You'd think the poultry industry would take these reports more seriously. My parents, two of our neighbors, and myself will straight up NOT buy chicken anymore. We'll even cancel anything with chicken in the meal kits we get delivered in the Winter. Spaghetti meat and woody breast are absolutely revolting. We have not bought chicken, except on the rare occasion we can buy from the Hudderites at the farmer's market. Funny thing is they buy the same broiler breeds as factory farms but I've never seen this condition in their birds.
I know it's been a while since you posted this comment but just have to say, I/we totally agree with you. it's frustrating and gross! thanks for watching Zach! -N
@@TheGriddleGuys Woody breast is probably the most egregiously expensive agricultural blunder I've ever seen. 5 months later and I STILL haven't bought a single chicken breast. I can't imagine I'm alone in this.
This is a bigger problem now. I don't eat chicken breasts very often but I have had to lately and it's f-king disgusting! I want to throw up every time I bite into woody chicken. It's the result of unethical farming.
Ugh I haven't come across this. I'm lucky that my local markets carry Bell & Evans, it's a little more $, but I feel well worth it. Thanks for the research and education!
So, i have known people in chicken farming and butcher. 500 chicken in one shed. Farmers mostly have to used feed provided by buyer,( big chicken marketing companys). Loaded with antbiotics, a must for that many birds in small place. Growth hormones and other stuff they nomally would not eat. To be fair all our mass produce meat is done that way. Cows, pork and fish farming animals are fed manufactured feed they wwould not eat naturally. Finally, as to butcher, alot of animal parts get rejected for a number of reasons, sent to pet food plants and maybe soup/broth plants. The only way to aviod all that scary stuff in our food chain is buy grass fed, finished, freerange animal meat at 25 to 40 percent higher cost.
I usually get one in a package...I think that's strategic...who's going to return one out of 4 breast? And why is everyone shocked by what is causing it? It's all the drugs they give them, which causes them to grow faster and bigger.
I think you're 100% right on this, and all the major chicken producers are doing it now. Regardless of the bag and who filled it, roughly 1 in 4 parts will be woody, and in larger portions, there will be at least one or two parts that will have white stripe or green muscle disease and it will taste disgusting. Having 20% of your chickens being unsellable isn't sustainable, so they're using it for weight and price padding. It's hard to imagine that this isn't illegal, because it sure seems like a scam.
Being an avid hunter, I have become very intentional about what I feed my family. I now either use what I have hunted, or I have sourced pasture raised meat, be it chicken, beef, or pork.
I had “woody chicken” for the first time last night, making some orzo pasta with chicken breast. It was super cheap, which is why I got it, but I did find the shape/size of the breasts odd. It didn’t look all wonky on the bottom like yours though. Just abnormally large. So I just filleted them in half and cooked them like normal. Then I bit into it, and 😮! I was freaked out. So I asked a few people, did some research, and found this video. This is definitely what it was. At first I was afraid I’d cooked it wrong, but nope. It was just a woody breast. Thanks for making this video. Now I know it wasn’t my fault.
Yep. I haven't noticed the discolored ones like your first example, but the white lines and torn up underside is common in the 5/6 packs at Kroger and Walmart. The stripes I toss, but have used the torn ones.
Thanks for the information - Have seen this quite a bit lately in the club packaged breasts both frozen and the unfrozen packs. Will definitely pay more attention to see if we can spot it at the store instead of at home. Cheers!
I just experienced this last night. I got a pack of 3 breasts. 2 of them were completely normal and one of them had this condition. I cooked all 3 of them the same and the first 2 tasted great but the last one I couldn't even eat it because it was so hard/crunchy/tough. It's hard to explain. It's almost like chewing on hard rubber. I've never experienced this before so I came running to youtube to find out this is what it was.
Thanks guys! I would have liked to see Jeff in on this as much turkey and chicken he has consumed in the last year. This also explains why the last fast food chicken sandwich I ate had a crunch to the chicken. Yuk tossed it in the trash!!
I can’t believe I am finally learning about this now. I’ve been blaming myself for the chewy, gummy-like texture after baking in oven (and not overcooking). I notice this a lot with chicken I buy at Winn Dixie. They also have the best sales on chicken. I know it happens in other places too but I need to find out who has the best quality chicken going forward.
Nobody appreciates bigger breasts more than me. Seriously, when I buy boneless skinless chicken breast at Sam's I've learned to always buy the pack that has the smallest ones in them. Not that I've had an issue, I just don't need to cook a 5 pound chicken breast.
He says 2012 chicken industry in a hole was at 5% now 2015 it's at 25% would they fail to tell you is Chick-fil-A KFC Etc big businesses with big paychecks get the 95% good chicken and they give us the 5% now it's they get the 80% good meat and we get the 20% bad meat
So we might be eating woody breast if it's in sausage, or chicken dogs and breaded pieces. Even if they find some woody breast they won't throw them away.
Well thanks guys! We have a store here that always have huge chicken breasts and the underside is mushy like speghetti, it tastes fine I’m usually cubing chicken breasts. Apparently I’m not trained, because honestly other than when I am cutting it, I really don’t notice any difference in taste or cooked texture.
I'm a meat cutter for a major supermarket chain. Unfortunately this is something I see on a daily basis. The quality of chicken, especially in cheaper brands has taken a major plunge the last few years. I'm always seeing the white streaks , blood spots and stringy meat on the underside on the chicken breast in each box we open to use for store sliced cutlets. Almost every case of chicken will have at least one or two packages of chicken with bones, cartilage or skin still left on the boneless breasts. It's unfortunate the healthier protein options at the store are starting look so unappealing.
I have been eating less chicken for this reason. I have noticed weird things happening to chicken breasts. I only buy thinly sliced or tenderloins now.
I bought some very large chicken breasts from Fareway. When I got them home, I had the white striping on all of them. Then when I tried to cut them, the meat peeled apart in layers... I took them back and asked them multiple questions including if they had changed their supplier. I told them the chicken sure looked printed/fake to me and that I was only interested in REAL chicken. They looked at me as if I were crazy, but gave me my money back.
I was on to something when I equated it to size/age, but yes, it's super frustrating. 30% and one would think the chicken industry would be putting more dollars at the problem to better understand it as the margins have to be no great on pet food grade or ground chicken versus breast meat in the store, but who knows. I hate it, I absolutely HATE woody chicken.
I ran into this problem with a frozen bag of breasts from Costco. Unfortunately it was such a traumatic experience (gross) for the wife that we no longer buy those. Now we only buy 2 or 3 at a time and inspect the clear package as best we can to see if there are any white stripes. So far so good with our Kroger (King Soopers here in Colorado). Actually thinking about it more I can think of one other time. The frozen chicken cordon blue from Costco as well. Needless to say we haven't bought those since either.
Great video, guys! Chicken looked good. Anyone that watches my channel knows I don't eat white meat, chicken, or turkey breast. I like tenderness and flavor. If I do cook white meat, it's for my dogs. They love it. Have a great weekend, my friends. 👍
Ty. Wish we could take credit for the editing but being honest we have our buddy Zonel take care of it. Guy is amazing and actually enjoys it. Win win Cheers-J
Every single family package I have purchased in the last 6 months from Walmart has been this. Every single Walmart brand family package of boneless skinless chicken breast. I am no longer buying Walmart brand family packs of boneless chicken breast. I am done. Would you recommend only purchasing whole chickens at this point? Are there any grocery store brands that you find are of better quality?
That is the kind of chicken breast I bought from the store to cook Asian vegetable chicken mix; after cooking, I threw away the chicken part and kept the cooked vegetable because that chicken breast was not edible. I will not buy chicken breast again. The second time this happened to me, now I know what it is called woody breast chicken.
P s. I started noting some really crazy chicken in the fast foods a number of years ago. I even emailed one places corporate. No doubt this is what they are using.
I've gotten more than my fair share of this crap even at restaurants! It's disgusting. I had a piece last night and it looked fine except I couldn't even bite it. It was so tough and rubbery I couldn't cut it . Wtf do we do ?? Food is to expensive to just toss. I can not afford organic. Last night I went without chicken and just had vegetables and fed my family. This is just ridiculous.
Great video guys, woody chicken is gross. We were getting a ton a few years ago and hadn't again recently until last week we got a package of thin sliced breasts and one had it.
I call BULLSYT on the processing line inspection... I just learned abt this last week bc I noticed white stripes AND cooked it... ITS SO NASTY.... I don't think I can eat chicken again... for a while. Its straight RUBBER for texture.
Last but certainly not least of course it is safe to eat the whole principle was Finding garbage that's edible that they can sell us and Mark as chicken
I never buy chicken breasts. Thighs are king. Hard to overcook, tastier than breast meat and do not suffer the same manipulation that breasts undergo, genetically.
Damn great video. I wondered why those huge breasts from certain stores looks like that and turns out like crap. I've recently started buying chicken from my butcher. It's more expensive but the end result is worth it if I'm just making the breast the star of the dish. I'll use the junk chicken if i'm making it shredded or in a soup .
we are in sw fl. we prefer winn dixies sanderson farms boneless skinless breasts over publix because quality is as good or better but price is 25% less. we just don't but walmart meats at all, sorry. we haven't experienced any woody breast but in a small percentage we get a striated texture to the muscle 10% maybe. they don't slice right. so we will be aware and keep an open eye to this thanks to your public service announcement. you know congress can appropriate millions to study the mating habits of some flea in Thailand or a study of the bridge to nowhere but when it comes to food safety of the American people all we hear is crickets.
When I see chicken that looks like that, I always think it has been frozen then defrosted then frozen again. Reason enough to not eat it. Large busy stores where people get to the check out line and change their minds about a purchase and a stocker may not return the food to a shelf or freezer or cold case for several hours always frightens me. Really interesting video, thanks for the research.
If something has been sitting out for more than 15 minutes they are legally not allowed to return it to the shelf, they have to throw it out. The same thing also happens when the power goes out at grocery stores. After a certain amount of time they have to clear out everything.
Butcher Box and Good Ranchers is mostly where i get my chicken and meats from!
OMG FINALLY ! I've been looking for info on Woody Chicken breast for a couple of years and can't find anything ! Ty guys.
You'd think the poultry industry would take these reports more seriously. My parents, two of our neighbors, and myself will straight up NOT buy chicken anymore. We'll even cancel anything with chicken in the meal kits we get delivered in the Winter. Spaghetti meat and woody breast are absolutely revolting. We have not bought chicken, except on the rare occasion we can buy from the Hudderites at the farmer's market. Funny thing is they buy the same broiler breeds as factory farms but I've never seen this condition in their birds.
I know it's been a while since you posted this comment but just have to say, I/we totally agree with you. it's frustrating and gross! thanks for watching Zach! -N
@@TheGriddleGuys Woody breast is probably the most egregiously expensive agricultural blunder I've ever seen. 5 months later and I STILL haven't bought a single chicken breast. I can't imagine I'm alone in this.
This is a bigger problem now. I don't eat chicken breasts very often but I have had to lately and it's f-king disgusting! I want to throw up every time I bite into woody chicken. It's the result of unethical farming.
Ugh I haven't come across this. I'm lucky that my local markets carry Bell & Evans, it's a little more $, but I feel well worth it. Thanks for the research and education!
So, i have known people in chicken farming and butcher. 500 chicken in one shed. Farmers mostly have to used feed provided by buyer,( big chicken marketing companys). Loaded with antbiotics, a must for that many birds in small place. Growth hormones and other stuff they nomally would not eat. To be fair all our mass produce meat is done that way. Cows, pork and fish farming animals are fed manufactured feed they wwould not eat naturally. Finally, as to butcher, alot of animal parts get rejected for a number of reasons, sent to pet food plants and maybe soup/broth plants.
The only way to aviod all that scary stuff in our food chain is buy grass fed, finished, freerange animal meat at 25 to 40 percent higher cost.
I usually get one in a package...I think that's strategic...who's going to return one out of 4 breast? And why is everyone shocked by what is causing it? It's all the drugs they give them, which causes them to grow faster and bigger.
I think you're 100% right on this, and all the major chicken producers are doing it now. Regardless of the bag and who filled it, roughly 1 in 4 parts will be woody, and in larger portions, there will be at least one or two parts that will have white stripe or green muscle disease and it will taste disgusting. Having 20% of your chickens being unsellable isn't sustainable, so they're using it for weight and price padding. It's hard to imagine that this isn't illegal, because it sure seems like a scam.
Being an avid hunter, I have become very intentional about what I feed my family. I now either use what I have hunted, or I have sourced pasture raised meat, be it chicken, beef, or pork.
I've seen this a few times. (I'm an old lady) , I've always wondered why this was, and like you, I just threw it out. Thanks for posting this!
I've seen breasts like you described also and was curious. Thanks for doing this video guys!!!
Thanks for the video. Great information.
Thanks so much for the info guys! Loved the content!
I had “woody chicken” for the first time last night, making some orzo pasta with chicken breast. It was super cheap, which is why I got it, but I did find the shape/size of the breasts odd. It didn’t look all wonky on the bottom like yours though. Just abnormally large. So I just filleted them in half and cooked them like normal. Then I bit into it, and 😮! I was freaked out.
So I asked a few people, did some research, and found this video. This is definitely what it was. At first I was afraid I’d cooked it wrong, but nope. It was just a woody breast. Thanks for making this video. Now I know it wasn’t my fault.
Yeah, just got my first one and posted on FB and someone shared your video.
Thank you so much for the information. I’ll be sure to check this out moving forward…
Thanks guys. Great info.
Yep. I haven't noticed the discolored ones like your first example, but the white lines and torn up underside is common in the 5/6 packs at Kroger and Walmart. The stripes I toss, but have used the torn ones.
Thanks for the information - Have seen this quite a bit lately in the club packaged breasts both frozen and the unfrozen packs. Will definitely pay more attention to see if we can spot it at the store instead of at home. Cheers!
I just experienced this last night. I got a pack of 3 breasts. 2 of them were completely normal and one of them had this condition. I cooked all 3 of them the same and the first 2 tasted great but the last one I couldn't even eat it because it was so hard/crunchy/tough. It's hard to explain. It's almost like chewing on hard rubber. I've never experienced this before so I came running to youtube to find out this is what it was.
We’ve seen it more, too. Bell & Evans is a little more money, but always top quality.
Unbelievable! I have noticed this lately and wondered what was going on . Thanks for the info guys, cheers 🍻 😊
Great info guys and I have run across this a few times. Thanks for the video. So, I guess your next cook will not be chicken, lol.
Thanks guys! I would have liked to see Jeff in on this as much turkey and chicken he has consumed in the last year. This also explains why the last fast food chicken sandwich I ate had a crunch to the chicken. Yuk tossed it in the trash!!
I can’t believe I am finally learning about this now. I’ve been blaming myself for the chewy, gummy-like texture after baking in oven (and not overcooking). I notice this a lot with chicken I buy at Winn Dixie. They also have the best sales on chicken. I know it happens in other places too but I need to find out who has the best quality chicken going forward.
Wow, great to know! Thanks guys👍😊
Nobody appreciates bigger breasts more than me. Seriously, when I buy boneless skinless chicken breast at Sam's I've learned to always buy the pack that has the smallest ones in them. Not that I've had an issue, I just don't need to cook a 5 pound chicken breast.
Thanks for the info. Very nice house!
Time for chicken breasts to be put in completely clear packaging so both sides can be viewed before buying.
He says 2012 chicken industry in a hole was at 5% now 2015 it's at 25% would they fail to tell you is Chick-fil-A KFC Etc big businesses with big paychecks get the 95% good chicken and they give us the 5% now it's they get the 80% good meat and we get the 20% bad meat
Love the new intro!!
So we might be eating woody breast if it's in sausage, or chicken dogs and breaded pieces. Even if they find some woody breast they won't throw them away.
I'm a butcher and you did the homework for me and I have seen all this thanks
👍Cheers-J
I've only run across that in bags of frozen breasts at Sam's/Costco. From the chickens that are fed Miracle-Gro and are the size of turkeys.
Well thanks guys! We have a store here that always have huge chicken breasts and the underside is mushy like speghetti, it tastes fine I’m usually cubing chicken breasts. Apparently I’m not trained, because honestly other than when I am cutting it, I really don’t notice any difference in taste or cooked texture.
This is not normal! What I can't believe is that you ate it! GMO chicken.
Thanks men for the info we also have seen the same thing here and now we know.
I'm a meat cutter for a major supermarket chain. Unfortunately this is something I see on a daily basis. The quality of chicken, especially in cheaper brands has taken a major plunge the last few years. I'm always seeing the white streaks , blood spots and stringy meat on the underside on the chicken breast in each box we open to use for store sliced cutlets. Almost every case of chicken will have at least one or two packages of chicken with bones, cartilage or skin still left on the boneless breasts. It's unfortunate the healthier protein options at the store are starting look so unappealing.
EVERY chicken breast sold by Wal*Mart is woody. Real shocker there.
I have been eating less chicken for this reason. I have noticed weird things happening to chicken breasts. I only buy thinly sliced or tenderloins now.
I bought some very large chicken breasts from Fareway. When I got them home, I had the white striping on all of them. Then when I tried to cut them, the meat peeled apart in layers... I took them back and asked them multiple questions including if they had changed their supplier. I told them the chicken sure looked printed/fake to me and that I was only interested in REAL chicken. They looked at me as if I were crazy, but gave me my money back.
I was on to something when I equated it to size/age, but yes, it's super frustrating. 30% and one would think the chicken industry would be putting more dollars at the problem to better understand it as the margins have to be no great on pet food grade or ground chicken versus breast meat in the store, but who knows. I hate it, I absolutely HATE woody chicken.
PURELY MUSH..EVERY PEICE OF EVERY CHICKEN I BOUGHT IN 2024..I CAN'T FIND A HEALTHY ONE! DISGUSTING
I ran into this problem with a frozen bag of breasts from Costco. Unfortunately it was such a traumatic experience (gross) for the wife that we no longer buy those. Now we only buy 2 or 3 at a time and inspect the clear package as best we can to see if there are any white stripes. So far so good with our Kroger (King Soopers here in Colorado). Actually thinking about it more I can think of one other time. The frozen chicken cordon blue from Costco as well. Needless to say we haven't bought those since either.
Great video, guys! Chicken looked good. Anyone that watches my channel knows I don't eat white meat, chicken, or turkey breast. I like tenderness and flavor. If I do cook white meat, it's for my dogs. They love it. Have a great weekend, my friends. 👍
I feel like the only chicken breast I can get now is woody :(
I have had this before I just thought I over cooked it, thanks for the info.
Thanks for the information, we've been getting chicken like this for quite some time. Your video production is very nice, who's the director?
Ty. Wish we could take credit for the editing but being honest we have our buddy Zonel take care of it. Guy is amazing and actually enjoys it. Win win Cheers-J
The handheld can only do so much. The plant i work at processes over a million chickens a week.
Every single family package I have purchased in the last 6 months from Walmart has been this. Every single Walmart brand family package of boneless skinless chicken breast. I am no longer buying Walmart brand family packs of boneless chicken breast. I am done. Would you recommend only purchasing whole chickens at this point? Are there any grocery store brands that you find are of better quality?
That is the kind of chicken breast I bought from the store to cook Asian vegetable chicken mix; after cooking, I threw away the chicken part and kept the cooked vegetable because that chicken breast was not edible. I will not buy chicken breast again. The second time this happened to me, now I know what it is called woody breast chicken.
A chicken in the fifties was a tiny little bird. The stuff they do and feed these birds is the reason and they know it but profit is the only goal!
P s. I started noting some really crazy chicken in the fast foods a number of years ago. I even emailed one places corporate. No doubt this is what they are using.
Intro is superb
so you can return it, have a bag ready at the store to open it and check. then you can instantly take it back
I've gotten more than my fair share of this crap even at restaurants! It's disgusting. I had a piece last night and it looked fine except I couldn't even bite it. It was so tough and rubbery I couldn't cut it . Wtf do we do ?? Food is to expensive to just toss. I can not afford organic. Last night I went without chicken and just had vegetables and fed my family. This is just ridiculous.
Great video guys, woody chicken is gross. We were getting a ton a few years ago and hadn't again recently until last week we got a package of thin sliced breasts and one had it.
We have it in Missouri too.
Got it at HyVee in MO and was very upset.
Have you ever heard the saying you are what you eat?
🤢🤢🤢🤢
I call BULLSYT on the processing line inspection... I just learned abt this last week bc I noticed white stripes AND cooked it... ITS SO NASTY.... I don't think I can eat chicken again... for a while. Its straight RUBBER for texture.
This is the fists video I’ve watched. I need to find a place to buy chicken 😡
Had a chicken sandwich at Applebee's that's it.. that wasn't chicken same at bon evans
Last but certainly not least of course it is safe to eat the whole principle was Finding garbage that's edible that they can sell us and Mark as chicken
It is not safe to injest all the hormones to our kids.
I never buy chicken breasts. Thighs are king. Hard to overcook, tastier than breast meat and do not suffer the same manipulation that breasts undergo, genetically.
Damn great video. I wondered why those huge breasts from certain stores looks like that and turns out like crap. I've recently started buying chicken from my butcher. It's more expensive but the end result is worth it if I'm just making the breast the star of the dish. I'll use the junk chicken if i'm making it shredded or in a soup .
we are in sw fl. we prefer winn dixies sanderson farms boneless skinless breasts over publix because quality is as good or better but price is 25% less. we just don't but walmart meats at all, sorry. we haven't experienced any woody breast but in a small percentage we get a striated texture to the muscle 10% maybe. they don't slice right. so we will be aware and keep an open eye to this thanks to your public service announcement. you know congress can appropriate millions to study the mating habits of some flea in Thailand or a study of the bridge to nowhere but when it comes to food safety of the American people all we hear is crickets.
It definitely should be a priority for sure. Ty for commenting and Cheers-J
Dam you guys have ruined chicken for me. Its like when you find put whats in hot dogs.
Twisted
Why are you guys supporting the bill gates chicken LMAO 🤣🤣🤣 guess a nice check comes here and there in-between hmmm
When I see chicken that looks like that, I always think it has been frozen then defrosted then frozen again. Reason enough to not eat it. Large busy stores where people get to the check out line and change their minds about a purchase and a stocker may not return the food to a shelf or freezer or cold case for several hours always frightens me. Really interesting video, thanks for the research.
It’s not from freezing.
If something has been sitting out for more than 15 minutes they are legally not allowed to return it to the shelf, they have to throw it out. The same thing also happens when the power goes out at grocery stores. After a certain amount of time they have to clear out everything.
mRNA