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Enough about the pet economy. Let’s talk turk, er, chicken
By Kim Campbell Thornton
February 19, 2009
A post on DailyKos yesterday by Enlightenment philosophe Denis Diderot–no, wait, he’s dead–well, by someone writing under his name discusses the lack of taste of American chickens. American chickens do have large breasts, which in some circles is considered stylish, but flavor? Non, non! It takes a French chicken for that. Why do the French have tasty birds while we have none? That goes back to American food policy dictating that food be cheep, cheep, cheep.
There are a lot of reasons why chicken today has no taste, but the main one is because someone seems to have decided that chicken must be cheap. And for chicken to be cheap, each chicken must be cheap to raise, which is to say quick and easily-managed. Thus, for starters, you need to get rid of genetic diversity, which is what occurred in the 1950’s with the wide-scale commercial production of chickens. In a recently-published study by William Muir of Purdue University, it was found that more than 50% of the diversity of ancestral breeds has been lost…. Add to this the fact of commercial chickens being fed a diet of “super-grow” chicken feed, which is typically 70% corn, 20% soy, and 10% other ingredients such as vitamins and minerals, and you have the perfect recipes for chickens that grow quickly but taste like nothing.
In France, on the other hand, slow-growing chickens raised outdoors make for good flavor and meat quality. They’re tested regularly for taste. To earn the designation Label Rouge (Red Label), the taste must be “vividly distinguishable” from conventional poultry. What a concept!
It is for this reason, Diderot writes, that two out of every three whole birds sold in France carry the Label Rouge, even though the birds cost twice as much. He adds that the incidence of Salmonella in Label Rouge chickens is less than 3%, meaning that only Denmark (with its zero-tolerance policy) produces a more pathogen-free bird.
Read the rest and weep. Then go find your nearest farmers market and see if someone there is selling chickens. You will be amazed to find out what chicken really tastes like.
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Book recommendation: Joel Salatin’s “Holy Cows & Hog Heaven: The Food Buyer’s Guide to Farm Friendly Food.”
Also … dairy rating here.
And of course, it’s not just about “taste.” Cheap factory farming is cruel and environmentally unsustainable.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 9:37 am
When I was a child, we knew a farmer who did as they do in France. We used to buy from him on a regular basis, and nothing matched the flavor of those chickens when we had one for Sunday dinner! Yum! These days, it’s difficult for me to justify the extravagance of a free-range chicken dinner, except on special occasions. Ah! For the good old days…
Comment by Bev — February 19, 2009 @ 9:56 am
For me, the change has been that I eat a lot less meat. And the meat I do buy is regionally produced, from small family-owned farms. Same amount of food dollars — and often I spend less — but allocated quite differently.
A plus: I have been losing weight steadily since I changed to eating at home, mostly a plant-based diet, with meat from sustainable, humane sources.
Seriously … 40 pounds lost in a year, without an increase in activity, without a “diet” and without eating prepared, processed crap from some weight-reduction mega-company. Just by choosing to “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
And I enjoy what I eat more, too.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 10:08 am
Thanks for the referral to Salatin’s book, Gina. Can’t wait to read it. In return, I will recommend Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. I actually look forward to vegetables since I started cooking from it—although I haven’t tried broccoli or brussels sprouts yet.
Comment by Kim Thornton — February 19, 2009 @ 10:30 am
Kim—brussels sprouts: cut in half, pull off icky leaves. oil cookie sheet, lay down brussels sprouts flat side down. sprinkle with more olive oil and some kosher salt. Bang in the oven at 450 until they get soft to where you can easily stick a fork in. The bottoms should be nicely browned and caramelized.
It’ll change your life. :O) Now I want some.
Comment by Lori — February 19, 2009 @ 10:42 am
Maybe 400F…
Comment by Lori — February 19, 2009 @ 10:43 am
I’ll try ‘em, Lori.
Comment by Kim Thornton — February 19, 2009 @ 11:22 am
Brussels sprouts- pull “icky leaves”, cut in half, stir fry in a pan with olive oil and sliced almonds. Works with green beans, zucchini and fish like sole, too.
Comment by Susan Fox — February 19, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
I’ll be raising about 50 of the French label rouge broiler birds this year — that is, birds with the same genetics as used in France, raised out on pasture.
The Cornish cross hybrid commercial meat birds are too disgusting to have around. They look like Chickie-The-Hut, smell like the Devil’s outhouse, and it’s a waste of good intentions to try to raise them free-range and on a natural diet — all they want to do in their short lives is lie around half-nekkid next to the feeder and poop. You hope to slaughter them before they keel over from heart attacks or lose the use of their legs.
The French birds are also hybrids, and definitely grow much faster and with a better feed conversion than laying hens. But they will run around foraging for food, and can live for a few years at least if you decide you like some and want to keep them around.
I’m very excited about this project!
Back in the 80’s I learned to cook for myself while living in Britain. The chicken there was delicious, as long as it was kept away from the English cooks. Our home-raised stuff should be that much better.
Brussels sprouts even better sauteed in butter with some walnuts. I steam a little first.
Comment by H. Houlahan — February 19, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
Yeah, but I’ve gotta stay low saturated fat. Good olive oil isn’t tooo big a sacrifice.
Comment by Susan Fox — February 19, 2009 @ 1:52 pm
Bah, supermarket chickens have no taste and are full of fat! My local farm stand sells their own beef, local pork & sausage, and lamb. To that they add chickens ( roasters, wings, thighs, legs and drumsticks) from a small family company in Vermont called MistyKnoll Farms.
Since I don’t want to raise my own meat birds, this is a handy and tasty way to get quality chicken ( I am not a turkey lover although MistyKnoll offers them) that’s far superior to the grocery store, maybe not as good as finding someone who raises meat birds themselves though.
My favorite way is to marinate the legs in a simple vinaigrette dressing with fresh or dried home grown tarragon and garlic and then grill.
When the dogs are really, really good, I have been known to buy them a package or two of MistyKnoll wings for their breakfasts. Yum.
Comment by Anne T — February 19, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
Heather, where’d you get your label rouge hybrids? Hatchery?
Comment by Cait — February 19, 2009 @ 3:34 pm
oh no. oh no. oh no. That is SEKRIT INFORMATION until I get mine ordered, because I already asked her.
:)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
Why is it that chickens no longer come with the heart, gizzard, liver, neck. Same for turkeys. Buy the bird from a store or from suppliers who claim the birds are fresh, not frozen, farm raised and still there are no innards.
Comment by VJ — February 19, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
When I buy the Rocky free-range, I get innards. I always give the old girl the heart. I pretend it will help her live forever.
What I would REALLY LIKE, though, is several pounds of chicken hearts to dehydrate for treats for kittehs and doggies.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 4:07 pm
Gina, that is SO MEAN OF YOU. HOGGING ALL THE YUMMY CHICKENS. *orders an army of icky cornish crosses, which are admittedly kind of cute as day old chickes, they’re all monstrously huge and sort of marshmallow like) to be delivered to Gina*
Comment by Cait — February 19, 2009 @ 4:13 pm
I give! Here’s the information. Although it’s not working at the moment.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
Gina,
Is there somewhere around your area a place that processes live farm animals including chickens into table ready form aka slaughter house? That’s your best bet to get hearts, necks, and gizzards for freezing/dehydration. Rural areas often have small operations, some USDA inspected, some not, that will have innards for give-away or sale for pennies. A few phone calls ought to locate someone who specializes in chickens.
My former dog trainer raised meat birds for a few years before she moved out of state, loaded up the birds when it was time, and trucked them 30 min away to a local processor, who plucked and gutted them,and saved the innards and necks. Several of us turned up at the right time of year ( late summer, early fall) at the same processor, and got give aways from his customers who didn’t want the innards.
Comment by Anne T — February 19, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
Thank you Gina! *re-routes order for broiler chicks to obnoxious neighbor instead of Gina*
Comment by Cait — February 19, 2009 @ 4:34 pm