'Freshly Killed Chicken'

[Carlovski]

On the Grand Sichuan restaurant thread there is a lot of comparison between the 'freshly killed' chicken dishes, and their ordinary equivalents.

How freshly killed is freshly killed? Does it make that much difference? And if so, why is this only a feature in certain chinese menus? Fine dining restaurants often quote the provenance of the bird, but no mention is made of how recently it met it's maker (fairly recently one would hope). Could this be the next big thing?

[Pan]

Yes, it makes a tastable difference.

You're right; I don't know many restaurants that make the distinction, but I do know many Chinese restaurants where they'll take down a chicken that's hanging up, hack it in pieces, and serve it to you either by itself or over rice as Soy Sauce Chicken.

[Susan G]

It makes a difference not only in flavor, but also in texture. The meat's more, um, springy.

Edited because I can't spell OR word check this morning!

Edited August 3, 2004 by Susan G (log)

[jhlurie]

Grand Sichuan wasn't the first place I'd ever had freshly killed chicken, so I was prepared. In Kansas City, there's a restaurant named Stroud's where they serve Farm-Raised Dead-That-Morning Pan Fried Chicken. If you think the difference is big in chinese food, wait till you've have Fried Chicken that way. It's just a totally different experience (although the Pan Frying is a huge difference too).

Stroud's motto, by the way, is "We Choke Our Own Chickens".

It belies the phrase "tastes like chicken" we have all grown so used to, because that phrase isn't referring to FRESH chicken--which is actually distinct and flavorful instead of tasting interchangeable with every other bland food, or depending overly on it's seasoning or marinade.

[Hest88]

Fresh chicken tastes really, really different. The first time I had it in Hong Kong, after a childhood of U.S. supermarket chicken, I could not get it down without gagging. It tasted too much like "meat" to me.

[russ parsons]

once again, a reminder to never underestimate the importance of rigor mortis.

[jhlurie]

It tasted too much like "meat" to me.

As opposed to Soylent Green?

[RSincere]

Very interesting! Our butcher guy closes his shop on Wednesdays for slaughtering...maybe I'll meander over there on Thursday and pick me up some of this freshly dead meat.

[slkinsey]

I've always wanted to go to one of the live markets in metro NYC and get a couple of freshly killed chickens (well, also some freshly killed roosters plus blood for coq au vin). Perhaps I'll have to make some pan fried freshly killed chicken too...

[alacarte]

Is "freshly killed" a euphemism for "not frozen"?

At Grand Sichuan, we did NOT see any live chickens running around the Manhattan restaurant. But I did not look in the kitchen.

[slkinsey]

Is "freshly killed" a euphemism for "not frozen"?

Yes -- and more, I think. I gather that it also means, "not long time refrigerated."

[Bux]

My guess is that the "fresh" chickens are also from a different source than the others and that contributes to the flavor and quality. That's just a guess.

[Andrew Fenton]

Funny, because at a trip to Grand Sichuan last year we did a taste test: had the fresh-killed kung pao chicken, and regular chicken prepared... some other way, can't remember how. The two dishes tasted different, of course, but I couldn't detect any particular "fresh-killed" taste in the kung pao. It just tasted like kung pao chicken. Good kung pao chicken, but nothing special.

[Ore]

Very cool topic!

Here in Italy, and I am sure in many other countries other than the US, the chickens everywhere are dead - but whole. From toe nails and a few unplucked feathers to guts and all - dont forget the eye balls still attached to the head, still attached to the body!

This makes for an extremely fresh pollo as all these parts spoil very fast - two or three days max! (so...sign of freshness as well)

And wow do chicken look strange when they come like this!

But very tasty!

Ciao,

Ore

[egator]

I had a friend who was living in Madagascar for a period of time. His mother came to visit him and wanted to cook dinner. When friend asked mom what she wanted to cook, she said something along the lines of, “I don’t know, chicken?” She didn’t know that chicken was a live chicken delivered in a cage. She called him home from work to take care of business before she could proceed cooking.

I never asked him about the difference in taste.

[Wolfert]

once again, a reminder to never underestimate the importance of rigor mortis.

In Morocco, our chickens always tasted better the day after they were slaughtered.

[nikko]

It makes a difference not only in flavor, but also in texture.  The meat's more, um, springy

We used to have chickens in our yard: they were for eggs but, occasionally grandma killed one of them to make sukiyaki. I didn't like it much. Maybe it was the texture? Chicken was killed in the afternoon & served several hours later.

BTW all the chicken parts were put in that sukiyaki - including immature eggs which I liked.

[Yuki]

They taste different, I know lots of people in HK could differenciate the taste between fresh and frozen chicken. But I lost that ability already.....been eating too many refrigerated/frozen chicken in Canada. I guess the breed of chicken in HK is different from Canada, they taste stronger and more lean in HK.

[emmapeel]

[in Morocco, our chickens always tasted better the day after  they were slaughtered.

←

I've only had freshly killed chicken in the south, but I found it very gamey, and have never liked them. I think you're right, they may taste better after a day.

[Kim D]

I had fresh killed chicked once. In 1980. The texture was better. I would love to have it again to see if the taste could match my memory.

I can't eat regular supermarket chicken. It's a texture thing. Spongy or plastic or something that just isn't right. Organic is much better but not as good as my memory of fresh.

Here in Chicago, I can get fresh killed chicken but I can't bring myself to do it. Because I would have to select the bird and wait while they took it in the back room and killed it. At least I think they take it in the back room. I don't think I could watch. Or listen. The horror.

- kim

[jhlurie]

[in Morocco, our chickens always tasted better the day after  they were slaughtered.

←

I've only had freshly killed chicken in the south, but I found it very gamey, and have never liked them.

←

Some might argue that the "gamey" taste is just the actual taste of "chicken", and that we just aren't used to it.

Paula may be right about the next day thing though (aw hell, she's smarter than me, so probably). I can't say I know for sure which times I've had "same day" fresh kill versus "next day". I suppose the big thing is that in neither case though, has the chicken had to be frozen for transport. That's a big deal in the taste-killing of most chicken.

[touaregsand]

In Korea there a quite a few restaurants that serve freshly killed poultry or game, usually ducks, pheasant or quail. Over there freshly killed literaly means killed to order. The customer chooses the bird and it's taken out back, comes to the table over a grill with a charcoal fire. When I was much younger and Seoul was not as industrialized/modern butchers kept live birds. We also raised chickens, it was sort of like a neighborhood coop. We took turns raising them and then shared the bounty. The flavor is remarkably different from the American supermarket saline injected birds.

When I go to France I'm still a little taken aback when I see whole birds in the butcher's case. But Ore is correct, it is a sure sign of freshness.

[Chris Amirault]

Over on the fried chicken cook-off, I posted some thoughts and pix of one of our local poultry shops, Antonelli's, where one can get freshly killed chickens.

[emmapeel]

Well, I'm older now and will try it again. Until recently, (and it could still be there) there was a fresh chicken store on W126th street in Harlem, but I think it's gone due to gentrification. I never bought their chickens. It was a warehouse, much like a garage, and you would go to the large open door that had a barrier and yell across at the butcher to pick your chicken. I only buy organic chicken now, but I know it's frozen.

As a child, I can remember my mother purchasing and cooking whole chickens, feet and all. But she grew up eating freshly killed birds.

touaregsand, I too was taken aback to see whole birds in Paris and Italy, but I did eat chicken there and it was great. I assume though, that they were at least a day old, but maybe not.

[touaregsand]

I just remembered there is a place in downtown Los Angeles on Washington Blvd, east of Broadway called Imperial Chicken that has live birds. They also have a little restaurant next door. The owners are Chinese but the menu is Mexican. Roast chicken, chicken burritos, enchiladas, sandwiches, taquitos and chicken soup which they serve with a chicken foot. The broth is intensely flavorful and unctuous.