Rant thread

[Tailgate]

Searched for a general rant thread to add my rant to, but came up only with specific topic rants.
I almost posted to the pet peeve thread, but rants just sound more serious that pet peeves especially when you want to give the topic of a rant a little more weight. Thus I'm starting a general rant thread.

Thus my rant... DW and I love chicken as a go-to protein. If I recall, there used to be a class of chicken called 'young fryer'..the were about 1/2 the size of todays heavyweight birds and very tasty and easy to handle, especially the fried variety.

WTH is going on with these monster birds that the chicken farms are cranking out. I picture these poor mothercluckers sitting in cages and getting force-fed growth hormones for their short lives until they almost explode from their own weight. They just ain't the same taste anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still eat 'em, but I miss the small fry.

This concludes this rant...feel free to start your own. I feel better now.

[rodi]

My grocery store still carries small fryers. Especially in the organic section. Although the organic chickens at costco are HUGE. That's ok because we're a family, and if we roast up 2 of these mini-turkeys it provides several meals and lots of leftovers for additional meals.

[ls99]

Guess if you want unmolested chickens, got to grow your own.

[MRG]

You mentioned they don't taste, you are correct. If you grow your own, very tasty. You can raise them as you choose; no antibiotics, let them run and eat bugs.

We still get small ones, but I don't like factory meat. Obviously not all can raise chickens.

Good idea for a thread.

Edit to add : those big overstuffed things are the reason people think everything tastes like chicken. Real chicken taste, those things are freaks of nature.

[NW-Bound]

But, but, but on the other side of the coin, we were once treated by my brother-in-law and his wife to some free-range chicken. They bought these smallish chicken at a Hispanic store. They told me you could pick the live chicken, which were then taken out back to be killed and cleaned. Of course, the chicken would be more expensive, though I did not know by how much.

How did it taste? Well, I did not notice that it was any tastier, because I could not get over the texture. It was chewy, like jerky! I had to go floss my teeth immediately afterwards. These were more than free-range. These chickens ran daily marathons!

[audreyh1]

The organic chickens are still smaller and still taste good. FWIW.

We don't actually eat that much chicken, preferring duck, seafood, and lamb/pork/beef.

[Tailgate]

is there a difference between free-range chicken and organic chicken?

[NW-Bound]

The Omnivore's Dilemma talks about how commercial organic chicken are raised. Very eye-opening, but then how does one expect large-scale "organic" production facilities to raise chicken the same way farmers used to raise chicken at home for personal consumption?

[Gumby]

In my experience, the kosher chicken tastes better. I don't know why.

[greydog17]

Here's Lewis Black's rant on the chicken subject; TubeChop - Show: Lewis Black, Elephants, chickens and the McRibber | The Daily Show with Jon Stewar (00:28)

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tailgate Thus my rant... DW and I love chicken as a go-to protein. If I recall, there used to be a class of chicken called 'young fryer'..the were about 1/2 the size of todays heavyweight birds and very tasty and easy to handle, especially the fried variety. WTH is going on with these monster birds that the chicken farms are cranking out. I picture these poor mothercluckers sitting in cages and getting force-fed growth hormones for their short lives until they almost explode from their own weight. They just ain't the same taste anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'll still eat 'em, but I miss the small fry.

I think they must be using them for the rotisserie chickens sold by grocery stores. Seems like they are so puny and all skin and bones (at least at my store).

Like you, I am concerned about the hormones used in raising most chicken, though.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tailgate is there a difference between free-range chicken and organic chicken?

Yes. The feed. And the antibiotics, perhaps.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby In my experience, the kosher chicken tastes better. I don't know why.

They bleed it out and brine it maybe?

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R ... Like you, I am concerned about the hormones used in raising most chicken, though.

No hormones added to raise chickens (from wiki):

Quote:

Growth hormones Hormone use in poultry production is illegal in the United States.[22][50][51] Similarly, no chicken meat for sale in Australia is fed hormones.[52] Several scientific studies have documented the fact that chickens grow rapidly because they are bred to do so, not because of growth hormones.[53][54] A small producer of natural and organic chickens confirmed this assumption: “ Using hormones to boost egg production was a brief fad in the Forties, but was abandoned because it didn't work. Using hormones to produce soft-meated roasters lasted into the Fifties, but the improved growth rates of normal, untreated broilers made the practice irrelevant--the broilers got as big as anyone wanted without chemicals. The only hormone that was ever used in any quantity on poultry (DES) was banned in 1959, and everyone but a few die-hard farmers had given up hormones by then, anyway. Hormones are now illegal in poultry and eggs.[55]

Maybe you were thinking of antibiotics, which are used, but...

Quote:

To prevent any residues of antibiotics in chicken meat, any given antibiotics are required to have a "withdrawal" period before they can be slaughtered. Samples of poultry at slaughter are randomly tested by the FSIS, and shows a very low percentage of residue violations [48]

DW said she was not impressed with the organic or free-range chickens she tried, but others may have different experiences/tastes.

-ERD50

[CoolChange]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 No hormones added to raise chickens (from wiki): Maybe you were thinking of antibiotics, which are used, but... DW said she was not impressed with the organic or free-range chickens she tried, but others may have different experiences/tastes. -ERD50

Your wife is not alone: Apparently, I do not like the actual chicken flavor (the kind that run around a farmyard eating bugs, etc.), much preferring the industrial stuff we get so cheaply in the USA. The information above regarding hormones and antibiotics make me feel much better about this; thank you.

I find my chicken preference odd since I like wild turkey and duck just fine. (I also love domestic turkey which I consider a completely different meat from wild turkey and the other high proof one, also good.)

As for beef and pork, I significantly prefer the flavor of wild bore and pasture raised beef not minding the texture issues one bit.

[ArkTinkerer]

Does anyone remember when the wings were the cheap part of the chicken? Now wings cost more than the thighs!

I have my eye on some rabbit. Specifically the one getting into my garden. Eliminate the problem and provide dinner in one shot! Literally!

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer Does anyone remember when the wings were the cheap part of the chicken? Now wings cost more than the thighs! ...

And "ox-tails" (from any beef, not really an "ox"). Make fantastic soup/stew, but very $$ when you can find them. I guess I should try the ethnic markets?

I heard a podcast recently that the US chicken producers currently make a large % of their profit from exporting chicken feet to Asia. Not much demand here, and there are only two feet, with little meat, per bird, so that translates to big demand in countries where they are considered 'good eatin'.

-ERD50

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 And "ox-tails" (from any beef, not really an "ox"). Make fantastic soup/stew, but very $$ when you can find them. I guess I should try the ethnic markets? I heard a podcast recently that the US chicken producers currently make a large % of their profit from exporting chicken feet to Asia. Not much demand here, and there are only two feet, with little meat, per bird, so that translates to big demand in countries where they are considered 'good eatin'. -ERD50

We get as much as we want of both oxtail and chicken feet, not that pricey, at the local Hispanic grocer in the Chicago area. DW makes a fabulous oxtail soup and her own chicken broth. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water...

Edit to add: Whole Foods Market occasionally has grass fed, organic, super duper oxtail, and as one would expect, most folks would need a bank loan to buy a package.

[Payin-the-Toll]

Maybe OP Tailgate should try a cornish hen---small and maybe taste better.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB We get as much as we want of both oxtail and chicken feet, not that pricey, at the local Hispanic grocer in the Chicago area. DW makes a fabulous oxtail soup and her own chicken broth. Just thinking about them makes my mouth water... Edit to add: Whole Foods Market occasionally has grass fed, organic, super duper oxtail, and as one would expect, most folks would need a bank loan to buy a package.

Thanks, I'll check out the places near us. I always thought of chicken feet as an Asian thing, didn't realize that was Hispanic as well. I suppose every culture has recipes for the 'lesser' cuts.

I was at our Hispanic market recently, I din't recall seeing ox-tails or chicken feet, but I was just browsing the meat counter (went in for pablanos and tomatillos). But I did wee what I though were crawfish, but was told the were langostinos. Sounds good, I'll need to dig up some recipes.

Hmm, this is way too pleasant of an exchange for a 'rant' thread, sorry.

OK, don't you just hate it when people don't rant in a rant thread! There, that's better!

-ER50