When you go to the butcher and ask for chicken, you're often offered "free-range" chicken, which is supposed to be more authentic and tasty. But it's also more expensive, so it's fair to ask: How do you recognize a truly free-range chicken? There are several easy-to-spot signs to look for:
- The meat of free-range chicken is more reddish, and the skin tends towards straw yellowWhen raw, free-range chicken meat is still darker.
- The plumage is more robust and variegated, although it appears more untidy than that of battery chickens.
- Free-range chickens are leaner, as they are less “bloated” by the typical diet of industrially farmed chickens.
- Free-range chicken eggs have a thicker shell than those of industrial chickens, with a darker shade.
- It has a more intense flavor.
- Its flesh is less watery.
- It requires slightly longer cooking times.
Free-range chickens scratch around and grow in the open air, so natural, it's definitely more lively than battery chickens, they love to scratch around, peck the ground and walk around. Maybe in one of those remote farms, where you can adopt and purchase it online. No chemicals are used to raise it. antibiotics and industrial feed.
Free-range chicken, like traditional chicken, should still be stored in the lower part of the refrigerator. At a temperature between 0 and 4 degrees Celsius, which in summer should rise to a minimum of 2 degrees Celsius. If you don't plan on eating free-range chicken in the near future, it's best to freeze it. In any case, it's always a good idea to check the chicken's expiration date.
Precisely because of their farming characteristics, free-range chickens are priced higher than the average traditional chicken, around 15-17 euros per kilo. Be wary of buying a free-range chicken at rock-bottom prices, like 10 euros per kilo: the numbers don't add up, and you risk being ripped off. Typically, a free-range chicken weighs around 1.8 kg.
Free-range chicken opens the doors in the kitchen to a long series of recipes, one better than the other. Here are some we've taken from our website.
- Chicken in wine. A specialty of French cuisine, also widely used in the northern regions of Italy.
- Lemon Chicken. This is a classic, fragrant Mediterranean dish.
- Pomegranate Chicken. A more sophisticated recipe than the previous ones, and very tasty.
- Recipes with leftover chicken. According to an old adage, nothing about chicken should ever be thrown away. It's just waste. And these recipes with leftover chicken confconfirm the wisdom of this culinary style.
Read also:
- Leftover Chicken: Recipes to Avoid Waste
- Lemon Chicken with Sage and Parsley
- Chicken in Wine: An Easy French Recipe
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