Best Tasting Chicken you ever raised/ate

[SkellyG]

I did a few searches before I posted this but either I am not using the right words or something.....

I am interested in dual purpose heritage breeds mainly but really keen to know other's tasting experiences regardless. I also know that there are a lot of factors that go into taste..... age, feed, processing, cooking method, gender etc. .... So any tips on this topic would be very welcome.

Having my first backyard chicks shipped next week........ Barred Rocks, Speckled Sussex, Crevecours.... So I cannot state my best tasting chicken for a good number of weeks..... But very interested in your pointers and experiences.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I mainly breed specific crosses of heritage type chickens for meat birds, I breed for hardiness, flavor, as well as meatiness. Recently learned that tenderness is a trait that can be bred for, so I'm adding that to my goal also.

I feed an all flock type feeds, & do free ranging.

Flavor of chickens I raise this way are abit more gamey as they get more movement, & a diverse diet. This is both genders.


Here's this, which is also helpful.

 

[Molpet]

A guy did a few hatchery breeds

https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/

 

[Morrigan]

I eat a fair number of heritage and broiler/heritage mixes. It's hard to rate one against the other because you would really need do direct side-to-side comparisons with similarly aged and prepared birds. That being said, my general thoughts are:

--The heritage/broiler mixes have good flavor and tenderness, plus they tend to be a little bigger. I really like them for frying and BBQ'ing.

--As far as pure heritage birds, generally I like the flavor of almost any breed better then either broilers and maybe even a little better then the broiler mixes. I cull cockerels in the 14 to 17 week range, to avoid them getting too chewy. Hens, are generally milder in flavor and you can cull them a bit later.

--Among the heritage birds, the ones that I can recall being really tasty are dorkings, followed by marans. I enjoyed eating them all, but those stood out a little more to me. But, here are many, many breeds I've yet to try.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined!

Personally I'm a barbarian. I generally raise mixed breed chickens, not breeds. Occasionally I'll get a breed of chicken but that's just to get a rooster to play with the genetics of my flock. I get extras and eat the ones that don't make the grade as a breeding flock master but really can't tell any significant difference in the meat due to breed. I understand, many people are much more sensitive.

To me, taste is very much a personal preference. We like different things. I find that age has the biggest effect on flavor and taste. When cockerels hit puberty their hormones go way up. Those hormones affect both texture and flavor.

When you butcher you need to age the chicken to get past rigor mortis or it can be so tough it is practically inedible. That's any chicken of any age. So age them until the joints are loose before you cook it. Texture limits how you can cook the meat. You'll see charts on that but treat those charts as a guideline. They will work for some people but not for others. Personal preferences come into play but different cockerels go through puberty at different ages and at different rates. Some will be further along in puberty at the same age than others. With living animals you don't get guarantees on much of anything. But the guidelines are a good place to start. Trial and error can be your friend.

A young chicken with little texture can be cooked with a hot fast method, like grilling or frying. When they get a little older you can roast them. A little older and baking can be a good method. A pressure cooker can tenderize a really old rooster. Older tougher chickens can be falling off of the bone tender when used in soups or stews. Don't bring them to a hard boil, just a slow simmer. Chicken and dumplings is a great comfort food, probably best with an old hen. Coq au Vin is how the French turn an old rooster into a gourmet meal.

I like to cook older chicken in a crock pot. Cut the chicken up into pieces and add chopped onion, garlic, celery and carrot. I add herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, chives, parsley whatever I feel like. Fill it with water and cook overnight on low. I usually go about 24 hours but you don't have to go that long. When I cook the other chicken (usually baking) I save the bones to add to this. When it is finished carefully remove the chicken with a slotted spoon. Carefully as it will probably fall off of the bone. I strain that though a sieve to remove the chunks and pick through the solids for any meat. That meat is great on tacos, in soups, or just as a sandwich for lunch. I then de-fat the liquid to remove all fat and pressure can the remaining liquid. To me that is the best broth you will ever have.

The longer cockerels are in puberty the stronger the flavor gets. People call that a "gamey" flavor. Some people like it and some don't. If you are used to store chicken then this flavor may be too much. Personally I like it but I grew up eating that flavor. Again, trial and error.

Pullets and hens go through the same process but it is a lot slower. I usually eat my cockerels between 16 and 23 weeks of age. I don't butcher my pullets until around 8 months. I want to evaluate their laying eggs before I decide which ones I want to add to my breeding flock. Those 8 month old pullets are usually more tender and less flavorful than the 16 week old cockerels. Older hens can have a strong flavor and be really tough too, like a rooster, but they get there a lot slower.

I mentioned aging. That's getting them through rigor mortis so they are not as tough.

Brining is when you soak them in a salt water. That's not for flavor, you can add salt for flavor at any point in the cooking process. The brine causes them to retain moisture. If you are cooking them with a dry method like frying, grilling, or roasting that can help keep the meat moist. If you cook the meat with a moist method I don't find brining useful.

Then there are marinades. These are acid based, usually wine, vinegar, or tomato. The acid helps break down tough fiber so the meat is more tender. They can add a lot of flavor too. Barbecue sauce is a good tomato-based example. Letting a tough old rooster soak in a wine based sauce is an integral part of making good Coq au Vin. Some people that marinade young tender chicken for very long complain about it being mushy. The acid does break down the fiber.

I'm too rough and uncouth to appreciate the finer points of a lot of this stuff. To me any chicken can taste good as long as it is prepared in an age-appropriate manner. I generally do everything with the chickens, from hatch until I cook it and set it on the table. My wife, who is much more refined and delicate, appears happy with how it tastes. I'm not always sure if that is because I cook it and she doesn't have to plus I do the dishes afterwards. She may be concerned that if she complains I may tell her to do the cooking. As I said, I can be kind of uncouth.

Hopefully you got something out of all this typing. And once again,

 

[Sic]

Malines. Perfection.

 

[SkellyG]

A guy did a few hatchery breeds
View attachment 3927117

https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/

I had seen a much shortened version of this article. Reading the full article was really interesting, thank you.

Do you have a personal favorite?

 

[SkellyG]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined!

Personally I'm a barbarian. I generally raise mixed breed chickens, not breeds. Occasionally I'll get a breed of chicken but that's just to get a rooster to play with the genetics of my flock. I get extras and eat the ones that don't make the grade as a breeding flock master but really can't tell any significant difference in the meat due to breed. I understand, many people are much more sensitive.

To me, taste is very much a personal preference. We like different things. I find that age has the biggest effect on flavor and taste. When cockerels hit puberty their hormones go way up. Those hormones affect both texture and flavor.

When you butcher you need to age the chicken to get past rigor mortis or it can be so tough it is practically inedible. That's any chicken of any age. So age them until the joints are loose before you cook it. Texture limits how you can cook the meat. You'll see charts on that but treat those charts as a guideline. They will work for some people but not for others. Personal preferences come into play but different cockerels go through puberty at different ages and at different rates. Some will be further along in puberty at the same age than others. With living animals you don't get guarantees on much of anything. But the guidelines are a good place to start. Trial and error can be your friend.

A young chicken with little texture can be cooked with a hot fast method, like grilling or frying. When they get a little older you can roast them. A little older and baking can be a good method. A pressure cooker can tenderize a really old rooster. Older tougher chickens can be falling off of the bone tender when used in soups or stews. Don't bring them to a hard boil, just a slow simmer. Chicken and dumplings is a great comfort food, probably best with an old hen. Coq au Vin is how the French turn an old rooster into a gourmet meal.

I like to cook older chicken in a crock pot. Cut the chicken up into pieces and add chopped onion, garlic, celery and carrot. I add herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, chives, parsley whatever I feel like. Fill it with water and cook overnight on low. I usually go about 24 hours but you don't have to go that long. When I cook the other chicken (usually baking) I save the bones to add to this. When it is finished carefully remove the chicken with a slotted spoon. Carefully as it will probably fall off of the bone. I strain that though a sieve to remove the chunks and pick through the solids for any meat. That meat is great on tacos, in soups, or just as a sandwich for lunch. I then de-fat the liquid to remove all fat and pressure can the remaining liquid. To me that is the best broth you will ever have.

The longer cockerels are in puberty the stronger the flavor gets. People call that a "gamey" flavor. Some people like it and some don't. If you are used to store chicken then this flavor may be too much. Personally I like it but I grew up eating that flavor. Again, trial and error.

Pullets and hens go through the same process but it is a lot slower. I usually eat my cockerels between 16 and 23 weeks of age. I don't butcher my pullets until around 8 months. I want to evaluate their laying eggs before I decide which ones I want to add to my breeding flock. Those 8 month old pullets are usually more tender and less flavorful than the 16 week old cockerels. Older hens can have a strong flavor and be really tough too, like a rooster, but they get there a lot slower.

I mentioned aging. That's getting them through rigor mortis so they are not as tough.

Brining is when you soak them in a salt water. That's not for flavor, you can add salt for flavor at any point in the cooking process. The brine causes them to retain moisture. If you are cooking them with a dry method like frying, grilling, or roasting that can help keep the meat moist. If you cook the meat with a moist method I don't find brining useful.

Then there are marinades. These are acid based, usually wine, vinegar, or tomato. The acid helps break down tough fiber so the meat is more tender. They can add a lot of flavor too. Barbecue sauce is a good tomato-based example. Letting a tough old rooster soak in a wine based sauce is an integral part of making good Coq au Vin. Some people that marinade young tender chicken for very long complain about it being mushy. The acid does break down the fiber.

I'm too rough and uncouth to appreciate the finer points of a lot of this stuff. To me any chicken can taste good as long as it is prepared in an age-appropriate manner. I generally do everything with the chickens, from hatch until I cook it and set it on the table. My wife, who is much more refined and delicate, appears happy with how it tastes. I'm not always sure if that is because I cook it and she doesn't have to plus I do the dishes afterwards. She may be concerned that if she complains I may tell her to do the cooking. As I said, I can be kind of uncouth.

Hopefully you got something out of all this typing. And once again,

Great information, thank you!

We mainly roast chickens but will definitely experiment with methods and age/gender.

I always wondered why chickens were aged after processing. Do you have any information on that process? Especially time, temperature and where you would keep them. Thx again.

 

[SkellyG]

Malines. Perfection.

Thanks. Will research them.

 

[SkellyG]

I eat a fair number of heritage and broiler/heritage mixes. It's hard to rate one against the other because you would really need do direct side-to-side comparisons with similarly aged and prepared birds. That being said, my general thoughts are:

--The heritage/broiler mixes have good flavor and tenderness, plus they tend to be a little bigger. I really like them for frying and BBQ'ing.

--As far as pure heritage birds, generally I like the flavor of almost any breed better then either broilers and maybe even a little better then the broiler mixes. I cull cockerels in the 14 to 17 week range, to avoid them getting too chewy. Hens, are generally milder in flavor and you can cull them a bit later.

--Among the heritage birds, the ones that I can recall being really tasty are dorkings, followed by marans. I enjoyed eating them all, but those stood out a little more to me. But, here are many, many breeds I've yet to try.

interesting info thank you.

Dorkings and Marans I will research. I do remember a taste test from a series called Escape to River Cottage. I just looked it up and it seems that the Forming cross won the day.

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