Nobody can argue with your tastebuds. It’s just too subjective. Nonetheless, if you happen to compare our pasture-raised chicken with a conventional (or even “natural” or “amish” or “organic” store-bought chicken) and find very little difference, there are some possible reasons. So, at the risk of offending someone, here are some possible reasons:
- You’re cutting off the skin and fat.
Most of the flavor in an animal is in the fat, skin and organ meats. So, if you cut these out, you lose most of the flavor (and nutrition!) Most of the differences between pasture-raised animals show up in these areas. Try cooking the chicken with all of these and try them. Then, if you still can’t stomach these parts, cut them off after cooking. Hopefully, the cooking process will have imparted some of the flavors.
- You’re using only the white meat and including it in casseroles, dishes or other recipes that depend on spices, sauces or other ingredients for flavor.
Dark meat tends to have stronger flavors than white meat. Also, many modern recipes add strongly flavored spices and sauces to make up for poor quality meat. With better meat, you should be able to tone down the saucy flavorings and still obtain a highly flavorable meal.
- You’re swallowing your chicken without chewing it.
We doubt this is the case with any of you, but we have seen this. The fact is, today’s conventional meat is just not very meaty. It tends toward mush in the mouth and slides down quite easily. Which is why so many people not accustomed to eating quality meat don’t practice thorough chewing. Chewing and salivating is important to breaking down the meat and releasing flavors.
Perhaps there are other reasons? Recently, we tried some conventional chicken just for the experience. Our tastebuds think there is a tremendous difference but everyone is different. What do you think?
