Unique Culinary Meat Breeds

I am looking to raise some foo-foo, culinary meat birds (think Poulet de Bresse) and was wondering if anyone has any interesting suggestions for breeds. We are going to try the black chickens (gasp...sorry silkie lovers ), but I do not know of any other unique culinary breeds available in the US. It is my understanding that the Poulet Rouge is a labeling program and not necessarily a breed of chicken, is that true? Any help or suggestions are much appreciated.

have you thought about the Ayam Cemani??? they are very rare here but i should have some come spring... i am planing on trying to sell a few as meet birds... here is some links http://feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Cemani/BRKCemani.html

and there is a pic of a butchered bird here https://www.backyardchickens.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2911

hope this helps

That bird looks like he is made from baling wire and binder twine, he's gotta eat better than he looks LOL

There are some folks making an effort with Naked Necks, I ate one, tasted like chicken.

Emeril Lagasse recently taped a program where he cooked with a Buckeye, a heritage bird from the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. He supposedly was very pleased with the flavor. I am trying to find the link now, will post it when I do.

p.s. (we love the way they taste!)

At what age are you butchering your buckeyes? They look like they should have some size alright.

I don't actually do it by age, I do it by behavior.

When they start getting really randy and ganging up on pullets, to the freezer they go. I know that's not definitive, and will say that most people who use dual-purpose heritage birds for meat tend to butcher between 18 and 20 weeks of age (depending on weight.)

Be sure to age any butchered bird in the fridge for at least 24 to 48 hours to allow the enzymes to tenderize the meat. If you put a freshly butchered bird into the freezer right away you may be unpleasantly surprised by the texture of the meat. Aging is important!

I wished I had learned the art of butchering. It is something I just havnt been able to do. Good information here . The butcher does ours. Australorps on the grill is g o o d

The Poulet de Bresse a la creme
really is the best tasting bird we have ever had. You cant get them , the breeders dont want to flood the market as people get notionsabout how they want the breed and ruin them .

The american bred was a rescue plan from canada due to such extreamly rare breed endangered by avian flu. they are only in N california and not for sale. you can buy the meat ,,
maybe there are birds out there for sale but I havnt found them...there was another breed came close in flavor but it was years ago and forgot the name.

I thought they were feeding milk and corn or something but the breeders said no, even the liver of this bird is a little different.

too bad I sure would like to have a flock

My parents said the meat in germany and france was even more yellow in the fat and better than the ones we bought and tried here.Its probably because the canadian version may have been bled out into other breeds.

There is a place that sells silki meat too, kind of freaked me out . I think of them as pet birds, but they say its pretty good cornish game hen tasting meat. Not sure havnt tried it

Quote:
Those are SO COOL!!!

Here's the link to the article about Emeril cooking with a Buckeye (although I note sadly he didn't mention the breed by name, just talks about "heritage" chickens):

Emeril's Preserved Lemon Bricked Chicken

http://www.discoverytravelandlivingespanol.com/food-health/emeril-lemon-bricked-chicken.html

And here's the video:

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/videos/emeril-green-preserved-lemon-bricked-chicken.html

(Note, the video is running really slowly on my system, I haven't watched it all the way through.)