> After all, even pastured chicken tastes wildly better than conventional chicken.
As a farmer who used to raise pastured chicken, I was always happy to convert people to what real chicken is supposed to taste like.
As a farmer who used to raise pastured chicken, I was always happy to convert people to what real chicken is supposed to taste like.
...so my father lives in a village in the north-west of Scotland; the butcher there did locally sourced everything (you could buy venison that had come off the local hills; he did amazing venison burgers, made from scrap venison cut with pork). His chickens came from, I think, Black Isle? But they were fantastic. Stuff half a lemon up its backside, rub with olive oil and rosemary, roast, serve with potatoes and plain boiled carrots and peas... sadly, he retired, and the place closed.
I haven't had roast chicken for ages. Dammit, I'm hungry now.
Kind of like eating me vs. eating an Olympian.
That said, the difference that being able to forage green grass and insects in the short period they were out on pasture (usually 4-6 weeks, weather dependent) was so remarkable in terms of the flavour and the texture of the meat, that we're effectively ruined for eating any other non-pastured chickens. The fat was rich and velvety, the dark meat was meaty and deep in flavour; everything was just moist and juicy and delicious.
We didn't do many on a yearly basis (about 1000 +/-), and I was primarily using them for fertilizing pasture that I was grazing with our dairy herd. The fact that they were spectacular eating was just a side benefit.
If you're ever able to track one down, I'd highly recommend giving one a go.