Nothing Tastes As Good As The Cornish Cross

[harleyjo]

I really was hoping not to do the cornish cross again but I am so far not happy with the flavor of my dual purpose birds. I purposely chose to breed and raise Delawares but we are just not happy with the flavor.

Don't get me wrong, I love Delawares and most likely will continue to raise them but they just don't taste the same.

Have any of you found any other meat birds that taste like the cornish X?

 

[LilyD]

I really was hoping not to do the cornish cross again but I am so far not happy with the flavor of my dual purpose birds. I purposely chose to breed and raise Delawares but we are just not happy with the flavor.

Don't get me wrong, I love Delawares and most likely will continue to raise them but they just don't taste the same.

Have any of you found any other meat birds that taste like the cornish X?

No dual purpose bird is going to taste like a CRX and here's why. When we butcher a CRX we are butchering them at 8 weeks old so they are basically baby chickens.
Their meat is very soft and a very mellow taste (my son says it tastes spongy because there is no firmness to it. )

A dual purpose bird goes at least until 16 weeks and during that time they don't just sit and eat and not move like the CRX. They are flapping their wings flying, playing with each other and moving around. This gives them muscle in their breasts and legs and when we butcher them their meat has a firmness and the taste of a bird that has gained muscle and gotten to an age where they are starting to get hormones in. Personally I like the taste and texture but it's different for each person.

I have heard that if you keep the roos caged and feed them only grains and chicken feed that they will tasted very similar to a CRX because they aren't working their muscles. At that point though what is the point of raising them if we aren't going to let them out to be chickens. IMO

Hope you find your perfect meat bird

 

[mmktdox]

I've done two batches of CX and although the meat was great, they were pretty gross. I know everyone says they can free range and you can use fermented feed but I don't have the space for them to free range and don't have the patience to try fermented feed! So this time around I ordered something called Bonnie's Heavy Reds from Bonnie's Hatchery in Elmira Ontario. So far they are really great birds. They move around alot, they feathered in beautifully and are nice to look at. There are free fed, no stampedes at the feeder, no leg problems yet and no problems with flip so far. They are not quite Freedom Rangers, but they are referrred to sometimes as Red Broilers. I can't tell you what they taste like but I plan to butcher around 10 weeks so I think they'll be between a CX and DP for meat texture. I will post the results after the taste test! Anyway, so far so good. This is what they look like at four and half weeks.



And this is the tractor/coop that we use now. The tarp is for rain. Gave up on keeping them on the grass, too messy, and the raccoons would get underneath every now and then

 

[AlbionWood]

Is it the taste of the CX, or the texture, that you prefer? I ask because my experience is exactly the opposite: I found the Delaware meat to be richer in flavor than the CX, but it certainly is chewier.

The best flavored chicken I've had yet was the New Hampshire cockerel. At 16 weeks the breast meat was still tender enough (after brining) for frying, and the enormous brick-red thighs made terrific curry.

There are slower-growing strains of Cornish cross that might get you the flavor you desire with fewer of the problems of the jumbo CX. I plan to try some of those, and some of the Red Broilers and/or Freedom Rangers, next year.

 

[harleyjo]

I think it was the flavor. We are butchering the extra roos from when I hatch at about 4 to 5 months. Now we have had a hot miserable summer and I don't know if they just didn't put on the weight or what. We were so surprised at how small they were once we got all the feathers off them. Now the other thing we did different was we skinned them instead of plucking feathers.

We don't eat the skin on any of the chicken we eat but I do boil it and then take the skin off for chicken and noodles. I just hate how messy and stinky the Cornish are. I can't free range them and I refuse to ever put them in the coop with my layers again. That was terrible. Maybe we just need to try a few more and see how it goes.

 

[IndependenceArt]

Hey All,
I just got these chickens about two weeks ago as a fluke. (no one to take them so they ended up at my house). I have never raised chickens before. Someone told me they might be cornish X. Here is a pic of them when I first got them two weeks ago and the others are what they look like now. What do you all think? From what I've read the cornish X are only good for eating and I'd really rather not go into that whole aspect of chicken keeping. So I will also need advice on what the heck to do with them! Lol

 

[redneck4life27]

Those look exactly like my cornish x 2 week olds. Process them at 8 to 10 weeks or they start having leg problems and heart attacks and die. If you were near northern ny id take them. Make a post on craigslist farm section maybe you could get someone to take them. There cute but good eatting too lol.

 

[speedy2020]

I think it was the flavor. We are butchering the extra roos from when I hatch at about 4 to 5 months. Now we have had a hot miserable summer and I don't know if they just didn't put on the weight or what. We were so surprised at how small they were once we got all the feathers off them. Now the other thing we did different was we skinned them instead of plucking feathers.

We don't eat the skin on any of the chicken we eat but I do boil it and then take the skin off for chicken and noodles. I just hate how messy and stinky the Cornish are. I can't free range them and I refuse to ever put them in the coop with my layers again. That was terrible. Maybe we just need to try a few more and see how it goes.

Have you consider raising Jumbo Coturnix quail? It is not very large (10-14oz), but ready for grill about 5-7 weeks. They are laying a lot of eggs around 35-60 days.

 

[harleyjo]

Well we decided we are going to do the Cornish x again. I will tell you this though, they will never be inside my layer coop again!