best chicken meat

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
This is actually honestly what I expected Buster to point out.

If I were rating poultry on a scale of food "snobbery" the most prestigious chicken (the type acceptable to those on the highest end of the food-snob scale) would be a heritage breed, pastured in large organic fields, watered with well or spring (not treated municipal) water and most definitely not fed corn or soy -- and to a slightly lesser extent they'd probably like to see them kept away from canola as well.

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
I don't know how prestigious, but it will certainly be the best tasting. But lots of folks will definitely pay a premium for both, regardless of the breed used. Last year I raised some commercial breed turkeys on free range and it was the best tasting turkey I had eaten up to that point. I have eaten free range heritage breeds since then, so they are now a distant fourth, but still...

Sorry. That is about as entertaining I can get on that.

Shockingly,

I have to disagree with you, Buster... I would first say that prestigious would win over taste with the organic part. In my opinion, there is NO difference in flavor with most organics. Now, keep in mind, I'm NOT at all against organic.

Well, I wasn't talking about the organic part. I have never eaten an organic chicken in my life. I was talking about the free range (as in pastured) part. And that is most definitely tastier than a bird raised entirely in confinement. There is no way one can match in a confinement setting the rich, natural diet of a bird that is allowed to forage for its own food.

And diet most definitely affects taste.

 

[BarkerChickens]

As for corn...eh...that just adds in more fat. Greens taste better in my opinion. Cornish Crosses grow fast, so they will be the softest meat. We heard Javas and Buckeyes were good. We bought a straight run, kept the hens and ate the roos at 16-20 weeks of age. The leg meat was a bit tougher than cornish cross (from running around), but the breast wasn't any tougher at all. BBQing would probably be a different story, but the crock pot or beer can up the rear method in the oven is our preferred cooking method. With that being said, Javas and Buckeyes are delicious!! Much more flavor than store-bought cornish crosses (in my opinion), though less meaty (which is a given). I am sure a well-fed/ranging cornish cross would be MUCH tastier than store-bought, but I haven't experience one yet.

 

[scubaforlife]

Quote:
My answer is no and here's why I think that, IMHO, etc etc...

Organic is a government term that allows for certain synthetic chemicals and doesn't account for things like GMO, the thousands of miles the feed travels, etc....

Free-Range just means they "have access" to the outdoors. Most confinement raised chickens won't go outside because it scares them.

I like, pastured poultry. It means it was raised outside, on a pasture.

Chickens are omnivores, feeding them just corn doesn't create the best meat. You have to mimic their natural diet of seeds, grasses, bugs, carrion, what-have-you. The reality is that chickens are not vegetarian. A broad and diverse diet will keep the chicken's body in balance, that will translate into better tasting meat.