Favorite meat bird?

[AussieGirl]

Im trying to decide a good meat bird for me and my family and to see if all the rumors are true that free ranged chicken tastes the best. I was thinking of trying cornishxrock cross but if any of yall had a preference?Also is there any tastes difference between the different meat birds,especially between hatchery or a breeders bird.

 

[kizanne]

Well I personally prefer a slower grower, so far my favorite was barnvelder. Next Marans.

However, if you are looking for a difference from the store CX may not be your first choice. Even a free range CX is not going to taste alot different than the store. It will be treated better, it will have some better nutrients for you and your family but unless they really move around that won't taste too much different.

That being said. Many people love them cause they want the grocery store chicken, they want a quick growing chicken. There are many threads here that discuss the difference in taste, texture, cost and speed. CX's are a great place to start but many start there or with extra layers and move on if they can handle the killing and processing. I don't want to raise my own chicken but I do because I love the taste. I also appreciate that I know my chickens were raised humanly with access to sun, grass, bugs and room to move around.

 

[Oregon Blues]

If you don't know what you want to raise, I suggest that you try a couple of different breeds and see what works for you.

I disagree that home raised Cornish Cross tastes no different than store bought. They are the quickest and most economical.

If cost isn't an issue, and if you like the taste and texture of heritage birds, then there are some decent heritage breeds. They take a lot longer and will cost more to feed. You will end up with a smaller dressed carcass.

All Cornish Cross chickens are hatchery birds. That's where you must get them.

With the heritage or dual purpose birds, the breeder birds will be bigger than hatchery birds, but other than that, I have no experience about taste and texture differences between the two.

 

[PatS]

We've done buff orpingtons, dark cornish, "red broilers," delawares, ameraucanas, and cornish cross. We free range everything (and have the poop on the porches to prove it). The meat birds were kept in tractors by night with the door opened during the day. We followed the line of advice that had us removing the food from the cornish X for half the time (and once they were old enough to be on pasture that meant they only had grass, weeds, and bugs for a very good part of the daylight hours).

Taste wise, I think the dark cornish followed by the orpingtons were the best. But for rate of growth and size of carcass, nothing touched the cornish cross. They were also very docile in personality, and very easy to "round up" when it was time to close the tractor doors. Aside from the fact that their manure smelled (!) and built up so fast, they were the ideal meat bird. I thought they tasted better than store bought, but not as good as the dark cornish, the red broilers, or the dual purpose.

A happy medium was the red broiler. They were a good "halfway point" between CX and the dual purpose breeds in growth, taste, and temperament. Friends are also happy with their Freedom Rangers, but we haven't tried them.

I think we'll do a batch or two of CX each year for the freezer and supplement them with whatever cockerels are born to our dual purpose birds. The fact that they are ready when they are 7 to 10 weeks old (or sooner if you want a smaller bird) is pretty compelling when you are as busy as we are.

 

[AussieGirl]

Thanks for the replys you guys!Maybe ill get a mixed flock and see how it goes but Ill go with the local breeders.I just assumed the free range chicken tastes better (by word of my grandmother).Do any of you guys use a broiler?I figured its a must have in order to get the feathers off and decontaminate the bird....

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Hey Aussiegirl, your grandmother may not have been refering to the Cornish Cross when talking about the taste of free-ranging birds. From what I understand, at least in the US, the Cornish Cross only started becoming dominant in the 1960s. In part because heritage birds are generally left to age much longer, the taste of a free-range Cornish X may not compare with that of other meat birds.

I recently had the oportunity to try a free-ranged Cornish X from a local farming family. The texture was (in my opinion, far superior) firmer, and the body looked a bit healthier without the excessive fat globules I have to cut off store bought birds. That said, the taste was exactly the same to me, and the dark meat sections were still almost as pale as the breast meat, just as it is in store bought. It was slightly less slimy though (again, improved texture). The dark meat in heritage birds, if you've ever seen photos or the real thing, can be almost purple in color! This particular bird was killed when fairly young and small. Some people who free range their Cornish Xs let them grow out to an older age, so I suspect they would have more flavor in addition to improved texture. But, I've heard from other people that they were disapointed to find that while they also ended up with improved texture and less fat grossness, that the actual flavor of the birds was the same as a higher quality store bought bird. These same people raved about the flavor of heritage birds.

I just put in an order for a Freedom Ranger from the same family, and they are supposed to be sort of a halfway point in taste, etc. between the Cornish X and heritage birds. Towards the end of October, the same family will have Naked Necks available, and I will again compare the taste. Those should be noticeably more flavorful and firmer from what I've read. I'll post about it when I've had all three to compare. Hope you can find a way to compare birds as well to see what you like best!

 

[AussieGirl]

Hey Aussiegirl, your grandmother may not have been refering to the Cornish Cross when talking about the taste of free-ranging birds. From what I understand, at least in the US, the Cornish Cross only started becoming dominant in the 1960s. In part because heritage birds are generally left to age much longer, the taste of a free-range Cornish X may not compare with that of other meat birds.

I recently had the oportunity to try a free-ranged Cornish X from a local farming family. The texture was (in my opinion, far superior) firmer, and the body looked a bit healthier without the excessive fat globules I have to cut off store bought birds. That said, the taste was exactly the same to me, and the dark meat sections were still almost as pale as the breast meat, just as it is in store bought. It was slightly less slimy though (again, improved texture). The dark meat in heritage birds, if you've ever seen photos or the real thing, can be almost purple in color! This particular bird was killed when fairly young and small. Some people who free range their Cornish Xs let them grow out to an older age, so I suspect they would have more flavor in addition to improved texture. But, I've heard from other people that they were disapointed to find that while they also ended up with improved texture and less fat grossness, that the actual flavor of the birds was the same as a higher quality store bought bird. These same people raved about the flavor of heritage birds.

I just put in an order for a Freedom Ranger from the same family, and they are supposed to be sort of a halfway point in taste, etc. between the Cornish X and heritage birds. Towards the end of October, the same family will have Naked Necks available, and I will again compare the taste. Those should be noticeably more flavorful and firmer from what I've read. I'll post about it when I've had all three to compare. Hope you can find a way to compare birds as well to see what you like best!

Thanks for that info!Ill have to ask her what chickens she had (if she remembers lol).Please let me know what you find out about your birds and ill let you know what I find as well!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Hey Aussie girl, I'll be trying the Naked Neck at the end of October, but ate a Red Ranger last night. I roasted it using the exact same method as I did the free-range Cornish X (high heat to seal the juices inside...both birds turned out moist inside and crispy outside). The dark meat was still pretty light, and had a similar texture to the free range Cornish X (so, less slimy than store bought). The texture of the meat in general seemed slightly thicker/more substantial, but the white meat also seemed a bit grainy, which I have heard others remark on for the rangers. Unlike the free-range Cornish X, it actually did have a richer and more complex flavor than a store bought bird. The flavor especially seemed concentrated in the skin, which was delicious! The skin seemed a bit thicker and tougher, which my husband really liked. Despite being thicker, it crisped up beautifully. I'm personally excited for the thin skin of the Naked Neck!

This was (as far as I know) our first time eating something besides a Cornish X. If we did not know ahead of time that there was a different flavor, I think the meat would have tasted weird to us as we have never tasted that before, and probably would have assumed something was wrong for the chicken to have a stronger flavor. Since we did go into it knowing that, we both found it to be delicious, and prefered it to the Cornish X. I really do have to describe it as a more 'complex' flavor. Where as I prefer my bland Cornish X meat to be heavily spiced or in sauces, I liked the flavor of the Red Ranger so much, and found it so much more substantial, that I prefer eating the meat unseasoned (except for salt and pepper). We are excited to see what an even more prevalent flavor will be like in the Naked Neck.