In Search of Good Chicken...

[joesan]

A month or two ago we had the most awful chicken ever. It was from Somerfield, cost £3 and tasted like cotton wool with a remarkably similar texture to that cosmetic aid. It was surprisingly moist leading me to believe that it had probably been pumped full of water or dunked in some additive laden brine. It was an offence to all poultry.

Reflecting on this monstrosity we realised that to pay £3 for something that had been raised to weigh a kilo and half and expect it to taste good was ridiculous and we have vowed never to buy anything like this again.

We've started tasting various freerange organic chickens and have been very pleased with the results.

Here's what we've found so far -

Tesco Organic - About £9 for 2kg bird. Pleasant flavour especially when cold. Texture not too good. Overall a bit of a dissappointment.

Whole Foods Generic Organic - About £10 for approx 1.8kg bird. Very ordinary but definitely better than normal supermarket varieties.

Daylesford Organic - Over £12 for a 1.8kg bird. Expensive but totally worth it. Exquisite flavour and luscious , pleasantly chewy texture. The undisputed star so far.

Anyone have any other recommendations to try from UK based fellow egulleters? They don't have to be Organic just well raised and tasty. We are in London but will travel for food!

PS I know Poulet des Landes are amazing but they are a little expensive at about £28 a bird. Having said that all price points will be considered.

Edited July 13, 2007 by joesan (log)

[Bapi]

Their website needs updating and you would have to buy in bulk (4 minimum I seem to remember) - but what about these chaps? Ellel Free Range Poultry

[Gary Marshall]

on a slight tangent, interesting dinner with friends other night who have bought a house in burgundy not far from bresse and say that chickens out there are very expensive £30 for a chicken not uncommon, no cheapies to be had.

best ones in my area are from the excellently named 'loose birds of harome' about £10- £13 each, you can tell from the thickness of the thigh bones that they are very different from the usual ones. Make much better stock too. Having not done a taste test back to back i couldn't say whether they taste much better but i'm happy that they are not pumped full of crap and the birds have had chance of a decent life.

[RDB]

I eat Reg Johnston's chicken on a weekly basis and I tell you they are delicious, moist and succulent. Not sure if he has a website.

[Mrs Woman]

We had a Label Anglais one from our local butchers the other week and was very impressed. About £14 for a bird that fed four hungry people (in fact I made the fricasee recipe off their website, which was bloody lovely - http://www.labelanglais.co.uk/html/recipe_roastchicken.htm).

The fact of the matter is that if you are paying £3 for a chicken, it ain't going to taste nice! Organic isn;'t necessarily the best either.

[Matthew Grant]

Label Anglais - NOT THE SPECIAL RESERVE, the leaner bird is full of flavour. By far the best UK bird I've had. £1.6kg is around £8 or £9 from Wyndham Poultry a lot less than the website.

[Romaney O'Malley]

I'll third the label anglais rec - fantastic birds. Agree with Matthew - go for the darker leaner looking birds not the ones with big boobs

[joesan]

Folks - thank you so much for your advice. Looks to me that the Label Anglais will be the best, easiest bet. Do you recommend the Pimlico or Borough premises?

I really, really want to buy something from Loose Birds of Harome. That is a name to be reckoned with. Tragically it doesn't look like they do mail order...how sad.

Reg Johnston is not available online and the Ellel minimum order is too high. Shame because it looks like a nice product.

Any other recommendations still welcomed. I will try to report back on the findings.

[erica graham]

Daylesford Organic - Over £12 for a 1.8kg bird. Expensive but totally worth it. Exquisite flavour and luscious , pleasantly chewy texture. The undisputed star so far.

Anyone have any other recommendations to try from UK based fellow egulleters?  They don't have to be Organic just well raised and tasty. We are in London but will travel for food!

PS I know Poulet des Landes are amazing but they are a little expensive at about £28 a bird.  Having said that all price points will be considered.

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If you are in or near the Cotswolds, then I can't recommend enough our supplier Great Farm- she raises chicken, guineafowl and duck. The chickens are quite big to look at, and have a good firm consistancy and great flavour- the reatail at around £10 from the local butchers.

www.greatfarm.co.uk

We bought every chicken Leonnie from Great Farm produced for 6 months until the ultimate chicken was raised!!!

[joesan]

Thanks Erica. We're in London - so nowhere near the Cotswolds but it looks like they might be able to supply mail order. I may try them based on your recommendation - it makes sense to try a variety. Plus I love Guinea Fowl which they also supply.

[David Naylor]

on a slight tangent, interesting dinner with friends other night who have bought a house in burgundy not far from bresse and say that chickens out there are very expensive £30 for a chicken not uncommon, no cheapies to be had.

best ones in my area are from the excellently named 'loose birds of harome' about £10- £13 each, you can tell from the thickness of the thigh bones that they are very different from the usual ones. Make much better stock too. Having not done a taste test back to back i couldn't say whether they taste much better but i'm happy that they are not pumped full of crap and the birds have had chance of a decent life.

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Gary, i think there may have been a little currency confusion, savigny les beaune & becks induced i fear. 30 euros is correct. Have all the "loose birds of flaxton" gone now or can you still get them?

[Gary Marshall]

ah well, never let the truth get in the way of a good story!

think i got the last loose bird of flaxton a few years ago.

i have a loose bird from harome in the oven as we speak, with some tarragon from the garden

and a 1er cru st aubin i think.

[YKL]

loose birds of harome are indeed very good. and can usually be found at the bi-monthly leeds farmers markets ..

[John Whiting]

Label Anglaise are indeed excellent, but I'd give a slight edge to the organic birds from Sheepdrove, available direct via their website and from the larger Waitrose branches. We spent a day at their farm, went around the barns, and were very impressed. The birds are so full of flavor that they need nothing except themselves.

[joesan]

Thanks John - I've added them to my "to try" list. I have a soft spot for Waitrose so will try there.

My taste tests so far have all been conducted using a Marcella Hazan recipe - two organic lemons inside the chicken, salt and pepper and nothing else, no oils, no butter. When the chickens are good this is a great recipe for a tasty chicken.

[William Higham]

I'd recommend the chickens at Meat City, if you happen to be passing near Smithfields - you certainly have lots of other choices there too.

http://www.meat-city.co.uk/

Not cheap, so it pay to use the bones for stock and coax as many meals out of the chicken as possible. But simply exceptional - so not at all overpriced. The chickens are from Essex, I think - rather surprisingly.

[joesan]

Thanks William. I will add them to my list to try.

I've actually never made it to Smithfield Market. What is the procedure, best time to go etc.

I go a lot to Billingsgate Market and it is tremendous value but does necessitate an early (6-7ish) morning!

[rjs1]

Label Anglaise are indeed excellent, but I'd give a slight edge to the organic birds from Sheepdrove, available direct via their website and from the larger Waitrose branches. We spent a day at their farm, went around the barns, and were very impressed. The birds are so full of flavor that they need nothing except themselves.

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I second that, and Sheepdrove are usually only a little more expensive than Wyndham Poultry's Label Anglais.

Sheepdrove on Clifton Road, W9 have their chicken on speical offer this week - £5.59 a kilo, and legs at £2.99 a kilo.

[joesan]

Thanks RJS1 - I was previously unaware of the fact that they have a butchers in Maida Vale. I will definitely be paying them a visit in person as some of the other stuff looks good too.

Their website could do with some revision I had to click through about 10 pages to get to the chicken ordering page!

[ravelda]

The best time to get down to Smithfields is around 5am, although some of the butchers will still have a fair old amount of produce even at 7ish. I go down twice a week with the head chef who goes down daily. If you ever need a guide around PM me!

[muichoi]

Label Anglais-not the special reserve, as Matt says, are the only non French bird available here that I've found worth eating. I really dislike the pappiness of Sheepdrove and Daylesford. I usually go with the various French birds that go under the 'Label Rouge', in a different class. There was a time when even supermarkets carried them.

[joesan]

Ravelda - I think I'd like to take you up on your kind offer. Always good to meet a fellow egulleter and even better to have an expert guide in an unknown marketplace. I'll PM you.

Muichoi - Interesting that you think that the Sheepdrove and Daylesford products "pappy". I didn't find the Daylesford chicken pappy and others seem to like the Sheepdrove poultry. I'll look out for that in my next tastings. You are definitely not alone in liking the Label Anglais though!

[Richard_D]

Otter Valley chickens, which one of my local shops stock (but you can buy from theWell hung meat company) are the nicest I've tried. I've had packs of the livers and they were exceptionally tasty.