The Cornish Cross: “What is wrong with this picture?!” There is so much to think about in this arti

[Kildare49]

Backyard raised Cornish X are bland tasting? I hear this so often. I have apparently lost my taste buds.
Do any of you "finish" your meat/dp...birds headed for the table? It is so rare that I ever hear anyone speak of this,

Always the same...either low & slow....or mush & no taste. I'm thankful that we have not encountered this problem.

No lord, just a commoner who never left the woods & fields. Cornish X, DP, deer, wild turkey, rabbit, squirrel, all good eating.

 

[aoxa]

For those that find the taste of pastured Cornish Xs and DPs are the same, is anyone able to post comparison photos of the drumsticks? I have bought chickens from several sources now that raise their Xs and DPs in the same fields, using the same techniques, same butcher date. The drumsticks on the Xs have always been paler with a different taste and texture (one I find less pleasant and less complex and rich). Blind taste tests with chef panels seem to point to noticeable taste differences as well, and butchering photos show differences such as enlarged organs even in pastured Xs. I'm curious if anyone has been able to get a more comparable look to the meat and organs? I'm not sure if they necessarily relate to flavor, but flavors can not be shared online so I'd at least be curious if anyone got the carcass to look more similar in those two areas.

As a side note, I had one Naked Neck once that tasted more like a Cornish X. The other NNs I've eaten were not bland like that one. No idea what that was about.

Yes but are the pastured CX running around? That is the difference. If they are not freely fed, they are running to find feed. They are not bland, they are not pale.. They are coloured the same as any Plymouth Rock I have butchered. Nice dark meat on the legs and thighs. Not stringy though, and packed full of flavour.

Pastured CX are typically raised in tractors. Sure they get to eat grass and bugs, but that is not the main source of their diet. My CX do not act ANY differently than any other chicken, so they are just as flavourful. I guess there is no way for you to believe me without tasting my birds.

Here is a testimonial from someone I taught to process:

Quote:

 

[aoxa]

Backyard raised Cornish X are bland tasting? I hear this so often. I have apparently lost my taste buds.
Do any of you "finish" your meat/dp...birds headed for the table? It is so rare that I ever hear anyone speak of this,

Always the same...either low & slow....or mush & no taste. I'm thankful that we have not encountered this problem.

No lord, just a commoner who never left the woods & fields. Cornish X, DP, deer, wild turkey, rabbit, squirrel, all good eating.

I process them all myself!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Yes, they were all openly pastured using electric netting, not tractored. I'd have to ask if they were free-fed or not as I'm not sure! If you have time, I'd love it if you could post a drumstick comparison photo Aoxa. It'd be neat to see how the methods of those who achieve dark, rich meat differ from those that yield pale meat.

 

[aoxa]

Yes, they were all openly pastured using electric netting, not tractored. I'd have to ask if they were free-fed or not as I'm not sure! If you have time, I'd love it if you could post a drumstick comparison photo Aoxa. It'd be neat to see how the methods of those who achieve dark, rich meat differ from those that yield pale meat.

This is the best I have..This is a CX




Dual purpose rooster at 18 weeks.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I raised a dozen CX's this year without incident. I don't get it... If there's such a huge issue with CX's how come a total n00b like me can raise them without a single loss? (Except for the one that got eaten by the hawk of course.)

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Cool, the fat looks like it might be less heavy and, for lack of a better word, gross on your CX too.

 

[aoxa]

Cool, the fat looks like it might be less heavy and, for lack of a better word, gross on your CX too.

Yeah not a whole lot of fat until they reach that 12+ week mark. I definitely notice a difference between the CX I raised in the summer VS the fall. I will only do it in the spring/summer again.. So much more forage.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

http://journalstar.com/news/opinion...cle_a4e0da8a-d4db-5ad5-a441-4753052a756b.html

--
Tim Rinne

I don't think a single person on this thread disagrees with you. We aren't arguing for giant layer houses and chicken farms, we're disagreeing with the first article posted where the author trashed the CX as basically the worst chicken ever. We're saying that there's nothing inherently wrong with CX as a type of chicken and that they can be quick, economical, and easy to raise and taste delicious when pastured, as well as being able to lay eggs and even go broody. That's it. I'm not sure how you read into that statement that we're all somehow down with the giant ag-industrial complex. If we were, I doubt we'd be raising meat chickens.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

For those that find the taste of pastured Cornish Xs and DPs are the same, is anyone able to post comparison photos of the drumsticks? I have bought chickens from several sources now that raise their Xs and DPs in the same fields, using the same techniques, same butcher date. The drumsticks on the Xs have always been paler with a different taste and texture (one I find less pleasant and less complex and rich). Blind taste tests with chef panels seem to point to noticeable taste differences as well, and butchering photos show differences such as enlarged organs even in pastured Xs. I'm curious if anyone has been able to get a more comparable look to the meat and organs? I'm not sure if they necessarily relate to flavor, but flavors can not be shared online so I'd at least be curious if anyone got the carcass to look more similar in those two areas.

As a side note, I had one Naked Neck once that tasted more like a Cornish X. The other NNs I've eaten were not bland like that one. No idea what that was about.

Since I don't process my own and the processor that I use does custom processing, I don't have any heritage birds that are packaged like my CX, which I have cut up and packaged by meat type (light or dark meat). Then it all goes into the freezer...

Anyway, here's a comparison of a package of two whole bone-in CX breasts next to a package of an almost-whole EE carcass at 18 weeks (legs and thighs around the whole, bone-in breast. Yes, that's the whole breast, that little lump in the middle under the label). My packages of thighs are gone for the year, since we're all obsessed with Indian-Spiced Chicken Thighs and those packages went first. Unfortunately, that means you are looking at EE dark meat next to CX breast meat.



As far as flavor and texture, I would say that they taste pretty much the same. As far as texture, there's a HUGE difference, and it's not flattering to the EE cockerel. I can defrost a package of the CX and have fried chicken, or a quick stir-fry, or pan saute' them, or do anything with a package of CX that I could do with supermarket chicken. We tried frying a heritage bird ONCE. It was inedible because it was so chewy. I have my heritage birds (and in this case EEs, because I only had extra EE cockerels this year) packaged the way I do because they will only be put into the slow cooker using recipes that use a whole cut-up bird. And when I make those recipes, I always defrost two birds, because that's the only way there will be enough meat for the recipe.

Edited to add--the CX pictured above were processed at eight weeks of age.