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.
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.
“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.
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!
“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.
Chef Pope has recipes posted on his web site, www.heritagechef.com, and welcomes
additional recipes sent to him at spope@orpingtonhill.net.
1 comment:
Hi! We just passed you driving on the 101 and saw your website printed on your vehicle and thought, what the heck could that be. In our boredom we decided to look you up and found these interesting facts. Good luck with your new book! Meesha and Joanna
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