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Chickens: what size do you like, and are you able to find it?


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37 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Yes, that's pretty much the issue here. Not only is it (the 900) bigger in length and depth, it's seems to be a bunch taller as well. And if smaller makes better toast, that's just a plus. I think the one we had in DC was the compact, and it toasted just fine.  As long as I can fit a whole chicken into it, I'll be good (and the last bird I bought weighed a whopping 2.5 lbs., so that shouldn't be a problem)!

 

I have trouble finding a 4lb bird

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52 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Only finding birds too big for the oven, or you'd like about a 4 pounder and can only find smaller?

 

I can fit a 5lb in the BSO. But I don't need that much bird. 3lb would be nice

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2 hours ago, gfweb said:

I can fit a 5lb in the BSO. But I don't need that much bird. 3lb would be nice

 

Gotcha - I'm pretty much always able to hit that sweet spot between 2.5 and 3.25, at the butcher where I buy these birds.  He carries 3 or 4 different chickens, and an old hen as well.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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As having a smaller appetite, I split chickens and only cook 1/2 at a time - have even done them in an air fryer - size is not an issue (except on date nights 👅)

 

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It depends on what I want the chicken for.  If it's for roasting, I like a 4 lb., which I can usually find at Kroger or Wegmans or Publix.  They aren't the regular whole chickens, so they are usually more expensive.  If I want to cut one up for frying, I prefer 2.5-3 lb., which, oddly, is much harder to find.  A local pharmacy/drug store/candy store/cafe/kosher dry goods purveyor/etc. used to have a little deli/frozen food section and sold these perfect little chickens - no Dolly Parton breasts and Kardashian thighs.  Unfortunately, they've rented out that section and no longer sell the chickens.  

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I also like the small "poussins" I can order from places like D'artagnan. Sometimes I'll see them in a specialty grocer as well.

 

And JOyce Farms has these...Poulet Rouge® Heritage Chicken "Coquelets" (Pack of 8)...which I'm guessing are delicious, though I've never had enough room in the freezer to order a box.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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1 hour ago, weinoo said:

I also like the small "poussins" I can order from places like D'artagnan. Sometimes I'll see them in a specialty grocer as well.

 

These are also my preference.  They may usually be obtained from a store about four miles from here.  Unfortunately that is too far for me to walk.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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I think they (Cornish Game Hens) used to taste and be better. Maybe I'm misremembering.

 

That said, I always liked cutting then in half, marinating in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, etc. etc. and grilling them.

 

Haven't bought one in decades, since I much prefer a poussin.

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6 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I think they (Cornish Game Hens) used to taste and be better. Maybe I'm misremembering.

 

That said, I always liked cutting then in half, marinating in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, etc. etc. and grilling them.

 

Haven't bought one in decades, since I much prefer a poussin.

 

The Cornish game hens I can find are now the size of what I used to think of as a chicken.  Worse, one has to buy two.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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I was just remarking recently that I haven't seen Cornish Hens in years. They would be the perfect size now that it is just the two of us. We do live in a poultry farming area, so I will have to investigate other farms than the one I usually go to.

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3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

The Cornish game hens I can find are now the size of what I used to think of as a chicken.  Worse, one has to buy two.

 

Exactly. If only they were good, though…

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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Chickens round here are small. I just returned from a local supermarket. All their birds were around 2 lb and that includes feet and heads. Living on my own, that suits me just fine.

 

I can get slightly larger birds (maybe up to 3 lbs) from the markets, but rarely do.

 

For soup, I often buy silkie (乌骨鸡 (wū gǔ jī) - black bone chicken) and they are about 2 lb as well.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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I love them to be around 1.3-1.6kg (so what’s that? Maybe 3-3.5lb). At that size I can roast them very hot and very fast (a la Keller), 220°C to 235°C for maybe 30-40 minutes. Great skin, great breast meat and decent dark meat. I struggle to see a better roasting option. 

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I like 4lbs. 

 

A good size for roasting or for hearty soup / stew to fill a 7qt Dutch oven.

 

My favorite has been the Bobo Poultry black plume Euro-style chicken. I don't have a convenient source for these right now so usually get decent quality supermarket chicken (Murray's, Bell & Evans, D'artagnan etc.). These are the same breed as all the other supermarket birds but seem better raised. 

 

I'd love to try the Sasso bird Mitch linked. Do you order those? Are they available retail anywhere in the city?

Notes from the underbelly

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9 hours ago, paulraphael said:

Do you order those? Are they available retail anywhere in the city?

 

Not only are they available, they (along with any number of other breeds, poultry, etc.) are available still clucking.

 

I buy them at LaPera - but my guess is there are other live-markets where they can be had. The distributor of them is Watkins Poultry.

 

By the way, if you're near a Union Market, they occasionally seem to have Joyce Farms...if you've never tried these, they're great too.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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On 4/2/2022 at 11:56 AM, blue_dolphin said:

I saw them in the store earlier in the week.  I'll pick one up and give it the Judy bird treatment. 

Where did you see them ? Never had the Poulet Rouge but I do know someone getting a case, so i'm curious to hear how they taste as the price seems reasonable. My current fav is the Cooks Venture / TJ's heirloom bird. 

 

Our Farms (cooksventure.com)

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I am less enamored of the Cooks Venture bird.

 

Here's what a sasso looks like, roasted...

 

1050883568_Sassochickenroasted2016_03_13.thumb.JPG.f49ef903da16cdbb7c57ca0daec273ff.JPG

 

And here's a more standard bird roasted (ignore the truffles)

 

1047539595_Chickenroastwtruffles01-02-22.thumb.jpeg.0e1627ed0c40005182cf1f48b3ffe9b4.jpeg

 

You can tell the breast is much larger on the bottom example.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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10 hours ago, AAQuesada said:

The closest one is 22 miles away, darn! But it's definitely on my list of places to check out now!

That’s practically walking distance in California.

Where is this case of Poulet Rouge coming from?  Because if it’s Joyce, you’re in for a treat. 

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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