03/03/2012
Bucking the ‘industrial’ Cornish cross chicken.
You might ask “What is a Cornish cross chicken?” Simply put, this is the ‘industrial’ standard meat bird used by almost every bird producer, whether it is a small farm or a large commercial operation. This breed of chicken was programmed to eat, eat and eat more to gain weight as fast as possible. This resulted in a bird with short, fat legs -- which can barely support the birds own weight, wide breast with a spongy texture and little flavor. This bird was bred to be cheap and grow fast. When commercially raised in feedlots, often by the thousands; are given antibiotics to maintain their health.
The first several years we raised meat birds; we followed the ‘industrial’ path and raised the Cornish-x breed. We did have success raising these birds without the use of antibiotics and while we offered our birds free range on the pasture; they simply would not forage. This was bred out of them and they would mindlessly eat the grain offered to them instead. Our birds were healthy and happy because they were not confined in a building with 1000’s of other birds and we fed them a high quality feed from a local feed mill, but they still lacked the flavor and texture we desired. This is the best analogy I can give you -- think about those huge strawberries you buy in the store, they’re big and flavorless – it’s the same thing with the ‘industrial’ meat bird.
So what is the big fuss about texture and flavor, or even the breed of the chicken? I read on a website where someone compared convenient food to instant coffee, TV dinners and boxed Mac “n” cheese. Can you really get excited about those? Now think about your favorite slow roasted coffee bean, freshly ground by your own hands and brewed at the perfect temperature. Just one sip and your taste buds burst to life and your entire body is energized. Try to achieve that with instant coffee – it’s not going to happen. Now let’s look at the chicken in the grocery store – it is convenient, precut, packaged all nice for us and cheap, but is it really any different than quick and flavorless instant coffee? We add all kinds of flavoring to the store bought chicken hoping to make it taste good, but no matter what we do it will never taste like the old fashioned homegrown chicken our great grandparents enjoyed.
So how do you get the good old fashioned homegrown taste of chicken? The only way to achieve this is select a “slow grow” chicken breed and then let it act like a “real” chicken and do what chickens do best – forage on pasture eating grass and bugs. Beginning this year, we are bucking the ‘industrial’ norm and not offering the Cornish cross breed. We have opted for what we feel is a healthier “slow grow” model for our animals and settled on the Rainbow Ranger broiler; with the predominate breed being RedBro as offered by our supplier. This breed is designed to grow faster than a multipurpose breed, but slower than a Cornish cross and still be able to forage on pasture. It’s what a real chicken does naturally and we feel it provides a healthier, natural tasting bird to you – just like your great grandparents enjoyed.
Also this year we are offering “slow grow” Narragansett Turkeys which is a heritage bird dating back to the 1700’s and “Salad Bar” beef as our Jersey steers simply enjoy grass and hay. We do have a limited supply of animals, so if you want more than just the ‘industrial’ broiler, or ‘industrial’ grain fed beef or the ‘industrial’ broad-breasted white turkey which lack the homegrown flavor, then reserve your animal now by giving us a call @ 330-775-2356. We encourage you to support your local CSA and farmers who practice sustainable farming.
