Bourbonnais chicken

Freely roaming on the fertile Bourbonnais lands, this chicken is not only extremely rare but also exceptionally tasty and very beautiful, proudly displaying its ermine plumage. Its secret of taste lies in a few cornerstones. Firstly, it grows for more than 100 days, letting its meat mature much more profoundly and giving it much more of a texture. But that is not it, as the other cornerstone of this beauty lies in its diet, which consists not only of local and very rich cereals but also fattening with, yes, milk, making its meat much milder.

One might think that this is a new method, but although the AOC status was granted only in 2022, the method has been borrowed from ancestors who were using it many years ago. History tells us that crossbreeding happened around the second part of the 19th century when the classic white hen from Allier and Loire valleys was introduced to an Asian breed fowl called Brahma. That is when the beautiful Bourbonnais chicken with white feathers and black markings on the wings, tail, and hackle was born. Brits might notice some similarities with their Sussex ermine, yet be careful talking about that to Bourbonnais growers, as they will have many arguments against this.

Please remember that it is a chicken one has to look for and enjoy with as little intervention as possible; by that meaning that it should be roasted as it is. For around two or more hours, as usual, the chicken would be that weight and no less. Or, as the salesman in the chicken shop told me — 1 h for 1 kg in 180 degrees. That is it.