Bourbonnais chicken

Poulet du Bourbonnais

What it is

Every bird is sired by a cock of the Bourbonnaise breed, recognised in 1919, and must show its white plumage with an ermine-marked neck. It is slaughtered at 101 days or more, after ranging on at least 6 m² a bird around wooden houses of 70 m² at most, and a final two to three weeks shut in on local cereals with 9 to 11% dairy and brewer's yeast; the specification links that finish to the fat in the thigh muscles and a taste it likens to chicken stock.

In the kitchen

The flesh is firm by design, so give it time rather than heat: roast it at 160 °C and rest it twenty minutes, or poach it whole and keep the liquid — stock is the specification's own word for its taste.

Goes with

Cream Morel Tarragon Butter Garlic Thyme Potato Leek

Same species

Egg white powder (albumin) Chicken tail (bonjiri) Bresse chicken Capon Chicken Rooster

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