Who You Callin’ Chicken?

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Quick question; if given the opportunity, could you taste the difference between 10 different breeds of chicken if they were all raised the same and cooked the same? On Monday, Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Va., set out to find the answer to that question and invited me and group of local farmers and chefs to come along for the ride. The result— Ayrshire’s first Chicken Choosin’.

Sponsored by Ayrshire, Slow Food USA, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, Humane Farm Animal Care (a certifying body) and Chefs Collaborative, a nonprofit group that advocates for a sustainable food system the event showcased heritage birds.

The distinction of being a heritage bird means that the bird must be an American Poultry Association standard breed, it must have been allowed to mate naturally (big breasted chickens cannot mate naturally), the bird must have lived for 16 weeks with a slow growth rate and the bird must be allowed to live a predominately outdoor life. Side note: According to the APA, industrial chickens live approx. 4-6 weeks and grow at an alarming rate. If a child were raised the same way, they would weigh roughly 349lbs. at the age of two.

For the event, Ayrshire purchased four birds from each of the 10 breeds specifically for the event and raised them exactly the same way (except for the Cornish Cross which was killed at eight weeks due to its rapid growth rate). Each bird was given the same amount of pasture time, organic feed and killed at 16 weeks.  

Once prepared by Ayrshire chef Rob Townsend, each bird was given a number to ensure anonymity.  As guests worked their way through the tasting line, score cards in toe, the celebrity guest judges were sequestered in a back room to make their own judgments.

The judges came from a wide array of backgrounds and it showed up in their own score cards.  Overall scores were based on the chicken’s flavor, texture and appearance.

Chef Tony Esnault, the former chef in Alain Ducasse’s Essex House, has been awarded nine Michelin stars throughout his career and, to amusement of many in attendance chose the Faverolle, a French breed that was developed in the mid-19th century, as his favorite.

Akiko Katayama, a frequent judge on The Food Network’s Iron Chef America, chose the Cornish Rock as her favorite, sighting its “nutty, almost coffee-like flavor.” Editor’s note: What? “Nutty, Coffee-like flavor?” Weren’t these birds roasted and served lightly seasoned with only salt and pepper? Well, yes. Then where did she get the nutty, coffee-like flavor from? I don’t know, I guess her palate’s a little more sophisticated than mine. Or she’s full of bunk. That too, I guess.

R.J. Cooper, executive chef at Vidalia in D.C., chose the Dorking as his favorite (which was also my favorite as well).  Known for its fine-textured white meat, the Dorking was extremely tender and full of flavor in both the white and dark meat.

Bob Perry from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and a member of Chefs Collaborative, favored the Buckeye, just because it tasted good.

As for the crowd, the overwhelming majority sided with me and Chef Cooper.  The Dorking finished with the highest amount of first place votes and nearly everyone who didn’t vote it first, had it rated in their top three.

Now comes the tricky part though, where can you get a Dorking of your own?

Right now, it would be tough. According to Susie Hass, wholesale manager at Aryshire, your best bet is to request it from your local butcher. Even if they don’t have it, if customers continue asking for it, they’ll get it in stock eventually, though after Monday’s tasting, Hass said the results may motivate Aryshire to start raising some Dorking. The only obstacle would be the cost in raising them the additional 12 weeks. Right now though, Aryshire’s Cornish Cross (the second place winner) is available through Home Farm Store in Middleburg.

Afterwards, I caught up with several area chefs to see if the tasting would influence their menus in the near future.

Mark Zahuranec, executive chef at Hunters Head Tavern, said that for him, the key is to determine whether or not his customers would pay a higher price for heritage chickens. “I think diners as a whole have become so much more educated in recent years,” he said. “I really think that our client base would appreciate and make the necessary investment in higher quality meats.”

Victor McLawhorn, executive chef at Griffin Tavern, told me that he came to the tasting to determine whether the heritage chicken was worth its cost. “There’s a big difference in cost, I can pay $1.19 for a whole chicken, frozen.” McLawhorn said. “These are a little over $3 per chicken.” Asked if the tasting had influenced him, he replied, “That’s the reason I came, to see what I liked and what everyone else liked and actually the one I’ve considered purchasing (Cornish Cross) did really well today.”

Tags: Aiko, Ayrshire Farm, Chicken Choosin, Middleburg Va., Northern Virginia Magazine, R.J. Cooper, Stephen Ball, Tony Esnault