Tasting whole chickens

Cook’s Illustrated has a strong reputation for its taste tests and occasionally makes one available for the public at large. Recently, they conducted a national test on whole chickens, looking for “meat that was rich, clean-tasting, tender, and moist.” They also took a hard look at labeling and production, determining that air-chilling (vs. water-chilling) can make a large (positive) difference. They also liked that air-chilled chickens were usually handled responsibly. For their complete report and list of the winning – and losing – fowls, see Whole Chickens.