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Forget bird flu, tuck into these chicken dishes
There’s nothing wrong with poultry, but it’s always best to buy traceable meat products, writes Clare Latimer
WITH all this bird flu talk I thought I should find out a few facts and pass them on.
From every source I have contacted I am truly assured that chicken is safe to eat. In fact not only can you not get flu from eating chicken but if you have flu then the best cure is a good homemade chicken soup so there is a chicken twister as opposed to a turkey twizzler.
There are a few things we can do to encourage and secure the future of farmed meats in general. Firstly, if you are buying from a supermarket remember to look for the red tractor sign on any packaging which will confirm that the meat is traceable back to independently inspected British farms and also support your good local butcher and farmer’s markets.
Avoid huge factory produced meats as any animal or bird is not only stressed being brought up in tight confined conditions but also intense farming will inevitably bring disease due to overcrowding unless the animals are pumped with hormones and antibiotics.
A great many good restaurants now will state which farm or area their meat has come from and even good hamburger places such as Hamburger Union prides itself on buying meat from Charolais and Charolais Hereford crosses from Oxfordshire and proudly state this on their website.
If there is no indication on a menu then ask where the meat is from and make them aware that is what you would like to know.
Poultry imports are soaring each year and have now reached £900 million per year. Moving meat around the world can only do harm in the long run in every respect.
Chicken with Quince
You can get quinces in Waitrose and Yeomans in Primrose Hill to name a few.
If you are unsure about jointing chicken then buy six chicken pieces or ask your butcher to do it for you.
Ingredients Serves 6
50g butter;
One large onion, peeled and chopped;
Two cloves garlic, peeled and crushed;
One large free-range; British chicken, jointed;
Eight fl oz red wine;
Rind of one orange;
One small cinnamon stick;
300ml water;
Salt and freshly ground black pepper;
500g quinces, peeled, cored and sliced;
One tbsp runny honey;
One small bunch fresh; parsley, chopped.
Method
Put the butter into a large heavy-based saucepan and add the onion and garlic.
Saute gently for about five minutes or until soft but not brown. Put to one side. Add the chicken joints, turn up the heat and brown on all sides. Add the wine, orange peel and the cinnamon and stir into the onion and chicken.
Season with salt and pepper and then bring to simmering point, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Put the quinces on top of the meat and drip over the honey to cover the fruit. Cover and cook for a further one hour or until the fruit and meat is cooked.
Remove the orange peel and cinnamon and finally sprinkle over the parsley and then serve.
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