Do Bresse really taste the best?

[Sammbalina]

I have heard a few youtubers mention Bresse chickens, and read that they are supposed to be the best tasting chicken. I was wondering if anyone here has raised them and if they are really a better tasting bird? I was considering getting some and crossing them with something like Jersey Giants to hopefully combine the larger bird with a 'superior' taste, but I wanted to see what the opinions on the Bresse really were. Are they worth it?

 

[BlueBaby]

@cactusrota had some before, and she could most likely answer that question for you.

 

[333113]

I have not tasted Bresse, but I know that part of the reason for the rave reviews is that the Bresse are tender due to having very short muscle fibers, similar to the Crevecoeurs I raise.

I have also read that in France there is an elaborate process for raising Bresse that contributes to their flavor. In France, the breeder must guarantee at least 10 square meters (to me, a meter is a little more than a yard) of "bocage," a designated mixture of woodland and pastureland. The breeder also feeds a combination of corn and wheat and milk from their first month onward, and the birds must also be allowed to graze on grass, worms, seeds and insects to complement their diet.

To me this sounds pretty much like free-range, in parts. I guess the milk might be easy for a dairy farmer, but I don't think I will be feeding my birds milk any time soon, mostly due to the price.

The other part of the flavor package, I suspect, is that the Bresse become meat at a later age than most American chickens. American chicken is pretty young when it gets to the slaughterhouse to become our food--think "veal"--tender, but less flavor than beef. Bresse is harvested at a later age, and has a chance to develop real chicken flavor, but with lots of steps between, including pasture and special diet, and a genetic predisposition to short muscle fiber, to keep the meat tender, even at a more advanced age.

 

[varidgerunner]

French wine, French cheese, French chickens, all superior in taste to anything else. If you don't agree then that means that your palate is not refined enough, like a French palate. If you go to the trouble to obtain any of these food items outside France, it is unlikely that you are going to do anything but justify the expense with your opinions of superiority, even if that stuff tastes like garbage. You are going to slather it in Grey Poupon, turn your haughty nose up in the air and eat it like it was the greatest thing on the face of the earth.

The best tasting chicken is one that is stewed in Russel's teapot, and nobody can prove that I'm wrong.

 

[cactusrota]

From my experience the Bresse are much more oily than any other breeds I've processed. And the oils and fats are yellow and very sweet and nutty, that gets into the meat when you cook it, and the oils prevent a dry breast meat. The fat also makes a great schmaltz (rendered chicken fat, as opposed to lard from pigs). I've even used it to grease the pans for brownies.. I have tried making schmaltz from other breeds and it never came out the same. I've only ever finished one Bresse cockerel with grains and milk and didn't notice that much of a difference, but I believe that finishing is supposed to be combined with a capone that's been raised on grass pasture. All aspects of how they are raised from egg to table in France need to be done for the bird to come out the "amazing" way we keep hearing about.
In short, they are really good, but still taste like chicken.

That said, I think everyone should have a few in their flock, if not to breed table birds than for every other reason people keep chickens. They have easy going personalities, and are very reliable egg layers.

 

[cactusrota]

French wine, French cheese, French chickens, all superior in taste to anything else. If you don't agree then that means that your palate is not refined enough, like a French palate. If you go to the trouble to obtain any of these food items outside France, it is unlikely that you are going to do anything but justify the expense with your opinions of superiority, even if that stuff tastes like garbage. You are going to slather it in Grey Poupon, turn your haughty nose up in the air and eat it like it was the greatest thing on the face of the earth.

The best tasting chicken is one that is stewed in Russel's teapot, and nobody can prove that I'm wrong.

Haha!! This whole response actually has alot of truth to it. In the same way that champagne cannot be called champagne unless it was grown in that region of France where the soil, weather, water, and everything else is just right. Kerry butter is better because the cows are raised on Irish grass. And believe it or not, rhubarb grown in high pH soil is actually sweeter! (I've tasted it! Really!) Bresse raised in America will never be comparable to Bresse raised the proper fashion in the proper region of France. Here it's just another breed that originated in France, alot like the Marans.

 

[Sammbalina]

From my experience the Bresse are much more oily than any other breeds I've processed. And the oils and fats are yellow and very sweet and nutty, that gets into the meat when you cook it, and the oils prevent a dry breast meat.

Maybe I'll try them for this reason. I hate breast meat because it always seems so dry to me, I've never had breast meat that I could eat unless it was in soup or covered in some sort of sauce! Although I have also yet to raise my own chickens, just tryin to make plans. Soon I will be moving onto my new homestead and first thing I'm doing is getting chickens! Well, building a mobile coop, then getting chickens!

 

[northeastDad]

Does anyone air dry to chill and wrap in cheese cloth and rub with mild like the French finish ?

 

[trescloudy]

Haha!! This whole response actually has alot of truth to it. In the same way that champagne cannot be called champagne unless it was grown in that region of France where the soil, weather, water, and everything else is just right. Kerry butter is better because the cows are raised on Irish grass. And believe it or not, rhubarb grown in high pH soil is actually sweeter! (I've tasted it! Really!) Bresse raised in America will never be comparable to Bresse raised the proper fashion in the proper region of France. Here it's just another breed that originated in France, alot like the Marans.

If someone was to learn exactly how the French do it, we could do it just as well in the USA.