Andrew Webb visits Botterill's farm to meet some fantastic free-range chickens. You can win one (and a cookery book to go with it) thanks to our friends at The Ginger Pig.
As you'd expect The Ginger Pig chain of butchers stock some fine pork, lamb and beef (the later supplying top London steak house Hawksmoor), but when they wanted to sell chickens they turned to the Botterill family in Grantham. They've been tending the farm for over 70 years and it is now run by Gerald Botterill with his son, Richard, and his wife, Jo.
The Botterill's use traditional farming methods to produce the very best poultry, giving the birds plenty of time and space. All of their birds are delivered as day-old chicks and are immediately put into small groups under brooders. Once the birds are fully feathered they are allowed free access to the surrounding fields.
On the day I visited the chickens were doing what chickens do best: exploring the hedgerows, scratching up little worms and bugs, and generally having a nice time. Their instinct to roost means there's not even a gate at the edge of their field. Each night they are careful to make sure all the birds are shut up to protect them from predators. As we leave a hare bounces out of the long grass and off out of sight. This is as natural a farming environment as it's possible to get.
Age equals flavour
Botterill's birds are 100 days old (that's 14 weeks). Most factory farmed birds barely reach six weeks, and even many free-range birds don't get much past eight weeks old. Reaching 14 weeks means not only bigger birds, but more flavoursome ones too.
These are chickens that actually taste of chicken, not spongy white protein. The large legs are particularly fine, with a rich dark meat that comes from a long life spent charging about in a huge field.
The animals also have a good covering of fat unlike younger chickens, which keeps the meat moist. Their skin is thicker too, and crisps up to a wonderful golden shine, whereas mass produced chicken skin has all the texture and taste of soggy tissue paper.
Most supermarket birds are wet plucked; now there's nothing wrong with that, but it means that you can't keep the chicken as long. Dry plucking sees the feathers removed by a machine, before the birds are dipped in wax, which when cooled pulls out any remaining feathers and quills.
Win a chook and a book
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Closing date is the Monday 12th August 2013
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