[This editorial first appeared in the July/August 2011 issue of the APPPA Grit, the newsletter for the American Pastured Poultry Association. I edit the APPPA Grit.] Christie and I are fresh off a trip to Polyface for Joel Salatin’s field day. I talked a lot of chicken and met many great people, including farmers, soon-to-be […]
Author Archives: Mike Badger
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[This editorial was originally posted in the May/June 2011 newsletter of the American Pastured Poultry Producers Association. I’m the editor of the APPPA Grit] My chickeness is on full display in the neighborhood and my meatheads (that’s what I call my Cornish Cross broilers) have proven to be quite the attraction. This spring I de- […]
We’re excited to have the opportunity to take our mobile poultry processing unit (MPU) to Pennsylvania College of Technology for a demonstration with Chef Stephen Manley’s students. This will give the students a hands-on look at what it means to be process chickens on-farm as a small producer. We have plans to butcher 36 chickens. […]
Eli Reiff will host a poultry processing field on his farm in Mifflinburg on August 31, 2011. And we’re going to be there with our MPU! Participants will be introduced to poultry processing, from facility design to post-processing practices to meeting regulations and requirements. In the morning, while the day is still cool, we will […]
UPDATE: We do not operate the MPU any longer. If you want to purchase your own equipment, give us a call. The mobile poultry processing unit (MPU) is rolling and butchering chickens in central, north central, and eastern Pennsylvania. Click on the thumbnails for a larger picture.
My strategy for cooking chicken was born out of an indoctrinated fear of salmonella. It’s taken me an adult lifetime to overcome the tendency to overcook my meat, especially chicken. Free tip – If your chicken lacks juice, it’s overcooked. I’ve started using a meat thermometer to tell when my chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit […]
Now, if this doesn’t make you hungry for chicken, I don’t know will. This recipe also uses honey. Place your chicken order.
When you buy a whole chicken, it’s more economical, but it can be hard to fry a whole chicken. Here’s Gordon Ramsay to show you how to cut up your chicken.
At the Badger compound, our meat chickens are raised outside in the grass under watchful eye of the sun, and while that seems perfectly natural to me (and to the chickens), I encounter plenty of people who are surprised by the idea. The key to pastured-raised chickens is to ensure the flock always has access […]
During World War I, the U.S. government encouraged families to keep back yard flocks for family egg production, as seen in this 1918 poster. Isn’t it time we get back to our 1918 roots?