Free Range Chicken
In search of the perfect rooster…
I was talking to a chef friend of mine the other day and we were discussing the rising prices of fish and meat and the knock on effect it creates. I mentioned how expensive it was to buy in a supermarket (admittedly something I rarely do) and in particular anything resembling a decent chicken.
So this post is more of a question than a statement;
Q: When was the last time you ate a good quality, tasty chicken?
I am not going to give it the big ‘I’m organic’ woffle, I cannot bear chefs in the media banging the organic drum when in reality they are not practicing what they preach in their own restaurants, the reason?-THE PRICE. I wish people would be more honest about all of this. I use corn-fed chickens, my eggs don’t come from the local farmer, why? because a. I am only allowed to use eggs approved by the relevant advisory board so a red lion mark replaces dirt and feather b. the farmer could never cope with the required quantities and c. the price-ultimately I am employed to serve quality food which makes a profit, if I don’t I lose my job.
The vegetables are not organic, why? because what is truly organic? If an organic farm is situated near a non organic farm which is crop sprayed it is inevitable that those chemicals will be carried across by air currents, the water used to feed them has been treated and where are all of those imperfections? I have been growing vegetables, fruit and herbs for some years now and through experience I know it is near impossible to grow anything ‘organic’ which hasn’t been attacked by every bug known to man.
Organic doesn’t mean fresh either, salads and vegetables for the supermarket and trade are held in deep chill storage for days/weeks at a time. What do you think happens at Christmas when the wholesale markets close for two to three weeks? Fresh fish? I don’t think so. How many taste tests have proven that there is virtually no difference in taste between organic vegetables and mass produced ones-plenty. I know how fantastic a vegetable freshly dug and cooked tastes but you’re not buying them at the local farmers market.
Back to the rooster! I actually prefer eating guinea fowl now because most chicken sold in this country is bland beyond belief. If it wasn’t for market pressure I wouldn’t bother putting chicken on the menu, the ones that are delicious are so expensive to buy I would never sell any so I am caught in a Catch 22. So what’s the answer? The treatment of broilers (chickens raised for meat rather than eggs) is abhorrent, as a civilised country we should be ashamed of ourselves for allowing it to happen.
The answer? Eat less chicken, don’t buy the disgusting processed rubbish coated in a crispy crumb, make a chicken lunch or dinner a treat instead and take the pressure of hoteliers and restaurant chef/owners to put it on the menu every day.
Maybe then we could be eating something worth paying for, like this…
Miles
great post and something I’m interested in.
Another problem today is …
What does Free Range etc actually mean.
I found out recently there are numerous definitions and that free range chickens are not quite as free range as one might imagine.
When I buy eggs in Sainsbury’s I look at:
Standard, organic, free range, barn eggs, woodland eggs, organic barn, taste the difference golden yolk etc etc !
I have no idea what I’m eating anymore, except now I have a Kitchen Garden so this year a few times I did know what I was eating (100% organic btw)
Great Post
Rod
November 12, 2007 @ 9:42 am
Miles & Rod,
Now isn’t that the truth? Very little tastes as it used to. I stopped eating boiled eggs years ago and used to love them. I have no idea what I am picking off the shelf. It is all very depressing and disheartening. But then, how much is our own fault? Chicken used to be a special treat. They seem to have got bigger than ever with much less taste.
November 12, 2007 @ 10:38 am
Miles,
I use Old Cotswold Legbar eggs whenever possible, sometimes Burford Browns. Both are tasty but will cost more that the others. £1.80ish for 6, but that’s still only 30p each and that’s the way I look at it. In the great scheme of things eggs for the average household are usually not much of a drain on resources, it’s just that we’re all used to paying so much less. Surely it’s what the chickens eat that determines the taste. I once ate at a village pub that kept their own chickens and fed them on left-overs like steak … fabulous taste they had. How many eggs does the restaurant get through in a week Miles? Wonder if it’s worth me setting up an egg business to supply your fine dining establishment … Legbars and Snipe with hand painted lions on
Cid
November 12, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
Miles,
Great photo - a good poser.
Perhaps you ought to keep some chickens? You grow plenty to go with them. But then, I guess, not too good for neighbourhood relations, hey?
November 12, 2007 @ 2:37 pm
It’s also worth mentioning that nowadays if you buy ’standard’ eggs you need 3 Michelin stars just to be able to crack one without breaking the yolk !
November 12, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
Wow,
There’s a response! Rod, good point about ‘free range’- this is currently calculated by a weight to area ratio, so the legal indoor stocking allowance is 27.5 kg per square metre which is only 6.5kg less than those raised in intensive breeding environments. The outdoor allowance comes in at a square metre per bird, there are varying degrees of the free range label but this shows how intensive so called free range can be or is.
Cid we get through at least a thousand eggs per week depending on business levels but that’s about minimum.
Elsie, many chickens are pumped with proteins and additives making them watery and tasteless in the name of size and cost cutting.
Thanks for the comments, an interesting selection of views.
Miles
November 12, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
Miles
thanks for the info on what exactly does define a free range chicken.
Again it’s a con on the public:
I suspect most imagine free range chickens, ergo eggs, roam around happy and normal eggs are battery farmed.
I should also point out a notable exception to my egg cracking rule.
When cracking an egg to make an omlette the yolk will never break
November 12, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
Rod,
You’re right about the omelette-never fails!
Miles
November 12, 2007 @ 7:23 pm
Miles,
I read that the RSPCA is calling for a ban on cheap chicken. It is urging supermarkets to sell only free-range, organic or Freedom Food varieties by 2010 and has set up an online petition. It says: “If people knew how the average chicken was treated…they would probably be disgusted”.
It will be interesting to watch how this theme develops.
Elsie
January 3, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
Elsie,
Interesting comment thankyou, I have recently discovered that Quail is also subject to intensive farming so that’s another to strike off the menu.
Miles
January 3, 2008 @ 9:33 pm