite to the coals before closing the lid to give the chicken a nice smokey flavor. This par-cooking ensures that the chicken is done before you bbq and gives it a great outdoor cooked taste. They came out great.


I brought the birds inside to cool and relit the grill. Once cool, I split the chickens with a cleaver and prepared a simple bbq sauce. Just use your favorite one, however, I have found that bbq chicken lends itself well to sweeter sauces, particularly ones with honey.

Once the grill was ready, I grilled the split chicken directly over the coals, turning before flare-ups, while generously applying the sauce. As the chicken is already pre-cooked, there is no reason to go on forever. Just turn and coat, crisp up the skin, and get a good layer of sauce coated on. That's about it all it takes for sensational chicken and boy it was good.


By the way, these two chickens fed my little family of three for two dinners and two work lunches. Not bad for around fifteen bucks! But act quickly, this sale ends today! If you want to learn more about Alison's chicken visit their site: Alison's Family Farms.