Quality, nutrient dense food is becoming more difficult to find in the United States.
If you’re a chicken fanatic like me, then you probably know that chicken quality in the United States has drastically decreased over the past few years. Big Chicken companies breed their chickens in the most squalid conditions, pumping them full of antibiotics and growth hormones, on a diet filled with GMO soy and corn.
Naturally, eating the standard grocery store chicken makes me feel like crap. If you feel similarly when eating most chicken produced in the US, then stick around.
For years, I barely ate chicken because it just didn’t taste right. Any time I came across a brand I thought might be better, I would try it, but was never satisfied. That’s until a late-night internet search brought me to PastureBird.
What is PastureBird?
PastureBird is a small poultry production company based out of California. This company produces and sells organic, free-range chicken online. It was founded by a guy who developed an autoimmune disease. He realized he wanted better for himself and his family, so they started raising chickens in their backyard.
These chickens get to forage for food in their natural surroundings, no antibiotics or supplemental grains. One thing let to another, and this small family began shipping their chicken all over the US.
My First Impression
The PastureBird website welcomed me with a fun and inspiring message, “Can our chicken change the world? We think so.”. In my late-night scrolling, I was immediately intrigued.
Is their chicken really that good? I asked myself.
I had to know.
The PastureBird Difference
On their website, PastureBird details the difference between their chicken and most chickens. The PastureBird chickens are fully pasture raised, with no supplemental grains or feed. They eat grass, worms, and bugs naturally found in their environment. They are rotated regularly, and spend every day out on the pasture. Their website states that this regiment makes “our birds are naturally happy with a strengthened health and immune system.”
The PastureBird website states that their chicken contains 3X the Omega 3’s, 50% more Vitamins A, D, and E, and 21% less saturated fat compared to standard grocery store chicken.
They claim that PastureBird raised chicken has a noticeable tase difference, due to their upbringing and lifestyle. At this point, I’m ready to try it for myself.
The PastureBird Selection
First off, PastureBird advertises with a little banner at the top of their site that orders over $99 will receive free shipping. I’m a sucker for free shipping, so I headed straight to the ‘Shop’ section to see what they had available.
And to note really quick- PastureBird has such beautiful images all over their website, including their products page. The visual appeal is 12/10. The imagery alone had me drooling.
In the ‘Shop’ section of their site, PastureBird lists their offerings, along with images to show what you’ll receive. Their supply includes a whole rotisserie chicken, ground chicken, drumsticks, wings, breast, and thighs.
They also offer a build-your-own subscription box, which I’m seriously considering at this point.
PastureBird Pricing
After paying grocery store prices in this inflated economy, I was hesitant to look at the pricing offered by PastureBird.
When I headed to the ‘Shop’ section, I was greeted by a pop-up for 10% off my first order. How nice is that?
Surprisingly, the pricing of PastureBird was really reasonable! A 1 lb package of drumsticks or wings is only $10, and they offer bulk pricing for bigger orders as well.
A whole rotisserie chicken goes for $25, and their chicken breast and thighs were sold out, so the pricing wasn’t displayed.
For the quality of product that PastureBird offers, I was really impressed by this pricing. They’re offering top-quality chicken at a price that competes with most organic chicken at the grocery store.
The Ordering Process
Once I added everything I wanted to my cart, I headed to checkout.
I love how PastureBird displays a cart preview after each item that you add to your cart. Here, you can see what’s in your cart, as well as your total. They also showed a ‘congratulations’ note to let me know I had added enough to my cart to qualify for free shipping.
The checkout process was quick and easy. I filled out my contact, billing, and card info, and voila! My PastureBird order was en route.
PastureBird sent me a link to track my order, as well as recommended downloading their app to track my order there.
Tasting The Chicken
Waiting for my PastureBird order felt like the longest days of my life. I filled my time hunting down some quality sauces to eat some of my drumsticks with.
For sauces, I always try to steer toward dressings that are seed-oil free and have minimal super processed ingredients. I ended up buying some Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce and Korean BBQ Sauce.
Within a few days, my PastureBird order had arrived. Yay! It came beautifully packaged in a big cardboard box. My chicken was kept frozen with dry ice and insulated packaging, so everything was frozen solid upon arrival.
I popped my oven on and picked out a package of wings.
The wings were smaller than those that you would get at a store or at a restaurant. They were pink and the skin felt thinner than most chickens. I gave them a good toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and tossed them in the oven.
Soon, the pleasant aroma of chicken filled my home. When the chicken was done, I pulled it out, and it smelled divine.
The first bite was like stepping back in time, to a day when chickens tasted like real chicken. The chicken was tender and juicy, but I could tell that these chickens had built muscles and moved their bodies. It’s hard to describe, but they were not super fatty, and the chicken was lean but chicken-y.
I usually don’t eat chicken skin, because I don’t like the chewy, gummy texture from standard chickens. The skin was thin, and my teeth easily broke it. It was flavorful and not gummy, and I thought the skin was fantastic as well. I know the skin is said to hold a lot of the nutrients, so I’m happy it was so good.
Honestly, I had to cook up another pack after eating the first one because the chicken was that darn good.
My Final Thoughts
Overall, I was super impressed with PastureBird. Their website is elegant, easy to navigate, and tells readers why their chicken is better. PastureBird offers great prices for a quality product, and delivery only took a few days. The chicken was some of the best I’ve had in years, and I’m probably going to cook some up as I type this.
If you’re dissatisfied with the chicken available in the grocery store, I would recommend PastureBird. Shoot, if you want some real, nutrient-dense chicken, head their way and place your order today. I wasn’t disappointed, and I don’t think you will be either.