How does a Road island red taste??

[Ragna]

Do they taste good? I've only ate a production red and that actually tasted very good... Well the fatty parts did but the meat was very chewy and dry. What are the top birds for meat? Thanks BYC

 

[Susan12]

I think the taste of the meat depends more on what they are fed than the breed.also age of the of bird.any larger breed are ok for meat,I like barred rocks.

 

[Ragna]

I think the taste of the meat depends more on what they are fed than the breed.also age of the of bird.any larger breed are ok for meat,I like barred rocks.

What about texture?

 

[Ridgerunner]

RIR's taste like chicken. If a chicken is dry that probably means you did not cook it appropriately for its age. How old was that production red and how did you cook it? Older chickens can have more texture but if cooked properly can still be very tender. Again a rubbery chicken probably was not cooked right for its age. Aging or marinating can help tenderize them too.

Which are the best meat birds kind of depends on what you consider a good meat bird. Cornish X are considered by many to be the best. The various Rangers and similar are next. That's not because of taste but because they pack on a lot of meat at an early age.

As far as the dual purpose breeds go you will find everyone has their own favorites for various reasons. I find that all the ones I've tried taste really good if cooked appropriately for their age.

 

[Ragna]

RIR's taste like chicken. If a chicken is dry that probably means you did not cook it appropriately for its age. How old was that production red and how did you cook it? Older chickens can have more texture but if cooked properly can still be very tender. Again a rubbery chicken probably was not cooked right for its age. Aging or marinating can help tenderize them too.

Which are the best meat birds kind of depends on what you consider a good meat bird. Cornish X are considered by many to be the best. The various Rangers and similar are next. That's not because of taste but because they pack on a lot of meat at an early age.

As far as the dual purpose breeds go you will find everyone has their own favorites for various reasons. I find that all the ones I've tried taste really good if cooked appropriately for their age.

They said about 12-14 weeks old they were medium sized birds not fully mature but close

 

[Mosey2003]

All chickens taste like chicken. I really doubt there's any real taste difference between breeds. What they eat and how much they move could affect the taste. They start getting tougher as they get past 12 weeks, 16 weeks being the cut off for being able to cook them rather normally. After that, you need to cook them low, slow, and moist.

If you're wanting to use a dual purpose bird for your meatbird venture, NH or Buckeye would probably be better choices than Rhode Island Red. Especially if you source them from a good breeder rather than a hatchery.

 

[Ragna]

All chickens taste like chicken. I really doubt there's any real taste difference between breeds. What they eat and how much they move could affect the taste. They start getting tougher as they get past 12 weeks, 16 weeks being the cut off for being able to cook them rather normally. After that, you need to cook them low, slow, and moist.

If you're wanting to use a dual purpose bird for your meatbird venture, NH or Buckeye would probably be better choices than Rhode Island Red. Especially if you source them from a good breeder rather than a hatchery.

I'm wanting to produce Cornish cross since I am hearing that a lot. I'm not sure why our family sells the types of chickens they do at our venue :l I'm not too into the eating of chicken as I am raising them so I don't know that much about cooking or preparing them. I'll keep the age in consideration how old do they usually process Cornish cross? While I'm getting my operation set up I may try to get a cornish cross from a hatchery of some sort, and raise a different breed

 

[Mosey2003]

Cornish Cross are butchered at 8 weeks. If you want to raise them, you have to get them from a hatchery, there is no other choice. It's a proprietary four way breeding that only hatcheries have access to.

 

[Ragna]

Cornish Cross are butchered at 8 weeks. If you want to raise them, you have to get them from a hatchery, there is no other choice. It's a proprietary four way breeding that only hatcheries have access to.

What does proprietary four way breeding mean?

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you wish you can watch these videos. They tell you a lot about how they raise the chickens that lay the eggs that become Cornish X broilers.

Different poultry companies have their own proprietary flocks that produce the Cornish X broilers. The genetics of these flocks are trade secrets that they want to keep away from their competitors. But the process is quite similar.

Scientists have developed four different grandparent flocks to produce the broilers. One of these four flocks produces the mothers of the fathers of the Cornish X. Another of the four produces the fathers of the of the fathers. The other two grandparent flocks produce the parents of the mothers of the Cornish X.