On Pasture-Raised Chicken

Buying a whole raw chicken in 1940s dollars would have set you back about $30. Today, buying a cooked, whole rotisserie chicken from a box store rings in at under $7.

Seventy years of advances in animal breeding, industrial efficiency, crop advances, including genetic modification, chemical fertilizers and cheaper feed costs have brought us this minor miracle. But cost is not the only factor that sets plentiful, cheap, fast-growing modern chickens apart from the Sunday dinner of yesteryear.

But the varied diet of chicken raised out on pasture translates into substantial health benefits for us. Pasture-raised chicken is substantially higher in vitamins A and E than factory-farmed birds. Deeper flavors develop, often accumulating from secondary compounds in the plants eaten by the chickens. And because pasture-raised chickens aren’t sedentary ot gorging on a get-big-quick diet of only carbs, they’re not just lower in saturated fat, but also lower in all fat in general. Pound for pound, the meat of a pasture-raised chicken is also higher in healthy omega-3s such as DHA and EPA, which, like salmon, are good for the brain and heart.  

Three factors cause the meat of pasture-raised chicken to have more texture than a supermarket bird.

First, pasture-raised chickens do move around, which translates to better muscle tone and chewier meat. Second, they take longer to grow than chickens raised in factory barns. And the last reason might be most pertinent to a cooking blog: supermarket chickens are often injected with brine before packaging. The salty water tenderizes and flavors the meat from within.

Here are our top 3 ways to make the most of our pasture-raised chicken.

1. We always thaw our chicken in brine. Dissolve 50 grams of salt in enough water to cover a chicken. Leave it in the fridge til it’s thawed. The result will be seasoned, tender, and juicy every time.

2. We’re big fans of butterflying (or spatchcocking) chicken. In summer, we grill it. In winter, we roast in the oven.

3. Always save leftover bones and the chicken backs from spatchcocking in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Once you have enough, make and freeze bone broth. Mason jars filled 3/4 full are perfect for this.