organic, grass-fed

[raro]

Okay, many if not most of you are familiar with the whole organic and grass-fed issue, but in the suburbs it's kind of hard to get any access to anything. So I was fiddling around on the computer looking up stuff, and lo and behold, I found a co-op of farms an hour away that takes orders and delivers them to your home! It's pretty expensive, but since I'm kind of fighting for my life (I have metastatic cancer that feeds on estrogen, so I want hormone-free food!), I decided to bite the bullet and order some. My impressions...

Grass-fed organic beef is very lean. Slow-cooked it is far more tender and flavorful than store-bought. Same for lamb.

However, I had to laugh at the one chicken I decided to buy. I forgot that corn-fed chickens are overly-fat with breast meat, so it looked incredibly scrawny and thin. Plus, it was supposed to be vacuum-packed and something had gone wrong and it was bagged with a lot of air. So I decided to roast it in the oven...um, big mistake. It was the toughest meat I've ever eaten. Very dark in color, which didn't faze me, but we couldn't eat it. I contacted the farmer and he said that since it was packed wrong and was freezer-burned, he would refund my money, which he did promptly.

So for those of you who eat your own chicken, is it supposed to be that way?! I can handle the dark meat since I don't like white meat much anyway, but the toughness was beyond horrible.

I was impressed that they were quick to deliver, quick to refund. I will probably be ordering a half lamb in the spring. In spite of the challenges, I am much more comfortable knowing where my food comes from.

 

[Wifezilla]

Toughness could have been caused by the failed vacuum sealing. Or you could have gotten an "old" chicken.

I buy young, freerange chickens from Vitamin Cottage. So far there has been no toughness.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Home grown chicken will be a different texture.
It will have good bite too it.
If its rubber band like then its an old hen.

The difference you are seeing in size, is that the chicken you bought is likely a standard breed. Cornish Cross, even on pasture will be heavy on meat.

Next time if you buy the same kind if bird, roast it slowly (250'), with a cover and veges around it.

 

[patandchickens]

The fact that they were "scrawny" AND tough suggests to me that they were likely a regular heritage-breed type chicken rather than the CornishX you're used to from the supermarket.

They likely need to be cooked differently than you're used to. I would not roast one unless you know its age (or don't mind more chewing) and you might wish to brine first if you like 'tender' meat even if it is a relatively young chicken.

Anything slow-cooked or marinated-in-a-tenderizing-type-marinade usually works very well with old-style chickens of indeterminate age.

Really it would be wise to find out the AGE of what you're buying. If not more than 16-18 wks, that is one thing; but if it is an old hen meant for soup, that is a TOTALLY other thing.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[raro]

Thanks, that explains a lot. The fact that the vacuum seal was gone as well as the freezer-burned edges told me it was probably old and/or frozen for a while. That's okay, I'll give them another chance to impress me! And I will slow-cook it next time.

 

[Bourbon Red]

It does sound like it burned in the freezer. It does also depend on the breed - the older ones (breeds) look like pigeons next to the cornish crosses. While they do get a lot of their feed naturally when free ranging/pasturing chickens do still require quite a bit of feed (grain) to get any size at all (not just big and 'fat') before they're so old they're only good for stewing. The grass-fed issue is especially important with ruminant animals - chickens, hogs, etc. have a 'short, hot' gut and can (and will! happily!) handle plenty of animal protein and gain without the adverse side-effects that plague ruminants on a similar diet. They're better if they have access to plenty of fresh grass, etc. but the grain won't bother them (or you) as much as it will cows/sheep, etc.
We free-range/pasture cornish crosses and feed them all the whole corn and milk they want. Make great chickens at about 12 weeks - to terribly fatty. We have lots of 'heritage' roosters we kill and eat too because they're here - but they're nowhere near as meaty, efficient, easy to raise or delicious as the crosses raised this way.

 

[freemotion]

My laying flock roosters get slow-cooked in the Dutch oven with lots of liquid. We had a rooster that was well over a year old and he was delicious and tender. It still will not be the same type of tender as the grocery store frankenchickens....those are mushy because they are babies. These will still have some chew to them, al dente, but still very yummy.

If I am cooking just one, I cut it up and cook it in my big cast iron skillet with the lid on, cooking it as if it were a Dutch oven. You can also crock pot it, but I like to brown it first and then cook it all in the same pan.

You are off all soy, right?

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Thanks, that explains a lot. The fact that the vacuum seal was gone as well as the freezer-burned edges told me it was probably old and/or frozen for a while. That's okay, I'll give them another chance to impress me! And I will slow-cook it next time.

And do ask if its a stewing hen, or a roasting meat bird

 

[me&thegals]

I agree with Pat's assessment on the chickens. We have pastured birds (but they also get grain feed), and they are the best eating ever. Our wild venison is wonderful. The ducks are incredible. I would say it was the breed and/or packaging.

I'm so sorry you are fighting cancer but you seem to have a great attitude!