Best Free range organic whole chicken you have had ??

olliesmummy06

This one was fab-very tasty indeed!!

http://www.tesco.com/superstore/xpi/8/xpi52394868.htm

ChapelGirl

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Sad to say (due to food miles), but the best chickens I have ever had have been from Bresse. Not sure if it's just spiel, but been told the chooks wander all along the country lanes around the farms, they're that free range.

I haven't seen them wandering in the lanes exactly, but I have seen the farms, and the local markets, and I've eaten the chickens (both locally in the Bresse region and from the ridiculously-priced Borough Market).

In the Bresse region the birds are really well treated, and the taste of the meat is superb. Each bird is numbered and has a leg ring, (like a racing pigeon,) so if you are disappointed and want to complain you can trace the original farmer and get your money back, no questions asked.

I have heard old people in the UK say that chickens do not taste like they used to taste. Often this is put down to the fact that they are old and their taste buds must be decrepit, or that their memories are playing tricks.

But I have to say that these French chickens are the most chicken-y chickens I have ever tasted, and if that is how all chickens used to taste in the UK as well then we have really made a mess of our poultry industry.

As for the slaughtering, if your farmer is a small producer I reckon they probably do their own. All you have to do is ask them. I have bought chickens from Darrow Farm (see my previous post) where they plucked and dressed the bird for me as I waited, and when it went in my coolbox it was so fresh it was still warm.

They obviously can't do that with bigger animals such as pigs, sheep or cattle so they will have to be taken to the nearest slaughterhouse. Unfortunately there have been massive cutbacks over recent years in the provision of local slaughtering facilities so often they have to be taken for miles to be slaughtered, which just increases their stress levels, and this put hormones into the meat which make it tougher.

To the lady who prefers budget supermarket chickens to free-range organic, all I would say is that I too have been VERY disappointed with what the supermarkets are putting out as free range and organic, and I suspect we are not being told the whole truth here. If you can get a genuinely free-range bird from a local producer I am sure you will be able to taste the difference.

And be careful! Many of the small producers are raising their birds in an organic way (or almost) but cannot afford the fees which the Soil Association charges to get the certificate. If you can find a local producer near to you, talk to them about how they raise their birds. If they are the real deal they will let you visit their farm and will show you how the birds are kept. If they don't allow visitors, that says it all. But just because they can't put Organic on the label doesn't mean they aren't responsible farmers, nor does it mean that the meat will be inferior to so-called Organic birds from the supermarkets.

PeachPickle

We got a tesco finest free range organic chicken a few weeks ago (half price ) and it was utterly gorgeous, as was the stock we made from it afterwards :drool:

freebiequennie

we have previously brought ours from marks and spencer

but reguarly use abel and cole and find them excellent quality and delivered to the door www.abelandcole.co.uk if you do a search you may find a first time customer code for an offer

freebiequennie

in fact here you are:
To take advantage of this offer, add code TEFCGIFT in the special offer codes when you place your order. After 3 deliveries (each of £15 or more) you will receive a £25 credit on your account. This can be spent on any products of your choice at Abel & Cole within 3 months. No cash alternative. Subject to availability. Prices correct at time of going to press and subject to change without notice. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer, except selected price discounts.