My Cornish X's Have no Flavor

[IndianaHomestea]

Has anyone else experienced this? This has been my first time raising and processing meat birds. I raised 15 cornish X's and have butchered about 7 of them so far. They are big (5-6 lbs) the mean is tender and looks great. But they just have very little taste. Of course marinades and other flavoring is a big part of it, but with store bought chicken even without seasoning it just seems to taste better to me than these X's I've raised.

Is this normal? Maybe I should be giving them different feed? I've laced their water with ACV since day one and fed them all 100% organic grains. They aren't free-range, but I can't imagine that making much of a difference in flavor?

Any ideas?

 

[Habibs Hens]

yes its normal

Cx are the closest you get to supermareket broilers

if you want meat that tates good

then you want to raise free range chicken that mature a little slower

like the Orpington, ixworth, wyndotte

etc

theya re all good for meat and have better taste

just mature slower than the Cx

 

[IndianaHomestea]

I've heard all of that, but these CX's have less flavor than commercial chicken. Same breed, mine were raised in better conditions, fed organic feed, ACV water, but have less taste. Doesn't make sense.

 

[meganblythe]

Some grocery store chickens are actually "enhanced" with a salty brine to give them more flavor. This could account for the difference in taste. You could brine yours to do the same thing.

 

[ChickenJerk]

I've heard all of that, but these CX's have less flavor than commercial chicken. Same breed, mine were raised in better conditions, fed organic feed, ACV water, but have less taste. Doesn't make sense.

Organic feed and vinegar might change the taste for the worse. Industrial chickens would never be fed that stuff.
How about processing methods? Perhaps the spent to much time in the cold water cooling?

 

[ChickenJerk]

Some grocery store chickens are actually "enhanced" with a salty brine to give them more flavor. This could account for the difference in taste. You could brine yours to do the same thing.

That has to be stated on the package. Relatively few are treated in this way. And it is only done to whole birds and usually roaster size at that.

 

[animallover505]

Free range would make a lot of difference. I don't raise meat chickens, I couldn't kill them, but I have read a lot about it, especially on this site. The grass ad the bugs makes a big difference in the taste.

 

[Sandyd]

I haven't had that problem with my CX's. Raised 350 last year and they tasted wonderful. Put all natural Avia charge 2000 in their water from day one. fine ground corn, barley, oats, flaxseed and sunflower seed for their feed and after 1st week soaked their feed overnight and gave wet feed to them in the evening with the dry offered 24/7. Throw garden veggies into them during the summer months.

 

[mstricer]

Never had that problem. I also only feed mine once a day and they free range the rest of the day. Nothing more then FF which is made from non med. chick start and grow.

 

[Island Roo]

The broilers that I raise, I sometimes consider to less flavor than store bought - but that is because the store bought chicken had this horrible "almost chemical" taste to them.

Now my cx tastes like chicken. A nice clean flavor.

I feed organic feed. They get more time on pasture now, but I had similar results with little access to pasture. Access to pasture / forest / garden does help to enhance the flavor.