Traditional Roasting Chicken

A traditional breed cockerel, bred and reared here at Hill Farm. We rear these boys slowly and treat them like kings. They are fed an organic, GM-free, soya-free ration and are given ample access to fresh grass pasture, as well as spare vegetables and herbs from our garden. And of course, plenty of raw milk and whey from our dairy. This all adds up to make the ultimate chicken experience.

PLEASE NOTE GIBLETS ARE INCLUDED FREE OF CHARGE - we'd suggest frying the liver gently, and the neck is great to make your own chicken stock/broth.

This is how chicken used to taste, and harks back to a time when a roast chicken was an occasional treat for many families - before mass-produced bland chicken from highly bred fast-growing freaks took over.

We aim to breed most of our replacement hens for the egg-laying flock, rather than being too reliant on buying many. As well as the female chicks which go on to lay eggs, this of course creates male chicks - but instead of treating the males like waste (which happens commercially) we treat this as an opportunity to let them live a happy life and create a unique, healthy, artisan meat.

This is completely different than any other chicken you can buy. It takes a lot of time and effort. We harvest our fully mature cockerels at approximately 6 months - contrast this with commercial chicken at 6 weeks. This allows them to develop a stronger flavour, and the meat is best described as 'hearty' but tender.

Please note they are not shaped like footballs like most commercial chickens - the excessive breast muscling most people are familiar with is actually because the commercial birds are genetic freaks. This is a more full-flavoured meat. It is juicy meat when prepared correctly but cook them a little slower because they don't have the high moisture content to inflate their weight like the 'commercial' birds have. Stronger bone development also adds to the flavour and nutrition in the whole-cooked bird. If you want to use the carcase for chicken soup, or bone broth, look no further...

We only have a very limited number of these, and once they're gone, that's it till next year's batch!