from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Chapons
Label Rouge
Red
label capons.
A capon is a castrated rooster/cockerel that in sixteen or so weeks
becomes a large, 3-4 kilo, tasty, chicken with buttery and tender meat. Many
families choose a capon over a turkey for family celebrations.
When a Frenchman or woman suggests you order chicken or other poultry in France, they are doing it for a good reason. France’s Label Rouge, red label, poultry have
a totally different taste. “Forget about it;” these chickens, capons, guinea
hen, ducks,
and turkeys
taste like something! No other country
invests so much time in raising tasty free-range poultry. These birds are
free-range for 90% of their lives, and you can taste the difference.
France’s diners know all about the tasteless
factory-raised chickens, and some 25% of the population have chosen to refuse
those birds. The 25% who buy Label Rouge free-range poultry know they are
paying 50% or more than the price of the
other poultry in the supermarket. Good
restaurants only serve Label Rouge poultry. If you are looking for chicken,
capons, Guinea fowl, etc., then look for a restaurant with label rouge on the
menu.
Label Rouge French chickens and
other French poultry hold the World Cup for taste.
The
Label Rouge logo.
There are some 30 groups of farmers from different
parts of France, who raise Label Rouge poultry. These farmers co-operate to
keep their brand and their unique and very tasty birds in the public eye and on
the table. As soon as the birds are old enough, they spend the whole day
outside the poultry house in forests and pastures as free-range birds, except
for two weeks when they are allowed to be caged and fattened before going to
market. When outside in the fields or
forests, these birds have at least 5,000 square meters for 500 birds.
Included in the Label Rouge regulations are the
instructions on how the birds are cared for, and for certification, there is
also is a taste test. These chickens, ducks, and turkeys are pampered birds
that come from different breeds; they are very different to the breeds raised
in factory farms, and they take twice as long to grow before they are sold.
Most of these farms allow the public to visit. Label Rouge poultry is really
free-range poultry.
Label Rouge poultry on French menus:
Poulet
Fermier Roti de Bourgogne Label Rouge, Servi Avec Gratin Dauphinois
– A roasted, farm-raised Label Rouge chicken
from Burgundy, served with Dauphine
potatoes. Dauphine potatoes are mashed potatoes mixed with choux pastry,
shaped into balls or other shapes, breaded and deep-fried.
Suprême
de Pintade Fermière d’Auvergne
Label Rouge Crème d’Oignons de Gannat - Breast of farm-raised Label Rouge Guinea fowl from
the Auvergne in
south-central France. (Since 1-1-2015 the Auvergne has been joined with the
Rhône-Alpes as the new super region of the
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). Here the Guinea fowl is served with a creamy
onion sauce from the onions of Gannat. Gannat is a commune in the department of
Allie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. These highly rated Auvergne-Rhone-Alps
onions are grown around the commune of Gannat. They are called the Oignons Doux
du Bourbonnais, the sweet
onions of the Bourbonnais. Bourbonnais is a historical province that includes
the modern department of Allier, along with part of the department of Cher. The
area gave its name to the Bourbon Kings of France. the most famous sweet onions
in France are the Oignon Doux des Cévennes AOP - The
Sweet Cévennes Onion AOP
A Label Rouge Guinea hen from the department of Ardèche,
in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Gigolette de Poulet Label Rouge en Farce
fine, Jus Corsé au Bergerac - The leg and thigh of a Label Rouge chicken prepared with a stuffing
that includes the chicken liver. The dish here is served with the natural cooking juices flavored
with Bergerac wine. A "fine farce" stuffing for poultry always
includes chicken liver, but the rest of the recipe for the stuffing will vary
with the chef.
A Label Rouge Chicken from Loue.
In the department of Sarthe in the
region of the Pays-de-la-Loire
Rôti de
Chapon Label Rouge Coulis de Marrons au Grand Marnier – Roasted
Label Rouge capon served with a puree of chestnuts flavored with Grand Marnier, the
orange flavored liquor.
Volatile
Fermière Label Rouge au Vin
Jaune du Jura et Morilles – A
farm-raised label rouge chicken, prepared with the
yellow wine from the Jura, accompanied by wild morel mushrooms. The sweet yellow wine from the Jura
in the region of Franche-Comté is one of the department's two most famous
wines; the other is the Jura's
Vin de Paille.
Each group of Label Rouge farmers comes from a
different area of France. The poultry they raise has continual inspections that
allow the consumer to know how the birds are raised. The consumer also knows
what the birds are fed with, and that growth hormones and antibiotics are never
used. The inspections make sure that their feed, except what they dig up
themselves when outside, contains no animal products. Their feed is 100%
vegetable, except for some milk products to supplement what they find outside.
Many of the farmers grow corn and other food products for the poultry
themselves.
Agriculture
Biologique, Organic farming
Some farms raise organic poultry and eggs, and that
adds the letters AB to their labels as well as increasing
the price. The government-controlled green AB label stands for Agriculture
Biologique, Organic farming. The AB is the most trusted organic marking.
Oeufs de
Loué AB
Organic
eggs from Loué in the department of Sarthe
in
the region of the Pays-de-la-Loire.
Volaille
de Bress AOC/AOP.
There are one chicken, one capon, and one turkey that
have reached higher standards than those offered by Label Rouge; these are the
Volaille de Bress AOC/AOP, the poultry from Bresse AOP. These are the most famous, tastiest, and
expensive birds that may be found in a French butcher's shop or on a French
menu. The poultry farmers of Bresse raise some unique chickens, capons, and
turkeys. You may find Label Rouge poultry on the menu at an upper scale butcher
or restaurant in the UK, but for any of
the poultry from Bresse you will have to come to France, very very
little is exported.
The
white feathered and blue legged Bresse AOP chicken.
These
birds are all raised in the old province of Bresse, that area today includes
part of the departments of Jura and Saône-et-Loire in the new super
regions of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Ain in the Auvergne -Rhone-Alps.
The AOP logo.
The Dinde de Bresse AOC/AOP; the Bresse turkeys are not
the largest French turkeys, but they are the tastiest. The Dinde de Bresse AOC
is mostly seen on restaurant menus and in butcher’s shops for a short period
during the Easter and Christmas seasons.
They are sold when they weigh anywhere from 3 –5 kilos (5.5 -11lbs) for
hens and up to 8 kilos (17 lbs) for turkey-cocks. These are the elite turkeys
of France; the French gourmand’s choice for his or her Christmas dinner. If you
want one you had better order it a few months in advance,
Bresse poultry on French menus:
Poulet de Bresse en Croûte de Pain d’Épices, Crème de Cassis et Bonbons de Pommes de
Terre - A Bresse chicken, baked inside a covering of ginger bread
and served with a black currant sauce and balls of mashed
potatoes.
Roast Chapon
de Bresse
Dinde Fermière de Bresse Rôtie Lentement, Farce
de Châtaigne et Foie Gras, Légumes d’Antan au Jus
– A Bresse turkey stuffed with chestnuts and fattened duck liver, and
served with vegetable from yesteryear flavored with the turkey’s natural
cooking juices. The vegetables of yesteryear are back in fashion and
include turnips, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes and more.
The area of Bresse.
Bresse is a wonderful place to visit with many
beautiful villages and magnificent
countryside. If you plan your trip well, you will be crossing quite a few
routes de vin, wine trails, and passing many restaurants where you may stop to
enjoy these tasty birds as well as local wines and the AOP cream and butter
of Bresse. To that .the Bleu
de Bresse, the most popular, mass-produced, mild blue cheese in France.
Assisting in the promotion of all these famous birds
is a Confrérie, a brotherhood, and
sisterhood, the Confrérie des Poulardiers de Bresse, The
Brotherhood and sisterhood of the Poultry farmers of Bresse. The 2,000 or so
members, from all over France and around the world, bear the heavy
responsibility of defending the freedom of our tables from tasteless copies.
If you are going to be in the area of Bresse in mid-
December, check ahead and see which towns are having special events at the
dinner table. This is when the Confrérie, have competitions for the best
poultry. Competitions are held in the towns of Bourg-en-Bresse, Pont-de-Vaux,
and Montrevel-en-Bresse in the department of Ain in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes,
and in the town of Louhans-Chateaurenard, in the department of Saône-et-Loire
in Burgundy, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
--------------------------------
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2014, 2017, 2019
--------------------------------
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