Bring on the chicken

[Poultry Chef]

Hello everyone. First timer on the board, any board at that. I am a corp chef for a major poultry manufacturer and wanted to join this informational site hoping to pick up on new trends and new foods that can help me with the things that I am doing. I plan on checking the site regularly and will join in where I can. Please let me know if I can help anyone in anyway. Looking forward to being part of this community. I hope everyone has a great new year and remember to eat lots of chicken.

[bughut]

This has to be the most uncannily timed posted thread. I was just about to ask the forum for poultry advice.
Welcome by the way Poultry chef I'm sure you'll find lots to interest you here. Maybe you can help with my dilema. Keeping in mind I'm UK.

I only use free range eggs in my catering business.I used to use bog standard Cheap ones like most folk. But we always use organic free range at home, as we cant condone battery production. So, anyway, we adopted the same principle at work and passed on the extra costing which i have to say was minimal per item. (not organic) and advertised the fact that we only use free range eggs. Most clients dont care.....

The dilema i now have is that it's just dawned on me that the massed produced chicken breasts i use are bound to be battery farmed. Duh! Morally i cannot continue using them. Free range prices cannot be passed on to the client so easily. Prices will more than double and the customer base i have simply wont pay it.
So do i take chicken off the menu or??????? I think thats my only option , unless someone has a bright idea i havnt come up with. I'm all ears
PS The only things we use chicken breast for is Thai satay and chicken goujons

[Mezzaluna]

Bok bok bok! (That's Pouletarian for "Welcome to Chef Talk".)

We hope you enjoy exploring the board (with the help of the search tool if necessary) and participating in the discussions. There's been a lot of chicken talk here- indeed, poultry patter- so I'm sure you'll find some interesting discussions.

Let us know if you have questions about how the board works; you can contact any moderator if necessary.

Visit often and participate when you can. We'll look forward to your posts.

Regards,
Mezzaluna

[Poultry Chef]

Bughut

I certainly cannot speak for European poutry production. I do know that with regulations we have here in the US, that we take care of our porducts and that only the best is distributed. I also think that a menu you present is a representation of you and your morals. A customer is going to see that and respect this. At the end of the day though, you are in business to make money and a living. You need to do what the customer is asking for so that it keeps them coming back. Do they like the chicken item you serve? If so, then keep it on. If they don't then try something different. If you want to continue to use the organic style poultry, then try a less expsensive part of the chicken, like the thigh. This works great for the Satay. Also, think about trying to preserve your product longer. For example, if you get your product in fresh, prep it, then freeze it and pull it out when you need it. You can also do recipes in a sous vide style production. This give an extended shelf life with out freezing or having the integrity of the product suffer.

I hope this sheds some light on the subject for you.

I worked in Wales for a while at a hotel called Llangoed Hall. There was a pastry chef there that had worked for the golf course in Scotland, Glen Eagles. Cant remember his name now, but I did get some great dessert recipes from him.

[cheesecake man]

Poultry Chef

Welcome and hope you enjoy the various forums. Lots of good information!
How about sharing some of your dessert recipes that you accumulated from the Pastry Chef at Glen Eagles?

Cheesecake man

[Poultry Chef]

ok, here a recipe for ya.

It is for a fruit cake that is said the be one of Prince Charles's Favorites.

20 oz Butter
20 oz sugar
5 Whole eggs, room temp
5 egg yolks, room temp
20 oz candied fruit (Cherrie, lemon peel, etc)
10 oz rasins
3 tsp Vanilla
10 tsp Baking powder
25 ozs flour
5 tbsp Dark rum

In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and the sugar.
Beat in the whole eggs one at a time, then the egg yolks.
If the mix starts to split, add a little of the flour.
Stir in the candied fruit.
Sift the flour and the baking powder together and then fold in to the mix.
Cover the bowl and then refrigerate for 20mins.
Bake in loaf tins sprayed with pan release.
425 for 7 mins and then lower the temp down to 350 for 33 mins or until done.
Sprinkle the rum over the top when it comes out of the oven.
Leave in the tin for 15 mins before taking out.

Dont tell prince charles that I gave you all this recipe, I might get put down into the gallow of the tower of London.

[bughut]

Thanks for that poultry chef. - Never even considered using thigh meat for the satay. But now you mention it, I'll get it priced.
Morals come blooming expensive these days dont they?