Curiosity? Better feeding grounds? Or perhaps it was
simply to distinguish itself from mass produced, essentially flavorless
protein. Is this why everything tastes like chicken? Because chicken taste like
everything but also like nothing at all?
As a vast majority of shoppers do, I originally simply
purchased my fowl based on price. On sale at the large supermarket chains?
Sold! Fifty cents per pound cheaper in the 5 pound package? Double sold! After
all, as long as I followed the basic tenets of nutrition seeking low fat
chicken breasts then life was good and the planets were all aligned properly.
Right?!
Then I sampled a simple roasted Mary’s organic chicken
and I was sold. Roasted breast no less which usually has that flavorless, even
if it had a moist consistency that resembled textured vegetable protein. But
this chicken tasted like… chicken. So I had to research what made Mary’s
chicken different.
Mary’s Free Range
Chicken
What originally started as a turkey farm has morphed into
one of the most notable chicken farms in the nation. What started as just a
turkey farm in the 1950s has evolved with the 2nd and 3rd
generations to one of the largest free range, humanely raised and slaughtered,
antibiotic and hormone free poultry farms. Because turkey farming usually peaks
just around the holidays then quickly subsides thereafter, the Pittman’s knew
they had to diversify so they chose the most popular poultry – chicken to
sustain them during the off-holiday season. But the Tyson’s and Foster Farms
already were established as the “big boys” of the chicken world so they decided
to find their own niche. Chicken breeds that weren’t selected for quick weight
gain eschewing the use of hormones and antibiotics and allowing the birds to
roam free like chickens normally do in the wild (and your backyard). They also
chose a means to humanely slaughter their fowl. They currently have partnered
with the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards Program with Global Animal
Partnership which ultimately benefits farmers, retailers and consumers alike.
But do they taste better? I think so! With mass
supermarkets birds, the flesh usually hardly has any real flavor on its own
leaving only the nicely roasted skin with any chicken flavor. The flesh of
Mary’s chickens has that same flavor usually only found in the skin. Of course
with organic, humane animal husbandry, there is an increased cost so don’t
expect to just pay $2.49 per pound but you can find Mary’s chicken at retail at
Whole Foods outlets.
Jidori Chicken
At about the same time that I started seeing restaurant
menus listing Mary’s chicken on their menus, I also noticed this new “Japanese”
chicken – Jidori chicken. Well, it’s not actually from Japan but a trademarked
name for free range, hormone and antibiotic free birds that were humanely
raised and slaughtered. Basically the same concept as Mary’s but just created
by another group with the same aim to raise a bird as humanely and natural as
possible with a lot more flavor. Because of the popularity of these “artisanal”
raised birds, there probably are as many imposters calling themselves Jidori
chicken as the real McCoy.
A Step Further
As you might already be aware, I’ve tried to focus on
sustainable purchases as well as being a locavore as much as possible to
support our community on this tiny rock. I’ve already switched my beef
purchases to locally raised beef and seek out Shinsato (which will be ceasing
operations by the end of the year) or Wong Farms pork. However, locally raised
poultry was the one void. I knew of one local poultry farm on the Big Island
but they understandably only sold to their own local restaurants and patrons on
Hawaii Island. That is until I discovered J. Ludovico Farms which sells their
chickens at the weekly Saturday KCC Farmer’s Market and the Thursday Kailua
Farmer’s Market.
Founders Julius and Jamie Ludovico along with their
children: Lucy, Ellie and Jack and weekly help from Julius’ sister Maria
started J. Ludovico Farms four years ago in Haleiwa. Julius was trained in methods of Korean
Natural Farming and wanted to put it into practice and originally started with
pigs but ended up with poultry. Although they have a small flock of egg laying
hens, their focus at this time is with poultry for meat. The chickens are
raised on grass/pasture with the protection of a movable coop. The chickens are
moved and fed daily replicating the methods used by Joel Salatin of Polyface
Farms although their redesigned coops are lighter and sturdier. They obtained
an exemption from the USDA over two years ago to process and sell poultry and
currently are the only operation to do so on Oahu and one of three in the whole
state.
Because they are primarily a husband and wife operation,
they will sell to the public if you “reserve” your bird before their weekly
slaughter on Mondays. Because I was so excited to finally get my hands on
locally raised chickens, I reserved not just a bird but livers, hearts and
gizzards for the full nose to tail dining experience.
The Bird
Once again, free range artisanal raised animals do carry
a higher cost, in this case it was $5.00 per pound or a little more than double
the Foster Farm and Tyson’s of the world. And to make sure our evaluation of
the product wasn’t swayed by secret seasonings and spices, I simply seasoned it
with just salt and black pepper in that perfect roaster, the Ronco Rotisserie
Oven. Laugh if you want but this oven does roast chicken like no one’s
business!
And the Ludovico Farms bird didn’t disappoint with that
flavor usually only found in the skin throughout the flesh including the
breast! And the skin… chicken flavored squared… no, make that cubed! And the
Ronco Rotisserie Oven nicely crisped the skin while still leaving the breast
meat moist and tender. There is a drawback with these birds though… the Mrs.
now wants me to make regular after work trips on Thursdays to the Kailua
Farmers Market for more J. Ludovico birds…
Offal but not
Awful
Because I usually pressure cook my chicken gizzards to
attain maximum tenderness with the perfect ”bite”, I didn’t notice much
difference in the flavor compared to basic supermarkets gizzards. However, I do
season my gizzards with garlic, peppers and onions along with loads of Spanish
spices so that may have muted the actual gizzard flavors. Of course, they did
appear a lot fresher looking than the supermarket variety and all of the pieces
were intact versus the “pieces and parts” you find in the supermarket. The
liver and hearts were leagues apart in flavor, texture and appearance than the
supermarket variety. The livers were all intact with a beautiful color and I
didn’t even need to soak them before making my chicken liver pate. They also
had better flavor with less “minerally” taste that you often find with the
supermarket variety. And the hearts? I seasoned them with shawarma spices and
grilled them and if you tasted them without knowing what you were eating, you
would think that they were chicken pieces that had their flavor concentrated
two to three times over. Yes, they were that good!
Price or Taste?
If you are responsible for feeding family of 8 to 10, I
totally understand that price comes first as a single chicken won’t even be
enough for one meal. But if a single bird can provide one meal or more, I
encourage you to choose taste over price. And sampling a bird (and other parts)
from J. Ludovico Farms helps support our own local economy. And you know what?
I’m fine with the Mrs. suggestion that I visit the Kailua Farmers Market
regularly for those fine birds… as long as I can also procure more hearts,
livers and gizzards…
J. Ludovico Farms
Julius & Jamie Ludovico
(808) 536-8386
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