‘It caramelised beautifully’: the best (and worst) supermarket chickens, tasted and rated | The food filter

We tested 10 birds to see which supermarkets give a cluck about their poultry

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Today’s test confirmed my conviction that knowing where your food comes from is among the most effective actions consumers can take. This means buying from farmers’ markets, butchers or directly from farms (online or in person). Some supermarkets also now work with independent family farms to provide better levels of transparency (although, do beware of fake farms, because some supermarkets have been known to make up fictional brands).

After roasting today’s chickens, it was abundantly clear to me that birds from independent family farms are leagues above supermarket own-brand chickens, even organic ones. It’s generally accepted that properly slow-grown, free-range and organic chickens develop firmer, more flavourful meat from the exercise they get by scratching around outdoors. Feed matters, too: pasture, herb and corn-fed birds have much more complex flavours and often sweeter, more buttery flesh.