2-2.5lb total, bone-in, skin-on — from heritage chickens raised by the Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch Network
Heritage Chicken Thighs
2-2.5lb total, bone-in, skin-on
Delaware and New Hampshire
For the dark meat lover, these bone-in, skin on thighs are a dream come true. Our heritage chickens are raised free ranging on pasture, creating more intramuscular fat and connective tissue that locks in moisture and releases deep flavor while cooking. Thighs are a great candidate for slow roasting or braising. Each part is laced with ribbons of sun-yellow fat that self-baste the bird as it renders, resulting in silky meat and crackly bronzed skin.
Kansas-based heritage farmer Frank Reese, who has made it his life’s work to preserve endangered breeds of poultry, has worked for years to maintain stronger lines of chickens. Reese has partnered with his first-ever protégé, Jed Greenberg of Chosen Farms, to raise and process heritage chickens in New Jersey. His flock is the only heritage breed line available online!
“A chicken is no better than the farmer behind it. And the genetics, of course,” says Frank Reese, whose chickens are one of the only flocks in America to receive certification by the American Poultry Association, and the USDA, as 100% purebred Heritage, standards that were set in 1873 to define and defend best practices in American farming.
Shop our Larder for your favorite dipping sauces!
Good Shepherd Ranch and now, Chosen Farms, are the premier breeders and farms for America’s oldest line of poultry.
Chosen Farms is founded and operated by Jed Greenberg who has worked with Frank Reese at Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch for almost a decade, learning the art and history and skills needed to raise heritage breeds of poultry.
Frank is almost 75 years old and is considered the Godfather of American poultry so Jed plays a pivotal role as he is the one destined (and you could say being bred!) to inherit the responsibility of running the network of what is currently the only heritage breed (Standardbred) hatchery for rare breeds in America.
Jed's New Jersey farm is currently raising exclusively Good Shepherd genetics of chicken, turkey, and guinea fowl. Jed is working to spread heritage breeds to farms across the country as the Director of the Good Shepherd Conservancy of which his farm is a leading member. The Conservancy is working to build a hatching and education center, as well as a museum on the Kansas prairie, ensuring a future for rare breeds around the world.
Your parts come from two breeds:
The New Hampshire breed is a beautifully red-feathered and fast-growing breed that epitomizes American innovation and quality. Prized for its rapid early growth, heavier breast development, and solid egg-laying ability, this newer breed was able to dethrone the Plymouth Rock as America’s #1 chicken in the 1930s.
Created in the 1940s, the Delaware breed is the youngest breed in our preservation program. Originating from the state that provides its name, it is the result of crossing a Barred Rock rooster and New Hampshire hen. This bird carries many of the benefits that made Rocks and New Hampshires favored and also sports a fully white under-fluff and pin feathers.
Recipes we love:
Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Thyme, and Rosemary courtesy of Florence Fabricant of The New York Times, who adapted it from Nancy Silverton and Carolynn Carreño's book "Mozza At Home."
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