Why Jidori Chicken Is Known As The Kobe Beef Of Poultry

Chicken has a reputation as a bland and boring protein option that might be delicious fried or generously seasoned, but doesn't bring much flavor on its own. While this might be true of standard American supermarket chicken — the meat Anthony Bourdain called "slimy and tasteless" — chicken is not a monolith of forgettable breasts. Just like you can buy Angus-certified, wagyu, or grass-fed beef, there are many varieties and breeds of chickens that offer a wide range of flavor profiles. One of the most sought-after chicken varieties is Jidori chicken, a Japanese delicacy often called the "Kobe beef" of poultry.

Jidori doesn't typically refer to one specific breed of chicken, but instead to how the birds are raised and processed. In Japan, chicken has to meet highly specific, strict regulations to be legally labeled as Jidori. These free-range chickens are raised in a low-stress environment with plenty of space and top-quality diets. The premium poultry is most often served in restaurants and is praised for its intense taste and sumptuous texture. Luckily for luxury chicken lovers stateside, Jidori chicken can also be found in America (although some wouldn't consider it the real deal since it's not from Japan). The name Jidori Chicken has been trademarked by a California-based company, and the upscale poultry is particularly popular in the Los Angeles area, where it's a menu staple at high-end restaurants like Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Beverly Hills.

If you're looking to prepare Jidori chicken at home, you'll be glad to know that the deluxe poultry is a bit easier on the wallet than its bovine counterpart, real-deal Kobe beef. While Kobe beef often sells for hundreds of dollars per pound, depending on the market, American Jidori chicken can be purchased for as little as $10 per pound, or $30 for a whole chicken. That's a bit more than double the average price of standard supermarket chicken (via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).

Jidori chicken is certainly a step up in quality and price compared to most poultry products, but it's far from the costliest chicken on the market. The most expensive chicken in the world is harder to find than Wagyu, and is the Indonesian ayam cemani. These stunning black birds are known as the "Lamborghini of poultry," and while they aren't quite as pricey as the luxury Italian automobile, they can easily cost as much as a decent used car. Live adults regularly go for over $5,000 dollars, and just six eggs can cost round $100. If your poultry budget is in the single digits, don't worry — you can still enjoy quality fowl with these tips for picking out the best chicken at the grocery store.