The Red Label Bird with Gold Medal Flavor: Red Label Chickens come to New Mexico
Edible Santa Fe
I knew the name pertained to chickens, but what kind of a bird was La Belle Rouge?
Igathered it was a beautiful red chicken, but what else? Curious, Icalled Don Bixby of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, my maininformation source when it comes to rare breeds. “It’s not a breed,it’s a protocol,” Don explained, leaving me baffled until I discoveredthat it’s not la belle, but label. Label Rouge. Red Label.
Eventually, Don confessed that he had experienced the same confusion. But now we know: it’s a brand. The name is a sign, like a blue ribbonor gold medal, that suggests one can expect excellence; in this case, avery good chicken. Not merely an advertising gimmick, the quality isreal.
And Label Rouge chickens are not something imported from France -they’re now here in New Mexico. Thanks to Tom Delehanty and his ranch,Pollo Real, we can now experience what savvy French shoppers have knownfor the past 40 years: that chicken can really taste how chicken shouldtaste, and it’s nothing like what usually passes for chicken in thiscountry.
Those who know about Joel Salatin and Polyface Farm’s innovativechicken tractors, Pollo Real’s chicken yurts, and other systemsdesigned to allow birds to range freely on grass might think that theseinnovative methods started here. But the whole idea of grazing chickensas a production system actually started in France in the l960s whensome visionary farmers, frustrated by the poor quality of post-warindustrialized chicken and poor economics of farming, put together apasture-based system that would not only produce better tasting birds,but would produce better income for farmers and reinvigorate ruralcommunities. The program, called Label Rouge, covers other kinds offowl as well as meats, but pasture-raised chicken is its leadingproduct. It’s been successful in accomplishing its various goals.
The main goal of Label Rouge was, most simply, to produce a superiortasting bird, a chicken that was reminiscent of the farmyard birds somany people had grown up with. Excellent flavor is a hallmark of theprogram’s success, so much so that regular taste-tests are conducted tomake sure that any participant’s birds are of such high quality thatthey are, in the program’s words, “vividly distinguishable” fromconventionally raised chickens. Not just better, but vividly so.
This superior flavor is gained by putting a great number ofprotocols in place, the most important one having to do with thegenetics of the birds. Label Rouge uses slow-growing birds that takethree months to reach maturity in contrast to the six weeks allottedfor the industrial Cornish cross breed. These hybrids birds bred from“rustic” stock, are big, hearty chickens that are innately well suitedto life outdoors. Tellingly, two of the four breeds used in the LabelRouge program are called “rangers” because they tend to range far andwide for good things to eat. Being older and kept outdoors except atnight results in chicken that not only has good flavor, but also has afirm, pleasing texture.
Of course many things must be in place to achieve high qualitybesides the breed, and that’s where a long list of protocols andpractices come into play.
