Evensong’s poultry proves the point. (And so did the underwhelming bird I tried from a different farm.) For two preparations, I used methods that highlight the meat itself: marinating and poaching.
For my grill-lacquered chicken, I rolled a Cornish Cross and a Poulet Rouge in sweet soy sauce and pepper and grill-roasted them until the skin was blackened, shiny and crisp. The meat of both birds was succulent and toothsome, easily standing up to the accompanying glaze of pan drippings, coffee and zesty Sriracha sauce.
Next, I poached whole birds and put together a summer entree of stacked tomato slices, chunky chicken salad and sliced breast meat finished with a creamy, oregano-laced feta dressing. The extra bonus: bold, intense stock that I reduced and froze for future soups.
Last but not least, the fried chicken. To call my recipe “definitive” is immodest. And truthful. It has taken me years to get it right, including how to deal with the mess it makes in the kitchen.
It begins with soaking the pieces in seasoned buttermilk, whose acid aids in tenderizing. It’s key to use a skillet large enough to fry the equivalent of a whole chicken at once, unless you’re willing to cool the fat and strain burned flour out of it before a second batch goes in. Also, set up a cooling rack instead of letting hot chicken drain on paper towels. Wear gloves for the coating process, and clean as you work. Instead of dipping the chicken pieces in seasoned flour, squeeze the pieces as they sit in the flour; that will expel a little moisture and attract more pockets of coating, which will translate into lots of nubbly bits on your fried chicken.
Stinar’s birds did my recipes proud. Another Evensong Farm fan: Ann Yonkers, co-founder of FreshFarm Markets. She says: “When you cook up [Stinar’s] Poulet Rouge, just roasting it or in a cacciatore, it has a silkiness. It has a texture I wouldn’t call chewy, just texture. The flavor and texture together make it a different kind of meat.”
Cornish Cross birds from Evensong Farm also pass muster with Yonkers; she asked Stinar to raise 100 of them for the organization’s Farmland Feast fundraising event in November.
That’s a ringing endorsement.
RECIPES:
Charcoal Grill-Lacquered Chicken With Coffee-Ginger Glaze
Definitive Fried Chicken
Chicken, Romaine and Tomato Salad With Feta Dressing
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