It seems a little hinky to order meat off the internet and pick it up in the parking lot of a roller skating rink, but that exactly how Zaycon Foods works. After reading through their website though, I decided it was worth a try. My first order they were offering 40 lbs of fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts for just $1.64 a lb. For those who don't keep track of the price of chicken, the frozen 10-lb bags of Foster Farms chicken run about $1.99 a lb at CostCo. In our family of six -- seven if you include my sister who lives in my guest house and eats with us a few times a week -- we go through about 15 lbs of chicken breasts a month.
Our pick up was supposed to be on Saturday morning from 8-9 a.m., but our our shipment was delayed until Tuesday morning. They informed me by email of this the night before pickup, so I definitely suggest double checking your email before you head out to get your delivery. When I arrived at the pickup location, I didn't even have to get out of my truck. They loaded the big box of chicken in the back of my Suburban for me, even putting a sheet of plastic sheeting down under the box to protect against accidental spills.
When I arrived home with my haul, I quickly started to work on prepping all the chicken for freezing. The box came with four 10 lb bags full of chicken breasts. Some light trimming is necessary, but not much. I decided to take the time to get a head-start on dinner preparations as I bagged up the chicken for the deep freezer. Some of them I marinaded with Lawry's Marinades that I received to sample as a BzzAgent -- yummy and simple -- as well as preparing a couple of my own simple marinades, including this new one for Asian BBQ Chicken. Can't wait to give that a try! I grilled several chicken breasts and diced them for adding to enchiladas or soups. I even diced up 8 lbs of uncooked chicken breasts just to use in recipes where I need diced chicken for sauteing. The last 10 lbs I bagged up individually to pull out for various cooking needs.
Looking at the finished product, I'm extremely satisfied with the experience. While prepping all the chicken for the freezer took me about 2 1/2 hours, buying it fresh allowed me to prepare and marinade it before I froze it. In the long run it'll be a great time-saver in the evening!
I liked the experience so much, I'm already taking part in another event with Zaycon Foods, this time Hickory Smoked Bacon. While I don't need 30 lbs of bacon -- despite my husband's protests to the contrary -- I found a friend willing to split it with me. She's also ordering the German Sausages that are available. While I was wary of the whole process in the beginning, I think Zaycon Foods has found a loyal customer.

Follow-Up:
I ordered the bacon from Zaycon Foods last month and was not disappointed. I ended up splitting a 30 lb box with a friend, so I only got 15 lbs of bacon. I say "only" but "only 15 lbs" is an awful lot of bacon. We're set for awhile. Not only was it sliced to a perfect thickness -- not too thick and not super thin like I hate -- but the flavor is fabulous. Currently they are taking orders for ground beef, which I am seriously considering.