Best Places to Buy Chicken Online
Buying chicken online may not be the norm, but it could just be the way to get the exact bird you’re after. Considering the average American eats about 100 pounds of chicken per year, it’s no surprise there are now scads of places to order chicken on the web and have it delivered to you for tonight’s dinner.
I’ve found buying chicken online to be easy and affordable, but the best part is how much research you can do and determine where the poultry is coming from, how it’s raised and get the best possible product instead of whatever is left at the supermarket. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to eat organic chicken, certified humane or pasture-raised poultry.
Even if you’re not so picky, there are several retailers to buy butcher-fresh chicken from and take grocery store guesswork out of the equation. Read more: Here’s What Chicken Labels Really Mean
Why might you buy chicken online?
When you’re cruising the chicken aisle at your local market or grocery store, you’re limited in selection, but a flock of online retailers makes finding the type of chicken you want easier than ever. With a little investigation, you can find the best place to buy chicken online that meets all your requirements.
You can get the exact chicken cuts and type of chicken you’re searching for, all with just a few clicks, and many of these retailers provide much more information about the chicken and poultry than a simple grocery store label. Smaller producers like Primal Pastures and Cooks Venture sell high-quality, certified humane chicken raised on non-GMO feed and grown with regenerative farming practices direct to you at competitive prices.
FreshDirect is a regional grocery delivery service with excellent options for buying chicken.
Screenshot by David Watsky/CNET
You can also get great deals on chicken when you purchase online, including on whole chickens, and especially when chicken is purchased in bulk or semi-bulk. You can scour the web or jump on the mailing list for these chicken purveyors (or check back with us, of course) to find out about limited online chicken sales and special package deals.
Online butchers such as Rastelli’s, ButcherBox, Crowd Cow and grocery delivery services including Amazon Fresh and FreshDirect carries organic and free-range chicken too. You can easily bundle it all up in one order of butcher-box-quality meat and save on shipping costs and trips to the store. Read more: Is Grocery Shopping Online Cheaper Than at the Store?
I Did the Math
Safety and freshness
If you’re concerned about freshness, most of these online chicken purveyors ship their birds chilled or frozen via highly traceable logistics and usually in just a couple of days or less. Many have begun using eco-friendly shipping solutions, too, like recycled denim and compostable or reusable boxes. (Some do still ship in Styrofoam.) At present, we have not uncovered any instances of compromised freshness or widespread foodborne illness linked to buying chicken and poultry online. It stands to reason that it is at least as safe or safer than buying from a brick-and-mortar store.
As with anything, the higher quality the operation — both online or in person — the less chance there is of a “situation.”
Types of chicken you can buy online: Organic, humanely raised and more
This is one of the biggest advantages of ordering chicken from an online poultry retailer. As mentioned, in a grocery store you have limited options and often the best stuff sells out first. Online chicken retailers like Thrive Market, Crowd Cow and Fresh Direct allow you to select exactly what you want, and their inventory is less vulnerable to outside supply chain disruption.
This includes specific cuts of chicken like breasts, thighs, wings and whole chickens, but also chicken that is bred and raised according to a standard of your choosing. You can buy organic chicken, certified humane chicken and pasture-raised chicken and have them sent to your door in just days and on a regular basis. In addition to chicken, you can find high-quality turkey and quality fresh meat at many of these online retailers, as well as more specialized poultry like duck, pheasant, quail and game hen, if you know where to look.
Smaller producers like Primal Pastures and Cooks Venture sell high-quality, certified humane chicken raised on non-GMO feed and grown with regenerative farming practices direct to you at competitive prices.
Cook’s Venture