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French chickens

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Re: French chickens

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Thu Aug 17, 2017 5:57 pm

Badger's Mate wrote:It has never occurred to me that people might dislike tarragon!

Does that aversion include other aniseed flavours such as star anise, 5 spice, fennel, or pastis?

It's a well established phenomenon that some people find coriander tastes soapy; it's a genetic trait apparently.

There's a running joke at home about parsley. I once made some tabbouleh. Mrs B wasn't keen and said "if you were to make this again, what would you change?"

Now, rather like actors who never mention the title of 'the Scottish play', we refer to the herb in terms of what else we might use in future :D


I can cope with fennel seed and 5 spice, but am not keen on fresh dill. I haven't had star anise on its own to my knowledge. Coriander leaf does taste soapy to me but weirdly I don't mind the seed if it's with cumin and other curry spices. Fresh mint (the large pointed leaves) is far too overpowering for my palate as well. Luckily, Mr Strictly and I both dislike tarragon and parsley with a passion, but he likes fresh dill a lot more than I do. Having said that he's a lot fussier with herbs than I am.

Like jeral I also like aniseed balls and similarly flavoured sweets such as cough candy, I don't think I've ever tried pastis.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Badger's Mate » Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:41 am

It's a complete surprise to me that herbs can cause such aversion. It shouldn't be, given that they are strongly flavoured. After all, some people don't like chillies, cloves, horseradish or garlic.

Coriander leaf was largely unknown over here until Asian restaurants and corner shops brought it to our attention but even as it was coming in 'a curry' was a stew with curry powder in it and possibly the radical addition of apple, raisin or desiccated coconut. It seemed to go more mainstream through the spread of vegetarianism and possibly also through Americanisation. Lots of people here met it for the first time then, especially if they hadn't ventured into a tandoori restaurant. At that time I met people who didn't like the 'new' taste, but some of those got used to it. I had also heard of people who didn't like seed cake.

Quite a lot (but by no means all) of the herbs mentioned in this thread are in the same family; dill, parsley, coriander, caraway. Maybe they have some chemicals in common that some people taste more strongly than others. I've never heard people say they don't like sage, thyme, bay, rosemary, and I would have added mint to that list. How do people feel about chervil or lovage?

Flavourings don't necessarily taste of what they claim to be made from. 'Vanilla' has become a synonym for 'bland' simply because vanilla-flavoured goods, mostly ice cream, didn't taste of vanilla. I've posted before about the child being led away from Tesco, in tears because she had just tasted a tomato. I'll bet she'd had ketchup and soup.

I'm not a great fan of bitterness; radicchio or bitter gourd don't do it for me. I make an exception for hops, but I'm not a great fan of the New World beer styles that are currently in vogue. Don't like goatiness either.

We've come off the topic of chickens, so in a pathetic attempt to rescue or justify, does anyone not like sage and onion stuffing? Which accompaniments do you like with roast chicken? I generally like sausagemeat in stuffings, and love bread sauce.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Lusciouslush » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:40 am

Parsley & thyme stuffing for chicken for me - or if no stuffing then I fill the cavity with rosemary or sage, lemon/garlic etc. I often grind a fair amount of allspice into the cavity first too or lemon pepper.

If it's a boring s/mkt chook I'll sometimes put very finely sliced chorizo under the breast skin to zhuzz it up.

Sage & onion stuffing is only for pork in this house - a bit like yorkshire puddings only with beef.

I can't think of a herb I don't like - big fan of coriander - even the lovage I grow tastes very overpowering when I pick just one leaf off the plant - but you chop it up & put with new potatoes & it's wonderful - a different animal altogether!

Herbs can transform anything you cook.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Joanbunting » Fri Aug 18, 2017 10:48 am

I know Sue can't eat tarragon which is a shame. I love all herbs and grow a lot. I I used to dislike fresh coriander but I think it was just unfamiliarity. I always used coriander seeds in ratatouille too. The one spice I dislike is anything with a clovey taste and that includes alspice.

Badger's Mate i cook turkey on a bed of veg and sometimes chicken with 40 cloves of garlic - all unpeeled underneath.
I never make stock in a pressure cooker. I just simmer the carcass very gently with the usual suspects and never for two long because, after all it has been cooked and overcooking gives it a funny taste and make it cloudy to me.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Aug 18, 2017 2:12 pm

I know a few people who aren't keen on sage, and I though I was one of them

Still not keen on dried sage but what it turned out I really didn't like was Paxo sage and onion, or the even worse version served with school meals! :lol:

I know a few people who dislike dill, and in at least one case I think it's really dill pickles she doesn't like, fresh dill in a salad is OK

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Re: French chickens

Postby mark111757 » Fri Aug 18, 2017 7:21 pm

A big thank you to everyone for all your thoughts....

I had not considered the affect freezing would have on taste or texture of the bird. A serious point to ponder....

As far as stuffing a chix, never heard of it or would have considered it. Turkey however, for Thanksgiving or Christmas was a different story. As I recall the were filled with bread stuffing. I don't remember anyone ever getting sick. And that is the kind of thing you don't forget. I do remember we stuffed ourselves. No pun intended.

Isn't tarragon the featured herb in queen Delia's recipe for fast roast chicken??? Personally I love sage. Especially in breakfast sausage, hot off the grill. A fav is poultry seasoning.......https://www.mccormick.com/spices-and-fl ... -seasoning

It works well in the Cornell bbq sauce recipe. This was a staple in our house growing up......http://yates.cce.cornell.edu/resources/ ... -barbecues.

Talking of stuffing, it seems like in the last half a dozen years or so, there has been a quiet switch from the sage flavoured stuffing to herbes de provenance. Not a fan. To me there is no punchy slappy in the face with HEP that you get with sage.

Lush, thank you for spelling out ZHUZZ. You can't find that word in the dictionary. :D

Would love to try bread sauce.

I think I will hold off on the ultra deluxe chix for awhile. It is on my bucket list tho.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and input. If I missed someone's comments, apologises.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Petronius » Sun Aug 20, 2017 10:03 am

James Martin's ITV programme last week featured Bresse chickens. Forgot to record it but no doubt is still available on their equivalent of iPlayer.

We've grown sage, but rarely use it and its growth was quite vigorous, happy with other herbs though buy tarragon and dill from supermarkets as doesn't seem to like our garden. Even open packets seem to last for ever in the fridge. We've got wild garlic, I think, which doesn't spread but no idea what to use it for.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Gillthepainter » Sun Aug 20, 2017 10:51 am

Lucky you Dennis.
It's mellower than cloves, which I rarely bother to use these days.

Re sage.
I make a super sauce. You use loads - a huge handful/ all the packet.
Plus pine nuts, cream. I can dig out the recipe exact - it's a Gino one.

For someone who isn't a lover, it's a beautiful addition for meat dishes.

And I've bought french chickens before. Noticeably good.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Joanbunting » Sun Aug 20, 2017 4:42 pm

I have the programmme recorded Dennis. WE have been to George Blanc's restuarant - a memorable experience

The most amusing experience we had with a Bresse chicken was when we finally sold up in the UK and moved down here with cat. We stayed overnight near bresse. Said cat was on a lead and we took him for a wlk in the lovely gardens of the hotel. He was very much a city cat. We came round a corner and in front of him was a bresse chicken, big, as they are, and with the required bue legs and feet. Cat took one look and practically leapt into my arms.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Lusciouslush » Mon Aug 21, 2017 3:24 pm

Saw this & thought of you Mark................


ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVz7LxIxoJ4

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Re: French chickens

Postby Sakkarin » Tue Aug 22, 2017 12:11 am

You left an "h" off your link, Lush, so it doesn't work. If you want to edit it, I can remove this post so noone will be any the wiser....

Meanwhile here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVz7LxIxoJ4



and here's what I think of every time I read this thread's headline...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnyB0a8G71Y

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Re: French chickens

Postby mark111757 » Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:43 am

Lush

Thank you for the link.....those chix are huge. I wonder what they taste like???? They remind me of a small horse.

Sak

A great song....they call them standards for a reason.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Gillthepainter » Wed Aug 23, 2017 8:22 am

I thought it was someone in a costume suit at first.

Sakks
That's a chirpy little number that I'll be humming for the rest of the day.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:16 pm

Out of interest I thought I'd check out the best 100% English chook I've ever had, from Great Clerkes Farm near Saffron Walden (Heston is a fan)

£12.50 for 2.5 kg, so a much bigger bird, as Badgersmate says

http://www.greatclerkesfarmfoods.co.uk/whole-birds-and-cuts-of-meat

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Re: French chickens

Postby Lusciouslush » Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:36 pm

Thank ye Saks - always a sausage short of a picnic me - how did you know that's always been one of my favourite tunes......?? :klingonbanana oh yeeeeeeeesssssss!

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Re: French chickens

Postby Renée » Fri Aug 25, 2017 12:15 am

I have seen the Norfolk Black chickens in Sainsbury's and they are excellent. I was lucky to find the ones that I bought at a reduced price on each occasion.

I mostly prepare them the same way, adding dried tarragon and garlic to softened butter, pushing under the skin, over the thigh and on top. Pieces of lemon in the cavity. I add a small amount of water and white wine to the roasting dish, which evaporates by the time the chicken is cook. I stand the chicken on sliced shallots. I sometimes add a drizzle of honey over the top about 45 minutes before the end of the cooking time. I got this way of cooking chickens from Nico Ladenis many moons ago!

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Re: French chickens

Postby Gillthepainter » Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:36 am

Tasty,
Renee!

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Re: French chickens

Postby Renée » Mon Aug 28, 2017 10:06 am

I much prefer to use thyme for stuffing and don't grow sage these days. I love dill and always use it when making gravlax, which I haven't made for quite some time. I have a leaning towards Scandinavian food, too and love pickled herrings with dill.

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Re: French chickens

Postby Joanbunting » Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:48 am

Petronius wrote:James Martin's ITV programme last week featured Bresse chickens. Forgot to record it but no doubt is still available on their equivalent of iPlayer.
.


Joanbunting wrote:I have the programmme recorded Dennis. WE have been to George Blanc's restuarant - a memorable experience


I'm glad we did get to see the programme Dennis. It prompted M to book a two night gourmet break in early October. Two dinners, one in the *** rest aurant, two breakfasts and one lunch with a wine cellar visit and tasting thrown in" I think I had better go on a diet as soon as the family have left.

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