I find it frustrating trying to find chicken pieces with skin on. Our supermarket doesn't even sell bags of frozen chicken portions although when I have found these in the past the pieces tend to be enormous.
This morning I finally managed to find chicken thighs, bone in, skin on, at another supermarket.
Surely not everyone wants boneless skinless meat yet that is generally all that is on offer.

I agree, it's very frustrating. Years ago you could buy Chicken breast on the bone with skin on which I prefer in some recipes, and a cut I think they called a supreme of chicken which was a boned breast with the skin on and the large bone of the wing still attached. NW Kumeu where I shop do 2 packs of skin on chicken breasts and pretty often have "Marylands" (thigh and drumstick attached) with skin on. I am dismayed by the shelves and shelves of cheap boneless, skinless breast meat on offer and nothing much else.

I had noticed that skin on, bone in chicken thighs are not as plentiful as they once were. I am surmising that the skinned (and sometimes) boned pieces are more profitable.

I agree. These days I buy whole Bostock chickens and portion them myself. I use the breasts for one meal and the legs and wings for another, make stock with the carcass and wing tips. I have found that the breasts freeze very well.

My local PNS (central Nth Island) always has skin-on breasts and bone-in thighs. Since the stores are stocked from a central Foodstuffs distribution centre I presume they'd be available elsewhere. The thighs are usually a decent size but, buyer beware, there's often a quite a bit of excess skin and fat carefully tucked underneath them in the pack, out of sight.
Lynne2

Lynne2 Wrote:
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> My local PNS (central Nth Island) always has
> skin-on breasts and bone-in thighs. Since the
> stores are stocked from a central Foodstuffs
> distribution centre I presume they'd be available
> elsewhere. The thighs are usually a decent size
> but, buyer beware, there's often a quite a bit of
> excess skin and fat carefully tucked underneath
> them in the pack, out of sight.
> Lynne2

Are they free range?

No, they're not free-range. According to one of Foodstuffs pages their supplier is Brinks who say they are barn raised. [brinks.co.nz] If I had my druthers I'd buy free range but reality is an economic one for me. Free range pieces are out of my price league and a whole bird is overkill in terms of quantity.
Lynne2

Aside from Bostock which are genuinely outdoor free range then I think that chicken is chicken.
I don't differentiate from any of the other brands,

Same here in Whitianga - everything is skinned and boned, but lots of fat left on the underside! In desperation I bought a bag of Pam frozen thighs. They were huge and quite an unusual greyish colour - very unappetizing and I won't be buying them again. Very rarely can I find thighs or marylands with the skin on I don't like breast so it's not a concern for me

I think what we have to do is press the 'help' bell and ask for chicken with the skin and bone still intact. The more of us that do this, could be the better. If demand is there, surely they've got to respond. Even take to emailing your branch manager. Most of their contact details can be found on the respective supermarket websites.

Lorna, I so dislike the fat hidden underneath the chicken thighs and the time it takes me to trim it off properly that I worked up the courage to take the packets of thighs to the meat counter and asked if they could be trimmed please and I would be happy to pay. It was done while I carried on with my shopping and I was not charged for it. Way to go.

I'm glad it's not just me - I thought I was going mad when I couldn't find them. I will often joint a whole chicken myself now when desperate. Good idea about ringing the bell and asking - if we do it enough, maybe they'll start putting them on the shelves again. And don't get me started on the monster-sized boneless / skinless chicken breasts!

Oddly enough, I came across chicken thighs with bone and skin at NW Warkworth last week -- at the roaring price of $5.99/kg.