Tastes Like Chicken

Chicken - the bland poultry that needs to be intensely flavoured or immersed in fat to taste good... oh man how we've been misled.

The fact is, chicken, when reared properly, is as flavourful as steak! That is to say it carries intense flavour with no sauces or special seasonings or deep frying needed. I've said it before - happy meat is tasty meat - when you raise livestock that can roam about and without growth hormone or antibiotic, you'd be amazed at the result. These chickens cost about double that of a factory farm chicken, but they can provide a full six to eight meals and the carcass provides for an amazing stock.

I've already discussed the many reasons for investing in better food, even if it means cutting costs elsewhere, but there are many reasons I would recommend this. There is of course the obvious humane and environmental motivation for buying free run meat. Ethics aside, the stress of the confined space in wire cages causes an over-abundance of adrenaline production, which can cause spikes in blood toxins... not to mention factory chickens live ankle-deep in their own shit. It is for these reasons that I will either starve to death or become vegetarian before I eat another factory chicken.

Interesting experiment - The chicken stock recipe referenced a few entries below... For those of you that have made stock with a factory chicken, you'll know about the yellow foam that appears as soon as the water comes to a boil. Quite simply, you grab a wooden spoon and skim this off a few times and it's eventually gone. But I've often wondered what it is. The first time I made stock using a free-run bird, I placed the lid down, raised the heat to max, waited for the steam and when I popped the lid off to skim off the scum... no scum. Ha! And in the 10 batches of stock ever since... no scum. Think about that - still hungry for that fryer? You know the yellow foam that washes up on the banks of a polluted pond or river? Conceptually, I think there's a commonality here. And I'm not about to dip a cup into the edge of that river and take a big slurp.

So! All that to say, try this once - you'll never go back.

BRAD'S FREE-RUN CHICKEN WITH LOCAL ROOT VEG

Free-run organic chicken; olive oil; Kosher salt and fresh pepper; local carrots and blue potatoes chopped; and celery chopped; 8-10 thyme sprigs; 2-3 bay leaves

Lay vegetables in a ceramic dish, drizzle with olive oil, season and toss. Layer thyme and bay over the veg. Lay a metal wire rack over the dish, pat the chicken dry with paper towels and rub with S&P and lay on the rack. Roast at 375 for about 90 minutes, tossing veg occasionally. Internal temperature should be 170-175. You will not believe what you taste!