Can anybody make a list of the different chickens and how they taste?

[kees]

I've heard that some of the exotics taste absolutely horrible. Is that true?

 

[DougD]

Any fresh chicken should be aged in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours before cooking.
Once a rooster starts getting it's spurs it should be stewed.

 

[Whistling Badger]

Quote:
So, this link led me to a breed called "Buckeye," which voraciously catches mice and can roar like a dinosaur. That would be ultimate chicken coolness. Have to see if they can live in Wyoming...

Back to our regularly scheduled thread...

Tom

 

[DoDa]

We've tried White Wyandotte, SL Wyandotte, Cornish X and Dark Cornish. My favorite, and the type we now sell for meat birds, is Dark Cornish. They are smaller and take longer to raise than Cornish X, but the meat seems to have a slightly "finer" flavor than the X. It's hard to explain. I guess it's the advantage of having the double breasted bird, so more breast meat, but having it age a bit more before butchering (older bird = more flavor, as others said). I don't like the taste of the Wyandottes so much, though we finally tried one grilled and it did tons better on the grill than the X. As one of our customers said, "you can't overcook them on the grill" but the X you can overcook. Again, may be because the Wyandotte is older when processed. Another customer/friend said the young culled Wyandotte she got from us made the BEST stock she's ever made. That one I'm still trying to figure out since previously she'd been using another guy's spent hens, which I always heard were the best for stock.

 

[SandraMort]

I was gonna say "Never gonna happen" but earlier today, I saw obscenely expensive chocolate covered bacon, so... who knows?

Quote:

 

[dancingbear]

There is some difference in flavor among breeds. The Cornish X's are a little bland, a dual-purp breed of the same age will be a lot smaller, but have more flavor. I've butchered both at 12 weeks, that being the minimum to have any size at all on the dual, but still only about 2-2 1/2 lbs., dressed. The Cornish X was huge, of course, maybe 6 lbs. My little scale tops out at 5 lbs. it was well over that. 6-8 weeks old is optimal for tenderness, but up to 10 weeks is still tender enough, if you cook it slower than usual. After that, you get into the realm of the crock-pot bird, which is still yummy, you just have to give it time to get tender. The older the bird, the longer it takes. Brining an older bird will somewhat mitigate the "stringy" factor, and the meat won't be so dry. Older birds are good pressure canned, too, which is what I'm doing with the next batch of extra roos we have.

My guess about the people who said any breed of bird "tasted horrible", is that it was older, tough, and they tried to cook it like a fryer. Or maybe they are so used to that bland, mushy, 6 week old Cornish X meat, that they don't like chicken that tastes like chicken.

 

[jjparke]

The cornish x I raised taste like the stereotypical "chicken" a lot of meat but needs flavoring added to it. On the other hand I butchered and ate one of my 4 month old buff orpington roosters and it was absolutely delicious by itself. The meat was very rich. We only ate the legs because there just wasn't any meat elsewhere on the body. But it was so good I couldn't believe it. I would describe it as similar to if you grilled a hamburger patty ( no flavor added) and grilled a steak. Both beef right?

 

[WriterofWords]

My Grandma always said a chicken tastes like what it eats so keep it's pen clean, don't feed them onions, and for a week before you slaughter them feed them straight grain. Otherwise,, I say chicken tastes like chicken unless you season it to taste differently.

 

[KAKBucks]

Quote:
So, this link led me to a breed called "Buckeye," which voraciously catches mice and can roar like a dinosaur. That would be ultimate chicken coolness. Have to see if they can live in Wyoming...

Back to our regularly scheduled thread...

Tom

Tom, Buckeyes are great birds. Very hardy! They were developed in Ohio, go figure, so they handle harsh weather well.

I love my Buckeyes. They are critically endangered and are definitely worth saving!

Kendra

 

[chickenfanatic]

all i can say is chicken is chicken some grow faster then others some are darker and all that but they all gernerally jus tatse like chickens the only thing i will add is stay away from the more gamey type breeds unless u wanna boil them for a lonnnnnnnnnng time hahahaha