Cooking heritage chickens --by the season

As summer draws to a close, farmers look toward the harvest. Traditionally, the family would work in the fields and enjoy cool chicken salads for lunch, fried chicken for dinner. As fall unfolded, chicken stew would warm the family.

The chicken on the menu from traditional breed flocks is different from the pale plastic-wrapped meat now sold at the supermarket. Particular dishes are best with chickens of different ages and breeds. Some knowledge is needed to cook them well.

“There’s no such thing as tough meat,” Joseph Marquette of Yellow House Farm in New Hampshire, http://yellowhousefarmnh.com/, tells students in the eco-gastronomy program at the Eco-Gastronomy program at the University of New Hampshire. “Only bad cooking.”

He mellows that to say, “Perhaps inappropriate cooking.” The time and temperature have to be appropriate to the age and strength of the chicken, to avoid so much heat that the strong muscles of well-developed chickens flex instead of relaxing as they cook. Low temperature and long cooking times can cook any well-raised chicken to heavenly splendor.

“Progression in strength is a progression in age and progression in season,” he says. “Flavor increases with age.”

Professional chefs have discovered traditional breed chickens. Steve Pope, a chef working with Frank Reese’s Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch in Lindsborg, Kansas, gets frequent inquiries for the ranch’s poultry. Events such as the First Annual Heritage Chicken Cooking Competition held n April 2010 help spread the word. The contest attracted 823 entries and judges of national stature.

 “Chefs understand that they can use the whole bird in all their creations,” he says. “They are putting their signature on their creations.”

A small family flock of 50 birds of a single breed could provide plenty of meat for a family for a year, and sustain the flock into the following year. Chicks would hatch in March, April and May, and be culled as they grow. For the table, chickens progress from broilers to fryers, next to roasters, and after that to stewing fowl. The farmer would plan on keeping a dozen hens and two cockerels for the next breeding season. That leaves 36 from that hatching season, plus older birds, for the table.

The first birds culled are the ones with the most obvious faults, that the breeder would not consider breeding. They might be culled as early as four weeks, although usually they grow to be eight to 13 weeks old. The youngest birds, in French cuisine, are called poussin (pr. poosang). Technically, this is what all industrial supermarket chicken is, killed at 42-60 days old. Even flavorful traditional breeds don’t have enough time to acquire much flavor in that short a time.

 The meat of older traditional breed birds raised in small flocks is darker because the birds are stronger. Better developed muscles also become more oily, so that they work well, carrying the bird through the daily routine of scratching and pecking. Because of their ancestry as upland game birds, chickens prefer to run from their predators, and only fly up to their roosts. They develop dark meat legs and thighs, and light breast meat.

“When you have a healthy, strong, able bodied bird, its muscles are strong, dark and well lubricated,” he says. “Muscles only seldom used are light and have little lubrication.”

Up until 13 weeks of age, the birds are so young that their muscles won’t flex and cook tough, even when cooked under the intense heat of the broiler. Hence, their name. Broilers can also be fried and prepared other ways, but their significant characteristic is that they can be cooked hot and fast and still be tender.

Birds can be considered fryers from 13 to 20 weeks, with the ideal age being around 16 weeks. They can be cut up and pan fried, another high heat cooking method. They can be spatchcocked: cut in half, the backbone and sternum removed and the half-bird flattened, then grilled that way. Keep the bird away from the heat, to grill at 275-300 degrees.

Sixteen weeks is also a good time to take a serious look at culling the breeding flock. Quicker growing Anconas, Leghorns and Andalusians will show obvious flaws by then. You’ll want to give slower growing Dorkings and Sussex more time to develop.

Some breeds make better fryers than others. Chef Pope recommends dual purpose breeds such as Barred Rocks and Orpingtons for frying. They are the traditional breeds to prepare Southern Fried Chicken for summer picnics. The Colonel’s 11 herbs and spices give flavor to bland industrial chicks.

 “That’s what you are tasting, not the chicken,” he says. “You need the right bird with the right texture.”

In the fall, after 21 weeks, the birds are roasters. Five to seven months is the ideal age, depending on the breed. Moist heat, provided by a cup of liquid such as wine or broth, in a covered roasting pan, at 325 degrees, timed at 25 minutes per pound, warms the kitchen and feeds the family.

“Grandma would put that bird into the oven before church, listen to the pastor and was home when the bird was finished cooking,” says Pope.

Being at church also kept the curious and hungry from peeking into the pot and releasing the moisture. Hands off to succeed with this method!

Roasters can also be dry roasted, on a spit. This method requires more attention to oil the bird and keep it basted. Olive oil, butter, bacon, goose or duck fat or any other oil will do. The white meat of the breast and the dark meat of the thighs require different cooking times. Use a cooking thermometer to check for done-ness. Cover the breast with a dish towel soaked in oil or aluminum foil shiny side up, to reflect heat away, and give the legs time to finish cooking.

“Though chicken is a whole bird, it is made of different cuts of meat,” says Mr. Marquette.

 
Older birds, the roosters culled during the winter, or birds from previous years that you don’t want to feed over the winter, become stewing fowl. These birds have developed full flavor and should not be confused with industrial chickens tossed in a pot of water and boiled. They can become coq au vin as well as Grandma’s chicken soup.

Slowly simmer the bird in a bath of liquid until the meat falls off the bones. The slow moist heat relaxes the strong muscles and releases flavor. The liquid may be part of the dish, or it can be broth used later.

Egg breeds may not have the large carcasses of dual purpose Buckeyes and meat breeds such as Brahmas, but they are delicious and should not be under-rated.

“If you have a homestead that allows you to hold on to not only one top cockerel, but top four or six cockerels, you will have your choice when you set up your breeding pen the following spring,” says Mr. Marquette. “Then you make the final choice and the others become coq au vin.”

 
Whether you are in a position to keep a small sustaining flock or are more interested in the cooking, traditional breeds make the best choice. America’s cooks are learning how, and their satisfied guests appreciate the effort.

Chef Pope has recipes posted on his web site, www.heritagechef.com, and welcomes additional recipes sent to him at spope@orpingtonhill.net.

Bantams and historic conservation

Traditional breeds are best for small backyard flocks. They have adapted over their history to local conditions. Finding the appropriate breeds and learning about them is part of the fun. Telling your birds’ story enriches your experience.
 
Doris Robinson, director of the Youth Exhibition Poultry Association,
is developing a program to help YEPA members earn recognition for focusing on heritage breeds that have become rare. She encourages YEPA members to consider keeping breeds such as Ameraucanas, Andalusians, Dorkings, Rosecomb and Single Comb Nankins, Buttercups, Minorcas, Crevecoeurs and Langshans. Aylesbury bantam ducks.

White Silkie rooster

The ABA compiles census information on all bantams shown at ABA shows. It’s extra work for the show secretary, but having facts on the number, breeds and varieties shown helps ABA leaders know what birds are being raised. Old English Games remain far and away the most popular bantam, and Silkies have a strong following. Polish are regaining popularity, especially the White Crested Black and White Crested Blue varieties.

ABA President Matt Lhamon of Ohio gets requests almost daily for the full range of bantam breeds. He usually refers them to the appropriate breed club, but information about all breeds is available in the Yearbook, which comes with membership, $25 a year.

“The ABA yearbook alone is worth the price of the membership,” he said. “If you want to find a bantam, you can find it in the Yearbook.”

 

Lhamon raises Modern Games and is a member of that breed club.

Modern Game

“No single breeder can save everything,” he said. “A breeder needs at least five males and ten females to have a solid foundation. There’s a difference between multiplying them and keeping a breed going.”

Bantams that have been on the Inactive list are occasionally shown, and the breed brought back to Active status. Cornish bantams have declined in popularity, but the Ko-Shamo, newly recognized in 2013, has attracted a flurry of new breeders. Their unusual erect stance, split wing, and sparse feathering mark them as distinctly different from the conventional image of a chicken.

This KoShamo cock is from Germany, credit feathersite

Lhamon has updated the ABA books on Silkies and Cochins and is working to revise the book on Wyandottes. 



Blue and Black Cochins
 

Bantams make good mothers

Bantams are often known for their broodiness and willingness to be good mothers. Chickens need to be instinctually driven to set for the 21 days required to hatch eggs. Not all chickens retain this natural drive. Chickens stop laying eggs when they become broody, so breeders who are focused on egg production select hens who don’t get broody for their flocks. Over time, many breeds, especially large fowl, have lost the ability to brood their own eggs. Bantam hens are often willing to hatch any eggs placed under them.

"My Nankin hens will try to hatch a rock," said Mary Anne Harley of the Nankin Club.

This quality became part of the plot in a book, Flossie and Bossie, published in 1949. “As a hazel-nut is to a walnut, a Brussels sprout to a cabbage, an Austin to a Cadillac – so is a Bantam to a regular chicken,” Eva Le Gallienne wrote in her novel about two bantam hens in a barnyard. Ms. LeGallienne drew on her observations of her own bantams to write the book. It’s now out of print, but your local library may be able to locate a copy for you.

Bantams touch the heart

Bantams come in dozens of colorful varieties. Choose more than one favorite. Lewis Wright, writing in his 1890 Illustrated Book of Poultry about bantams reflects in language of a different time about advantages that still apply today:

Modern Game bantams

“Many a lady, tired of having nothing to pet but a tom-cat, has wondered longingly whether she might not keep a few fowls; but looking at her garden with regretful eyes, has decided that half of it would be needed, and that she could not spare that; when the happy thought has crossed her mind, “Why not keep Bantams?” A little space – just that strip which can so easily be spared – will content them; and as to crowing, who in the world would mind the voice of a little fellow no bigger than a pigeon? She is made happy; and even the tom-cat, ousted at first from his olden place, but who has provided for him a never-ending subject of interest in the perpetually intense speculation as to the possibility of some peculiarly tiny chicken coming some day through to the wrong side of the wire – even he is made happy too. Decidedly, Bantams have their place in the world.”

Old English Game bantams

Kids and Bantams

From Piper's Bantams: Black; Gold and Silver Sebrights; White; and Modern Game

Bantams can be a good way for kids to get involved in poultry. Their small size makes them easy for small hands to manage. Most are gentler than large fowl birds. With some supervision, kids can take responsibility for care and husbandry. They are easier for children -- and adults -- to shampoo for a show.

Poultry can be a lifetime enjoyable hobby or it can lead to a satisfying career. Leadership is needed in the poultry business.



Rosecomb Bantams by Schilling

Joining the American Bantam Association and getting involved in YEPA helps young people succeed. The APA and the ABA joined together in 1995 to create a youth program, and YEPA became an independent organization in 2015. The A.C.E. Program: Activities, Competition, Education is one of the most popular. Kids get started as young as eight years old, and can continue to build their knowledge through four levels, to age 21, at which point they can apprentice to become poultry judges. 
 

“They learn the basics about pure bred, exhibition poultry,” said  Doris Robinson, director of the Youth Exhibition Poultry Association.
 

The program requires members to learn about their breed and others, history, husbandry, candling and hatching eggs, health and medications. They keep notebooks and Health Maintenance Records of their flocks. They track income and expenses to arrive at a financial summary of their project.

"The kids have to work extremely hard,” says Mrs. Robinson. “It’s a great reference for kids who want to go to college in poultry. They go into adulthood with a lot of knowledge.”

More than 1,200 kids are now signed into the program. It is financed by donations from APA, the Crossroads of America Poultry Show and others. Individuals and organizations are invited to become supporters. Contact Mrs. Robinson at 865-717-6270 or through the web site.

One of my bantam Sumatras
 

Blue Copper Marans

Chris Cameron of Camp Ocean Pines acquired five Blue Copper Marans pullets over the weekend. He had a young cock, too, but he was killed by a predator. So Chris figures he'll have fertile hatching eggs for two weeks. He plans to hatch as many as he can. He's willing to sell them if you are in the Cambria vicinity. Contact him at chris@campoceanpines.org.

Black Copper Marans were the first variety recognized. Here's B.A. Davis' Black Copper rooster:

White and Wheaten are also recognized.

Blue Copper Marans aren't yet a recognized color variety, in Marans or any other breed. They are blue where Black Copper Marans are black. Blue Copper reproduces the same way other blue varieties do: incompletely. Typically, about a quarter of the offspring from Blue matings are black, a quarter are splash and half are blue.

Ryan Masterson sent this chart to explain it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Countryside Network

Countryside, publisher of Backyard Poultry magazine among others, launched a new network. I'm pleased that they included two of my articles and a positive mention of my book in their first post about chickens, Rule Your Roost.

There's a lot of useful information there, from legal aspects to coop design. For those who are working to get laws changed to make chicken-keeping legal, Jono Miller's Dozen Tips to Legalize Backyard Chickens in Your Community are especially helpful.

Free Download, or view on the web.