Experimental Meat Bird cross thread.

[Sic]

Finely textured, according to reports, but NOT marbled.

Intramuscular fat - aka IMF is marbled. A local friend breeds them, and they have well marbled fat throughout. That said, I bred my Bruges to a couple of his malines in attempt to create my own Turkey head and do away with the feathered feet which doesn't work here, but the high IMF was not inherited.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Intramuscular fat - aka IMF is marbled

Numerous other sources disagree w/ wherever you cut and pasted that from.

Someone wants to raise a few, show me a picture of a raw breast w/ significant visible marbling? I'll confess error publicly and extend an apology.

The few sources I've seen claiming it (they also do so for the French Bresse, and the Amercian Bresse) are selling that breed. Greenfire and Feather Lover Farms, for instance. Its puffery.

I'm not saying chickens have no intramuscular fat, or that there is no variety between breeds, I'm saying they are all lean in ways we would not describe as "well marbled".

 

[Sic]

Numerous other sources disagree w/ wherever you cut and pasted that from.

Someone wants to raise a few, show me a picture of a raw breast w/ significant visible marbling? I'll confess error publicly and extend an apology.

The few sources I've seen claiming it (they also do so for the French Bresse, and the Amercian Bresse) are selling that breed. Greenfire and Feather Lover Farms, for instance. Its puffery.

I'm not saying chickens have no intramuscular fat, or that there is no variety between breeds, I'm saying they are all lean in ways we would not describe as "well marbled".

What sources disagree? You're not going to see it like a beef steak, it's very fine, more like intricate lacing, and for chicken, it's what I consider well marbled. Your opinion is your opinion. Mechelse koekoek is a Belgian broiler breed. Historical records indicate the theory that their feathering was so thick and tight that they didn't accumulate fat under the skin as other breeds, but instead the fat was distributed through the muscle meat. The unique intramuscular fat is the reason they are considered a delicacy.

I don't get any information from GFF, they often don't even know what type of comb a breed has that they are selling.

IMF in chickens is genetic, there is scientific research ongoing in this area and I read a lot of research papers, some of them in Chinese studying the likely genes associated with high IMF in their slow growing broiler breed - Jingxing and Beijing you chicken. Here's a snippet

Ye, M H; Chen, J L; Zhao, G P; Zheng, M Q; Wen, J

2010-01-01

This study has assessed the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) identified in the adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) and heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) genes with the content of intramuscular fat (IMF) in a population of male Beijing-You chickens. A previously described SNP in the chicken A-FABP gene had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on IMF content. Chickens inheriting the homozygous BB genotype at A-FABP had a significantly higher content of IMF in thigh muscles and breast muscles than did those inheriting the AA and AB genotypes. A novel SNP, identified here, in the H-FABP gene was also significantly (P < 0.05) associated with IMF content in thigh and breast muscle. Chickens inheriting the genotypes of DD and CD had much higher content of IMF than those inheriting the homozygous genotype of CC. Markers at the A-FABP and H-FABP genes were associated with IMF content in the studied population. Chickens inheriting the BB genotype at A-FABP, along with the CD genotype at H-FABP, produced muscles with a much higher content of IMF when compared with all other genotypes. A weak interaction between A-FABP and H-FABP was detected (P < 0.09) for IMF content in the tested population. The statistical significance of interaction is tentative because of the limited number of observations for some genotypic combinations. Markers identified within the A-FABP and H-FABP genes are suitable for future use in identifying chickens with the genetic potential to produce more desirable muscle with higher IMF content, at least in the population of Beijing-You male chickens.

I also spend a great deal of time on Dutch and German chicken forums and websites because I keep Belgian and German breeds. The screenshot is from something I had translated into English to read. Anyway, I don't have pictures to show you, haven't had one or a mix here in 8 years or so, but I imagine there are plenty of Dutch cooking videos to find if you really want to see a breast This really isn't a controversial subject even if you imagine it is, no apologies necessary for your personal opinion.