How to Cook Heritage Poultry

Slow and Low is key!!!


The way we raise our birds (free-ranging naturally slow-grow growing heritage birds) means they are leaner, with more muscle. The meat will also be darker than that found in a superstore chicken. 

"Studies have shown that Heritage Poultry contains less fat and more protein than the traditional supermarket birds. Let us be clear, we are not against animal fat!  We are not offering a "low fat" bird, per say. The difference is the fat content in our chickens has the correct OMEGA 3 to 6 and lipid ratios, compared to the supermarket alternative whose OMEGA 6 values far exceed the OMEGA 3 content. You can see evidence of this difference in the deep yellow color of the Heritage chicken fat that is representative of mineral and vitamin content"
  (http://www.goodshepherdpoultryranch.com/Recipes.html )
 
Our birds are much more flavourful, and you'll find that as long as you follow our cooking recommendations (slower for longer) that the bird will be moist and incredibly tender and flavourful. The way it should be!

This is our personal favorite way of preparing a duck, chicken or turkey.

Use a heavy cast iron dutch oven (with the lid on- no vents). In a pinch you can use a roaster, if you don't have a lid, with aluminum foil placed over top and then tightly pinched all around.  This ensures a moist and tender bird.

Rub the chicken/duck all over with a bit of oil, S+P and any seasoning you desire (garlic, paprika, sage, thyme, rosemary...) and then place it in the dutch oven, breast side up. 

We often put brown rice in the bottom with the normal ratio of fluid (stock is best), and you can throw in chopped root veggies, whole onions and garlic too. 

There is no exact science to the kinds of herbs and seasonings you should use on your bird. We believe in using what you enjoy and not being afraid to experiment with different combinations. 

Place in pre-heated oven and cook SLOW AND LOW at about 300 F for 1 ½ + hours depending on size (after 1 1/2 hours check every 15-20 minutes with a thermometer- when the internal temperature reads 160 F, it's ready).

If desired, remove the lid and broil it for a few minutes to brown the skin on top. Everything comes out moist, tender and smelling wonderfully of herbs! Delicious!

What do with left overs: 

Day 2:

 Use remainder of the meat and flavourful broth/gravy to make enchiladas,shepherd’s pie, soup. 

Meanwhile, cover the carcass and other bone scraps with water, some onions and seas salt in a large stock pot.(Can also throw in scrap vegetables- celery etc) Simmer for two to three hours and you have a beautiful, nutritious broth. Just strain it in a colander to de-bone.

Day 3: Either freeze the broth, or use right away to make soup, cook rice, etc

Three delicious meals from one bird!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Turkeys: there's more to them than meets the eye!

Daniel and I realized that the "video" in one of the earlier blogs didn't actually work, it only came up as a photo. So, here it is! This is Mr.Douggy strutting around. So, I'll be honest. When Daniel first started talking about turkeys, I wasn't that excited. They're just kind of ugly...nothing like a duck you know. Ducks are adorable- they waddle around, wag their tails and quack a lot....cute!! Turkeys have their own charm...Now that we actually have our own turkey pair, and I've had a chance to get to know them, I have to say I've grown rather fond of them. Plus, Daniel has been learning all sorts of neat things about turkeys and telling me all about it.

Here are some interesting turkey facts:
- Did you know Turkeys can fly? Rather well too, despite their size! They actually prefer roosting on the highest possible perch at night- up in a tree or on the side of a barn for protection from predators

-Male turkeys are called gobblers, because they are the only ones that can make that adorable gobbling sound. Each male turkey has his own unique gobbling "technique". You can see Mr.Douglas strutting around and then letting out that gobble in the video. Its a mating dance for them to attract mates

-Turkeys blush! You can hear my mom commenting on it in the video. Male turkeys have that droopy "snood" hanging off their beak and the folds of skin below. These go from pale blueish/grey to bright red when he's excited, agitated or feeling horny!

-Daniel has noticed that Mr.Douglas is very personable, and friendly. Apparently domestic turkeys are known for being fairly tame. You can see he's quite calm when Daniel handles him

-Narragansets (the ones that we plan on breeding for our flock) traditionally were known for their calm disposition, good maternal abilities, early maturation, egg production, and excellent meat quality (the meat is listed in the Slow Food Arc of Taste!- please note, the Narragansett turkey is actually listed in Slow Food USA Ark of Taste, but I thought Slow Food Canada is more relevant to us)

Sunny day at the farm, and a new farm!

We showed the current farm to my visiting parents today. Also, Daniel and I have big news! We have bought a farm in Bowden!! As you know we have been renting land/facilities from John. Now we finally have a home and land where we can start our forever farm :) photos to follow soon!

As for the visit to johns farm, we showed my parents the new additions to our "birdy" family. The ducks really like being outside and eating snow.

Also, Daniels new BFF, Dougy. You can see Dougy strutting around in the video- he's desperate for a mate! He's the Narraganset Tom that we will be using to develop our heritage turkey flock.

2012 Duck and Turkey shares now for sale!

Duck Share:

Back in October Daniel and I purchased 1 mother and 20 ducklings. We, with the help of the mother duck of course, have been raising them with the intent of keeping them as a breeding flock. We are thrilled with how healthy they are and how fast they are sizing up. Once the ducklings are mature and laying eggs, we will leave those eggs under the new mothers. With a little bit of luck and lots of care, we will have a new batch of ducklings! These are the ones that we will then raise for our 2012 shares. (Christmas dinner, anyone?)

Our ducks are being raised in a compassionate way. They have lots of space. This includes plenty of outdoor space during the summer and winter-they really like scooping up mouth-fulls of snow in the winter. They also have enough space inside their cozy coop for the days when they feel lazy. We also inspect them daily to ensure that they are healthy and happy.

As you know, we manage our farm with the CSA system, meaning we will be pre-selling "shares" of meat for the year 2012.

If you would like to secure yourself a duck, (or two, or three) please contact us and we will put you on our list.

Here are the details:
You can email us to be put on our waiting list now.
We will sell the duck shares as they hatch. So, as soon as they are hatching (early spring) we will email you first and you will pay a deposit of $15 dollars, which secures you your very own duck. We will then proceed to raise these ducklings. Once they are finished, and have been butchered and frozen (at a provincially inspected facility), we will bring them to a pre-determined delivery point. Upon delivery you will pay $3.75 a pound. We will be able to deliver anytime in the fall- perhaps in time for thanksgiving and or Christmas 2012.

Turkey Share:

The turkey shares will function similarly, except we will not be able to hatch our own in the spring. Instead, we will be taking your names on our waiting list now and then purchasing as many poults (baby turkeys) as we need in the spring from a hatchery (. We will then raise these turkeys and sell them in the exact same fashion as the ducks. So, email us now to be put on our list. Then we will be accepting the $20 deposit in March 2012 when we are ordering the turkeys. We will then proceed to raise these turkeys, and they will be ready in time for thanksgiving- or Christmas 2012 (your choice! the Christmas turkeys will end up being slightly heavier).

All our meats (ducks, turkeys and chickens) will always be butchered at a provincially inspected facility. They will also be butchered close to the delivery date to ensure freshness.