Herbs for flavor?

[Muscovy Wunda]

Hi guys!
Sorry if this has been asked before, I did do a search but couldn't find an answer. Recently my husband has started feeding lambs salt bush, to increase the flavor of the meat. I have had salt bush lamb before and it's super tasty! So I'm just curious is there anyone out there who feeds their flock certain foods to increase/influence flavour? If so, how do you do it?

 

[staceyj]

Oh good heavens stay away from flax seeds!
I know it’s not an herb, but certain things that are high in omega 3’s (canola and rapeseed for example) can do a gross number on your egg yolks. *in brown egg laying chickens. It’s genetic.

Take one bite and it takes like fish!

It’s horrible, and will make you want to NEVER eat another egg.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

Oh good heavens stay away from flax seeds!
I know it’s not an herb, but certain things that are high in omega 3’s (canola and rapeseed for example) can do a gross number on your egg yolks. *in brown egg laying chickens. It’s genetic.

Take one bite and it takes like fish!

It’s horrible, and will make you want to NEVER eat another egg.

thanks for the warning! I would hate to ruin my eggs. Fish eggs does not sound appealing at all

 

[ThracianHorse]

I always abide by the "garbage in, garbage out" principle. In terms of feeding herbs... can't say I've noticed a difference in the quality of the meat - my meat birds got basil, thyme, and sage trimmings from the kitchen, and I can't say I detected a noticeable flavor difference. Perhaps if they were fed a large portion of their diet? Might make a difference, but I do not grow herbs in that quantity to find out. I know some cultures call for finishing certain animals on things like acorns... in pork I know it makes a HUGE difference.

To be honest, the bigger difference has been in terms of whether or not the meat birds have access to grass. Meat birds on grass have a much brighter flavor with vegetable undertones (Most noticeable when roasted).

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

To be honest, the bigger difference has been in terms of whether or not the meat birds have access to grass. Meat birds on grass have a much brighter flavor with vegetable undertones (Most noticeable when roasted).

This is the sort of thing I'm looking for, not just herbs. I don't like fast food chicken because it almost always tastes like grain . I'm not sure if their free range grazing is enough to inhance flavor, or if I need to be adding any extra to their diet

 

[ThracianHorse]

This is the sort of thing I'm looking for, not just herbs. I don't like fast food chicken because it almost always tastes like grain . I'm not sure if their free range grazing is enough to inhance flavor, or if I need to be adding any extra to their diet

If you've got meat-birds on a free-range diet, and they get to wander around and exercise, I'd say you're already well ahead of the game for making them taste good. So long as they can't get their beaks on fish, rotten meat, or other undesirables like that, you're doing pretty good. Fast food birds I am pretty sure never got to see a blade of grass or a bug in their lives. Myself, I have a tractor to move the birds around in so they can have fresh grass everyday and not get picked on or off by hawks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The main difference in texture and flavor between our chickens and store bought chicken is typically age. Our chicken tends to be butchered at a later age than the 6 to 8 week old Cornish X that you buy at the store. As chickens age the texture and flavor develops. This is true to a certain extent with pullets but once the boys hormones kick in that difference can really develop. Some of us like that change, some don't if they are used to the store chicken. Don't let a difference in age make you think what they are eating is causing that big of a difference. I think how much exercise they get is more likely to affect texture rather than flavor but I also think their is a difference in chickens that forage for a lot of of their food versus eating practically all commercial feed.

I read an article in recent years where someone was trying to develop eggs with enhanced nutrients or flavors based on diet. As far as I know they never went commercial with it. One comment they made was that they were trying to increase the calcium content of the eggs but it wasn't working. The extra calcium they fed went to the shells, not the eggs. As many of us know, feeding excess calcium can lead to health issues for the birds. That article was about eggs not the meat. I have no doubt you can influence the flavor or even nutrient content of eggs to a degree by what they eat, but I wonder if you can feed enough to make a significant difference without upsetting their balanced diet and it actually being unhealthy for the chickens.

Some people have really fine tuned taste buds and can pick up very subtle flavors, I'm in the not so much group with that ability. I'm confident you can influence subtle flavors by what you feed them but I think it will be pretty subtle. How you cook them could make a difference in whether or not you can pick up those differences. Smoking, marinades, or breading might mask subtle flavors. Just storing the meat in the fridge next to something like fish can make a difference.

I think you can influence flavors a lot more by using herbs and spices when you cook the meat than feeding it to them before, but by all means try it out and see what you think. There are exceptions to everything and certain things (maybe garlic) will have more influence than others. That's part of the fun, experiment and decide for yourself.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

I have no doubt you can influence the flavor or even nutrient content of eggs to a degree by what they eat, but I wonder if you can feed enough to make a significant difference without upsetting their balanced diet and it actually being unhealthy for the chickens.

I have wondered about the 'how much is safe' thing. I'm sure if anything influenced flavor it woukd indeed be garlic but if I'm correct alot of animals can't eat it so it would have a limit. Thank you for all of that, I will do some deeper research on it and see how I go.