Topic: The Tikka Group Test Results

[Razor]

Hi AP

Hi Ray

I doubt Halal or otherwise would have had much impact on final taste IMHO

No, me neither but commis' question has intrigued me a little.  I have also used frozen chicken fillets in the past with no notecable differences either.

Ray

[commis]

Hi

The reason for my question stems from a conversation I've had with my local Asian butcher, He has supplied over the years many businesses within the community. With fresh UK chicken and will only sell this as he uses the term "you can tell the quality of the water" that the chicken has lived on. Other stores sell the frozen stuff that is more prominent in Ta's, usually now from Brazil. I can tell a difference, mainly texture as really it's the tikka spices that dominate the taste. Just wondered if anyone else could?

Regards

[George]

I have also used frozen chicken fillets in the past with no notecable differences either.

I agree, based on the taste of non-spiced, minimally seasoned roast chicken. All the celebrity chefs (in cahoots with the supermarkets) say you can taste a huge difference between something like a low cost fresh chicken (about ?2.70) from Lidl, or a frozen chicken, and a free range, "organic" chicken costing perhaps ?8 or more for the same size. I'm not persuaded there's much, if any, difference, especially after its been through a tikka marinade, with all the tenderizing and spicing.

[Malc.]

Whilst I disagree about not being able to tell the difference between organic free range and cheap mass produced chicken in general,  I do agree that I doubt you could tell the difference once it had received the Tikka treatment.

I wonder though if might be able to tell the difference of corn fed, as some I have tried have been very different indeed, almost like game.

I don't know how the supermarkets treat Halal meat, but there does seem to be a difference in appearance between Halal and standard. The Halal seems drier suggesting it hasn't been injected with nonsense to plump it up etc. I could be wrong though, but you never get that residual fluid in the tray like you do with standard.

[Razor]

Hi Axe,

Absolutely agree, once chicken has been "tikkered" I don't think even Marco Peirre White would know the difference.

With regards to Halal meat, yeah, you never seem to get that watery residue do you?  Maybe because it is Halal, as well as it's being slaughtered in a certain way, it may have to be treated afterwards in a certain way, and that includes NOT adding any water to plump them up?

Ray

[tempest63]

Madhurs, well.  Whatever this is, it ain't tikka as I know it.  Bloody hard work with a "medicine" like after taste.  You can't even hide it in a dish because it infiltrates the full curry.  Sorry, not for me.

Th recipe is very pungent and was posted as a Tandoori recipe not a Tikka recipe. That may have a bearing on the final results.

[976bar]

Hi Axe,

Absolutely agree, once chicken has been "tikkered" I don't think even Marco Peirre White would know the difference.

With regards to Halal meat, yeah, you never seem to get that watery residue do you?  Maybe because it is Halal, as well as it's being slaughtered in a certain way, it may have to be treated afterwards in a certain way, and that includes NOT adding any water to plump them up?

Ray

I buy 5kg of Halal chicken breast from Makro which costs about

[Secret Santa]

What really annoys me about the chicken that's been pumped up with (usually brined) water is the way they now market it. On most packs they say "with added water to improve tenderness" or something along those lines. They don't say "with added water so that we can sell you 4.5kg of actual chicken, 0.5kg of water and charge you for 5kg".

What's more annoying is that when they're asked why they do it they say it's what their customers demand because it makes the chicken tender. Well maybe that's true(although I doubt it), but I bet they didn't ask their customers if they wanted to pay for 5kg of chicken and only get 4.5kg!

Anyway, as far as water-plumped chicken breasts go, Farm Foods sell two 1kg bags for ?8 (so ?4 per kilo) and they do exude a tiny bit of the white gunk when fried but compare very favourably to, for example, Morrisons cheap chicken which puts out a puddle of the stuff.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Amazes me how people put up with most of the chicken from supermarkets, particularly the Dutch stuff, which is absolutely pumped full of water.  It's not as if its cheap either,  7-9 quid a kilo, and the so called British farm chicken anything up to 12 quid a kilo.  Madness.  My butchers sells quality British chicken breast for 5 quid a kilo (sometimes less), no added water, and he's happy to butterfly cut/cube or whatever I want.  Dont even get me started on lamb.  The good lady wanted something from M & S yesterday.  The parking was free for 90 mins but you have pay and display a quid ticket, which is refunded when you make a minimum purchase of 3 quid in the shop.  I said to the missus you wont have much trouble spending 3 quid in here.  She bought some blackberries and that was the parking sorted.  Lamb Chops. You can get 4 for 14.80! I had to laugh. 

[Peripatetic Phil]

My butchers sells quality British chicken breast for 5 quid a kilo

Same here, although I do rather like Waitrose Leckford/Wiltshire chicken when they have it, as they are large, mature birds with an excellent texture that holds up very well during cooking.

** Phil.