Why chicken's are so bland and mushy

gdenby

There have been many posts over the years about how blah chicken breasts are. Evidently this is the result of making the meat cheap and plentiful. Fed a lot for 40 days or so, then finished.

Came across an article the other day about a French chef who opened a version of his Paris restaurant, "Le Coq Rico," in NYC, and is charging close to $100 for a whole bird for 4, no sides. Note, just sitting down in NYC costs maybe $12, so take that into account.

Turns out that part of his success is that he is using specially sourced chickens and other poultry that have lived 90 - 135 days. Free range, fed vegetables and left to forage. During the extra time, they develop far more flavor and texture. They are sourced thru D'Artagnan, who developed the "green circle" line for the chef. As you might expect, they are available for order, but it won't be for "chicken feed."

Wonder if I can find anyone in my area whose willing to let some birds go longer.

Darby_Crenshaw

it's not merely that they go longer, it's that they are a different breed.  the chickens today reach 'mature' weight well before they are mature.

the red joints in the bones aren't from under cooking, for example, it's because the chicken isn't mature.

you'd want a bird that develops its meat/breast more slowly.  and chickens fed in grass (foraging insects, etc.) are a different flavor altogether, like grass fed beef, or butter from grass fed cows, eggs from grass-fed chickens.

check out the "Omnivore's Dilemma" for a better discussion.

gdenby

The article(s) mentioned different breeds, but I know close to nothing about poultry, so it didn't really register.

"Omnivore's Dilemma" was/is a good read.

Some years ago, I was raising a few ducks for eggs. They foraged, and the, yolks, which are richer than chicken anyway, were spectacular. After  a dog tore into the pen, and those that didn't die ran off into the woods, I was left using store bought chicken eggs. At the time, I had been messing around w. trying to eat soy beans, and I swear, I could taste soy in the store bought yolks. Went off eggs for quite some time.

Darby_Crenshaw

yeah, if you used a fast growing bird and just let it grow longer, the thing would literally not be able to walk. 

Biggreenpharmacist

If I pay 100 bucks for a chicken it better be stuffed with a SRF brisket. 

hoosier_egger

I get free range, organic chickens from my local CSA. Best damn chickens ever. I've learned that local meat that is non-commercialized is of far greater quality. The best Boston Butt ever was from a local butcher than ran me $7 lb

Biggreenpharmacist

ColtsFan said:

I get free range, organic chickens from my local CSA. Best damn chickens ever. I've learned that local meat that is non-commercialized is of far greater quality. The best Boston Butt ever was from a local butcher than ran me $7 lb

Guess I'm just cheap. I'm not paying 70 bucks for a pork butt. I can make a cheap one pretty damn tasty. Good enough to satisfy my needs. I'll splurge some on beef or lamb or seafood but one of my favorite things about my bbq is making cheap meat taste great. 

Dont get me wrong, if I can have high quality stuff at a reasonable price I'd opt for that so I'm not knocking your preferences. Its just not worth it to me. 

hoosier_egger

Biggreenpharmacist said:

ColtsFan said:

I get free range, organic chickens from my local CSA. Best damn chickens ever. I've learned that local meat that is non-commercialized is of far greater quality. The best Boston Butt ever was from a local butcher than ran me $7 lb

Guess I'm just cheap. I'm not paying 70 bucks for a pork butt. I can make a cheap one pretty damn tasty. Good enough to satisfy my needs. I'll splurge some on beef or lamb or seafood but one of my favorite things about my bbq is making cheap meat taste great. 

Dont get me wrong, if I can have high quality stuff at a reasonable price I'd opt for that so I'm not knocking your preferences. Its just not worth it to me. 

I hear ya. The majority of the time I hit up Sam's Club or the local grocery. If it's a special event, I'll splurge

sheetmetalpete

The Cornish cross breed (cross breed, actually) that everyone raises these days are problematic.  They grow so fast they are prone to heart/lung and leg issues.  By 6 weeks old they just plop down near the feeder so they don't have to walk.  The last ones I raised were 8 weeks old when I processed them and averaged 6 1/2 pounds dressed.  The breasts on them weren't mushy but they were so large & thick they were best cut in half to cook evenly. 

We did experiment with Plymouth Rocks, a slower growing bird, a number of years ago.  We put them on a good feed mix and pasture raised them.  At 16 weeks old they were half the size of a standard broiler and because they ran around so much they were a bit tough for grilling & roasting.

I'm debating raising Red Rangers next year.  They are related to the Cornish cross but slower growing and more apt to forage.  A friend raised some last year.  The end product is quite similar to the Cornish so I'm not sure if it's worth spending 2-3 times as much for chicks only to have the same thing.  On the other hand I'm intrigued by the American version of the French Poulet de Bresse (blue foot chicken) but at $29 for each live day old chick I'm not sure that's economically sound.

Captain_Paul

Biggreenpharmacist said:

ColtsFan said:

I get free range, organic chickens from my local CSA. Best damn chickens ever. I've learned that local meat that is non-commercialized is of far greater quality. The best Boston Butt ever was from a local butcher than ran me $7 lb

Guess I'm just cheap. I'm not paying 70 bucks for a pork butt. I can make a cheap one pretty damn tasty. Good enough to satisfy my needs. I'll splurge some on beef or lamb or seafood but one of my favorite things about my bbq is making cheap meat taste great. 

Dont get me wrong, if I can have high quality stuff at a reasonable price I'd opt for that so I'm not knocking your preferences. Its just not worth it to me. 

Yeah everyone says how much more money one will spend AFTER egg purchase but I've got over $1000 in my eggs and I don't think i'll spend that much on accessories. I'm not counting the future cost of food that I would have eaten anyway and don't plan to all of a sudden double the cost of food I buy. A $30 steak would have tasted better on my Weber too and I didn't buy it before. I may save on food because i'll use the egg more and eat out less. If I could only make real expensive food taste good I wouldn't have gotten it. 

gdenby

Biggreenpharmacist said:

If I pay 100 bucks for a chicken it better be stuffed with a SRF brisket. 

A big part of the cost is just the location. There was a gal who had a doughnut shop in NYC. If I'm remembering correctly, the cost of a doughnut was $12 - $15. When asked how she could charge so much, the reply was something like "I'm not charging $X for a doughnut, I'm charging them for a place to sit down." Rents in Manhattan are really really high. (Back in the '70s, if you made 12K a year, you were sleeping on the sidewalk.) $40 of the charge may just be paying the rent and taxes for the space. The chickens retail for about $20/pc. Most restaurants need a mark-up of at least 60% on the food just to break even.

The chix are sort of SRF quality fowl. Compare. A Lobels of New York Wagyu brisket,  12 lbs, will cost $329, uncooked, and unserved.

Biggreenpharmacist

Yeah I get your point. Thats why I keep my simple hillbilly ass in arkansas. If I want a free range bird I'll go shoot a turkey in the back forty or buy an FFA hog after the local students are finished showing them at the fair.