Heritage Breed chickens and Turkeys. Are they edible? Has the taste been bred out of them because they are now being shown for looks and confirmation? Are they useless for the dinner table?
They're very edible.. they take longer to grow to a harvest-able size than "commercial" or "broiler" breeds.
They're great for the dinner table with quite a bit
more flavor AND texture than any super market bird of recent past.. because of the slow growth.
It takes some adjustment.. if you're used to those mushy tasteless birds from market. Some might describe it a more "gamey" and/or tough/stringy.. Once you've adjusted though, it's not a bad thing, or any of those.
Be sure and give enough time for rigor to pass.. and depending on age.. intend to cook in a slow, low, and moist environment. Not *usually* on the grill or at high heat preparations like frying, unless harvested before 14 ish weeks for chickens. (Brining still good at times.)
The cost to produce heritage birds.. is likely double or more.. I can't put a
chicken on the table for under $15-20 feed plus my housing and time/effort including butchering. Turkeys, ultimately ended up being too heavy for me to works with.. (late 40's F, with arthritic type hands/shoulder injuries).. but oh yes, they are delicious.
We also use them to make ground chicken or turkey.. seasoned up and used in any recipe as desired!
So.. very, very useful.. not very affordable.. but if you care about where your food comes from or how it's treated in the process.. priceless!
Are peafowl really tasteless now or just too dang expensive, making them more valuable to sell than put on the table, taking into account their breeding cycles and all??
My understanding of what "heritage" birds means.. is ones that are capable of reproducing (mating and setting) without human intervention like artificial insemination or incubation.
Though I don't personally consider all the sexlinked crosses of "heritage" breeds which are perfectly capable of reproducing as "heritage" birds per say.. I guess that's where the term heritage may come in.. as in history of a specific breed that breeds true ie the whole plymouth rock etc.. new heritage breeds are being created all the time, lol.. partly if it's all the way back to their origin.. most of us are not keeping red or green jungle fowl.
Anyways just conversation, I agree.. they're all edible.. even bantams, egg breeds, etc. Some are more "worth" it to grow.. none is worth it if you don't enjoy them (breed or species).. for me anyways.. YMMV.
One other quick note on keeping "heritage" breeds.. many (chickens) will start to experience mating behaviors/antics before harvest that meaties really won't.. It's worth it to me to keep a "stag pen" for grow outs that will be harvested and not left to carry their genetic information forward.
