March 10, 2017 0 Comments
We all know fast food is, by its very nature, more about convenience than nutrition. But when faced with the necessity of getting fast food, you may think opting for chicken is the lesser evil. Chicken, after all, is touted as a healthier type of meat. A recent study, however, shows that even chicken can be made unhealthy when it’s subjected to fast food’s “flavorizing" techniques.
Last month a CBC Marketplace investigation did DNA testing on the meat in a variety of fast food meals containing chicken. Amazingly, none had chicken that was 100% chicken DNA, and in one case the “chicken” was found to contain only about half chicken DNA. The restaurant in question is disputing these findings, but whether it was 50% chicken or 90% chicken isn’t the point of this post. The fact that it wasn’t 100% chicken is the point.
How does chicken end up not being 100% chicken? Well, it isn’t because they mix in other types of meat. No, what brings the percentage down is all the stuff they put in for flavor. As the article linked above says, “An unadulterated piece of chicken from the store should come in at 100% chicken DNA. Seasoning, marinating or processing meat would bring that number down, so fast food samples seasoned for taste wouldn't be expected to hit that 100% target.”
In other words, 10% or more of fast food chicken is usually made up of other ingredients that are added for taste. And they do add more taste, but they also add calories and carbs and lower nutritional value. To quote the CBC article: “Marketplace's testing revealed that once the ingredients are factored in, the fast food chicken had about a quarter less protein than you would get in its home-cooked equivalent. And overall, the sodium levels were between seven and 10 times what they would be in a piece of unadulterated chicken….Nutritionist and registered dietitian Christy Brissette notes that most [added] products…are simply variants on salt or sugar, the latter of which can elevate the carbohydrate level of a chicken breast to well above where it should be: zero percent.”
Why is it necessary to add all this stuff to chicken to make it taste good and be less healthy? Because, sadly, our food is no longer developed for taste or nutrition, but for commerce (e.g. low cost, fast production, ease of shipping and storage). It has no taste, so we add more seasonings, sugar and salt. The result is chicken that’s not really chicken, whether you get it from the local fast food place or your local grocery store and add all those things yourself.
That’s why we do what we do at Joyce Farms. We set out to produce the absolute best tasting chicken possible, and we have. Our Naked Chicken is the finest all-natural domestic chicken for sale in America, with the flavor nature intended (much more flavorful than factory-farmed commodity chickens). Our heritage Poulet Rouge Fermier® chicken, meanwhile, raises the bar even higher – we believe it’s the best tasting chicken in the world.
So if you’re looking for chicken that you can cook and eat as it is, 100% chicken, not loaded down with stuff to give it some kind of taste, we have it. Don’t settle for “chicken” that’s not really chicken. The real thing is so much better!
October 25, 2016 0 Comments
The USDA requires that processed chickens be chilled to at least 40 degrees within four hours of killing. Within our industry there are two accepted ways to do this – using air or using water. Most processors use the latter method, cooling their chickens in large communal vats of ice cold chlorinated water. But at Joyce Farms, we choose to air chill all our Heritage Poultry, and we inject them with nothing. Here’s why.
When chickens are water chilled, they absorb some of the water they’re placed in and then they’re injected with more water, so when you buy water-chilled chicken, part of what you’re paying for is water.
Some estimates say that, on average, water is actually 8% of the chicken’s body weight when it’s sold. But when you buy air-chilled chicken, all you’re paying for is chicken.
Because the birds aren’t subjected to the chlorine or added salt and water that is absorbed by the birds in the industrial chilling tanks, top chefs agree that air chilling preserves the true flavor of the birds.
The water in water-chilled chicken evaporates as it cooks, creating shrunken, rubbery chicken, especially when it’s grilled or barbecued. Further, air-chilled chicken cooks faster, absorbs marinades and seasonings much better, and has a crispier skin after cooking.
Air-chilled chickens are cooled individually, while water-chilled chickens are dunked in a communal pool. With air chilling there is much less chance for bacteria to spread among chickens.
In fact, a University of Nebraska study found that air-chilled chicken contains 80% less bacteria than water-chilled chicken.
In the last few years we’ve seen major droughts in both the southeastern and western United States. In those conditions, every drop of water becomes precious. According to one expert, if the 9 billion water-chilled chickens processed annually were air chilled instead, 4.5 billion gallons of water would be saved.
There you have it. Our goal is to offer our customers the best poultry in the world, and we believe air chilling contributes to achieving that. And experts agree. Not long ago the website TheSoftLanding.com looked at air-chilled chicken vs. water-chilled chicken and declared Joyce Farms air-chilled, heritage Poulet Rouge™ chicken to be the best on the market!
Air-Chilled Chicken vs Water-Chilled Chicken: Is There a Winner? (thesoftlanding.com)
If You’re Not Cooking With Air-Chilled Chicken, You’re Doing It Wrong (Bloomberg.com)
July 26, 2016 0 Comments
Look out for us in the August issue of The Local Palate! Read about our unique heritage poultry operations, slow growth breeds, traditional methods, and how we achieve that unbelievable flavor.
click image or here to read
July 15, 2016 0 Comments
Here's a sneak peak at our healthy, happy, heritage turkey poults! They're only 1 week old, but they're already feeling right home on our farms with lots of TLC from our dedicated farmers.
These special birds carry the heritage genetics of the traditional Spanish Black turkey, a slow-growing breed believed to be one of the first developed from Native American stocks. We raise them free range on our farms with nothing added, ever — no added hormones, steroids, antibiotics, or anything artificial.
June 07, 2016 0 Comments
We don’t rush our chickens. They eat all-natural food, roam freely, and get nice and healthy on Mother Nature’s schedule. That’s how we’ve done things for many years, but it isn’t the industry norm. So earlier this year it was a pretty big deal in our industry when Whole Foods announced they ’re supporting new Global Animal Partnership (GAP) standards that will require all chicken producers to move away from fast-growth breeds if they want to be certified under GAP’s 5-Step® Rating Program. By 2024, Whole Foods will require their chickens to have a 23% slower growth rate than commercial, factory-farmed birds.
So what’s the problem with fast growth? Well, in the last 100 years or so, standard commercial chickens have been bred to grow faster so they’re ready for market sooner (allowing the producers to increase the number of birds they sell each year) while consuming less feed (cutting the cost to raise them).
A century ago it took about four months to grow a standard chicken; today the average for most commercial breeds is 42 days. That’s great for producing a lot of chicken, but not so great for the animals or consumers.
When chickens grow too fast, they can develop before their bones are ready to support all that weight, and many develop problems with their legs and joints, some to the point where they can’t walk. So the chickens suffer. In fact, Whole Foods predicts that this shift to slower growing birds will “improve the lives of 277 million chickens.”
The shift is also better for consumers because fast-growth chickens don't taste as good as slow-growth chickens. The slower growing process gives intramuscular fat time to develop in the meat, producing a juicier, more flavorful chicken with a superior texture (which is why slow-growth birds are preferred by chefs).
We learned all this a long time ago – we have many years of experience in slow growing chickens. Our Poulet Rouge Fermier™ chicken grows 100% slower than commercial breeds (84 days vs. 42 days), which far exceeds the Whole Foods and GAP standards. That’s why we’re excited that Whole Foods and others are switching to slow-growth chickens – it’s how we think all chickens should be raised.
Does all this mean that the poultry industry is doing away with industrialized farms and returning to more natural methods? No, but it's a step in the right direction, starting the industry down a path we’ve been forging for a long time, and we’re happy to see that happen.
May 25, 2016 0 Comments
The Joyce Farms Poultry Science Scholarship was established in 2007 to support students pursuing careers in agricultural science at NC State University. Each year, students from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences submit applications and essays for consideration. One outstanding applicant is selected to receive $1,000 from Joyce Farms to help fund his or her education.
It’s a difficult task to choose just one from our many qualified candidates. We consider academic standing, past achievements, and demonstrated passion, skill, and determination.
This year, we are pleased to announce Ray Borzotra as the 2016-17 recipient of the Joyce Farms Poultry Science Scholarship!
Congratulations and best of luck to Ray and all of our impressive applicants!
Find information on how to apply for future scholarship consideration here.