Who remembers when chicken was a luxury? (Italian, Southern, expensive)

[burdell]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

Who remembers when chicken was served at Sunday dinner, if then? And was often a hen no longer able to lay eggs?

Growing up in the '50s we frequently had roast chicken for Sunday dinner but I doubt as a luxury, rather as a less expensive alternative to other meats.

[hiero2]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

Who remembers when chicken was served at Sunday dinner, if then? And was often a hen no longer able to lay eggs?

Originally Posted by HollyhockGarden

There was actually a movie made in 1949 entitled "Chicken Every Sunday", about a newlywed couple who owned a home with extra bedrooms. The husband was always failing at "get-rich quick" schemes and the wife started taking in boarders in order to make ends meet. The movie was set in 1943, and back then, yes, chicken was a treat sometimes reserved for Sunday.

That would have been because it was more of a luxury than Spam or beans. Pork chops or a roast would have made a showing once or twice a year if they could only afford one chicken a week.

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Are you confusing the election slogan "A chicken in every pot" for chicken being a luxury? That slogan dates back to the Depression. Any meat was a luxury then.

I have to think this was the case. Almost nobody except a farmer would have kept chickens after WW2, so they would be the ones to get that old hen for the stew pot. Or the old rooster (ONLY good for stew!). Chicken has been the cheapest meat available at least back to the Depression era, and probably before.

Which would mean it (chicken) could have been a luxury, but any other meat would have been even more of a luxury.

So, Mouldy, if you remember this, then you were likely raised in a rural family, probably with at least a couple of acres and a truck garden. Which makes you pretty unusual. That type of family has been in the minority since before I was born (baby-boomer here). And the places I lived while growing up (several) mostly considered anyone from a background like that as a lesser variety of human. (Which was unfortunate, but I didn't create those prejudices). We did live in rural GA for a spell - and I learned to fish for crappie and catfish there. Altho, the catfish was considered by some people even then as a "negative" food - due to racial stereotyping. I didn't care - I liked it - but I was just a kid. I remember, fondly, boiled peanuts and summer watermelon as luxuries there!

[don6170]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

And in England my Uncle used to get soft shell crabs and use them for bait! He couldn't believe I would eat them.

They used to feed lobster to prisoners. I read where the prisoners at one protested and got them to agree to serve it no more than three (?) times per week.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Are you confusing the election slogan "A chicken in every pot" for chicken being a luxury? That slogan dates back to the Depression. Any meat was a luxury then.

Actually before the Great Depression. It was reflective of the apparent wealth much of the country (ironically not many farmers) experienced during the 1920s.

I'm old enough to remember when turkey was a luxury. At least store bought turkey. The ones we raised, or shot during hunting season, not so much.

As a note, I despise chicken.

[Lodestar]

A lot of women raised chickens as a way to make extra money on the farm. They'd only keep one rooster and keep the laying hens because they could sell the eggs.

So it was only when a hen got too old to carry her weight on the farm that she went into the stew pot.

It was a luxury to raise the roosters as capons. They got big and fat and made really fine roasting chickens. Until that day they were useless eaters.

[Sand&Salt]

Originally Posted by don6170

They used to feed lobster to prisoners. I read where the prisoners at one protested and got them to agree to serve it no more than three (?) times per week.

I read that too! hard to imagine prisoners rioting over lobster dinners! Was this New England?

Then again, lobster can vary greatly in quality/type. The ones down here in the warm waters are terrible. So is the crab

Now the chicken is superb! We rarely had chicken growing up and I don't know why. Parents had money. For a special treat we had KFC. I think my mom was afraid to cook raw chicken....

[Ralph_Kirk]

Originally Posted by Mouldy Old Schmo

Who remembers when chicken was served at Sunday dinner, if then? And was often a hen no longer able to lay eggs?

That was pre-WWII, back when rabbit was the primary working-man's meat.

[Catgirl64]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

There is always the classic dish of "city chicken" which was pork cubes on a stick, usually breaded. It was a lot cheaper than chicken well into the 1960s.

Also called mock chicken. Sometimes it was made with veal. I have never had it, but I have seen recipes in old cookbooks.

[NoClueWho]

Shrimp used to be used to bait fishing lines. Now it's pretty expensive and can be considered a luxury.

Also, chicken wings were throwaway parts that most people considered not meaty enough to even bother with cooking or eating. Now, you have entire restaurants all over America that specialize in chicken wings.

Times certainly do change.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Actually before the Great Depression. It was reflective of the apparent wealth much of the country (ironically not many farmers) experienced during the 1920s.

I'm old enough to remember when turkey was a luxury. At least store bought turkey. The ones we raised, or shot during hunting season, not so much.

As a note, I despise chicken.

I'm old enough to remember when turkey was not a luxury but was relegated to Thanksgiving, whether you wanted it or not. Those turkeys were not particularly popular, being very, very dry.