DUCK, DUCK, CHICKEN and GOOSE
And more recipes and thoughts about living with Alpha- Gal
Living with Alpha Gal (allergic reaction to mammals from a lone star tick bite) has its challenges!
This holiday season, there will be no standing rib roast, venison, 4” beef ribs, but there will be plenty of oysters, scallops and butternut squash.
And Duck!
Duck has become a regular menu item for me.
I love duck breast seared with cherries!
Before my diagnosis, I had not been much of a fan of chicken because most chickens, even raised well, are often fed corn and soy and it is hard to find a farmer that feeds chicken organic grain and raises them on pasture. So it has been an occasional menu item.
Why Pastures Raised?
Pasture raised animals are so much happier and if you believe in happy spirited animals, then you understand.
Pasture raised animals are better for the environment in that their nutrients contribute to better soils. Pasture-raised meats are higher in iron, higher in Omega 3, have a lower Omega 6:3 ratio, they are also higher in antioxidants and increased vitamin D. And yes, the same goes for eggs. Happier, healthier animals, people and the environment.
Years ago, I looked closely at duck raising and reached out to Hudson Valley Foie Gras Farm in Ferndale, New York. Turns out they welcomed me to visit and I did. They are all about full transparency and I was invited to their farm where I was given a full tour. This duck raising farm offers both duck meat and liver (foie gras). Foie Gras was originally goose liver, but farmers have found value added in legs and breast sales and yes, I know foie gras is controversial. I saw the pens (not outside, but clean and not overcrowded) reserved for the male ducks who spend the last three weeks of their lives, being hand fed, 3 times a day. This is to fatten the liver and this is what makes foie gras. I did not see any stressed animals. And while the system appeared humane, this is the best of the best on very large scale productions. This is the best of what is labeled humanely raised looks like and admittedly, this is what I have used as a caterer for foie gras and duck breasts.
I will say that I have been to many slaughter facilities for beef, pig and lamb. Thai is the first facility I have ever visited that raised poultry on a large scale in doors.
I could not bring myself to visit a poultry facility in Iowa, Indiana or Ohio where most of the 60 million commercially raised chickens are raised. But let's not go to the Midwest, let's stay right here on the East Coast and let's look at Chesapeake Bay Watershed that includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia,
A new study, released April, 2020, concludes that ammonia air pollution from the Chesapeake region poultry industry contributes about 12 million pounds of nitrogen to the Bay every year, more than all the sewage and wastewater in Maryland or Pennsylvania. The poultry industry in the Chesapeake Bay watershed is growing – especially in the hotspots of south central Pennsylvania, the Shenandoah Valley, and parts of the Eastern Shore – and the poultry waste problem is expanding even faster.
The report by the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project (EIP)
Is this what we want to continue to contribute to?
This is what free range looks like on a large scale: Industrial-scale chicken houses – windowless, airplane hangar-like metal structures often twice the length of a football field -- have large exhaust fans that blow ammonia from the poultry waste out into the community. These air emissions, combined with ammonia rising from chicken manure spread on fields, are spread and seep into bay watershed. The emissions contribute significantly to nitrogen pollution in the nation’s largest estuary, because ammonia breaks down into nitrogen in the environment. Ammonia can also harm the health of neighbors downwind, triggering coughing, asthma attacks, watery eyes, and the irritation and inflammation of throats and nasal passages.
This week I purchased a local chicken and it was $45.00 and fed 4 of us generously with left- overs. It was super delicious. I cooked it long and slow in a 250 degree oven for 2.5 hours. I coated it with olive oil and 2 whole chopped preserved lemons! DELICIOUS!! And then I made this stock and had more than one gallon of rich deep broth.
I pulled it from the oven when the thermometer hit 155 degrees and allowed it to rest for 20 minutes
I know $45. is a giant amount of money to spend on one bird, but it is darn tough to raise a bird on organic grain AND raise it outside on a pasture where hungry hawks and coyote (and wandering curious dogs!) looms! (my neighbors in Chilmark spotted a coyote on their farm last week!)
And I know this animal did not lead a miserable life.
$45.00 for the bird / 8 meals = about $6.00 for each meal.
Ok so the bones (yes, the bones, I bury them and they do break down!) and vegetables go into my compost and they eventually break down to more soil…
So what is one who loves to eat meat to do with this alpha- gal syndrome? Eat more poultry! But for me it’s a dilemma. It is not so difficult to eat 100% grass-fed bison, beef or lamb. Almost every farmer’s market I visit in the country has grass- fed meat. It’s easier to find than chickens or ducks or geese.
For the most part, the local farms on Martha’s Vineyard satisfy my need for beef and lamb and I have a freezer full of pork that we raised on organic grain, kitchen scrapes and acorns!
If you shop Whole Foods, then you are familiar with their meat program that has a Step Level which I found a bit confusing. After reading each grade carefully, I decided I only wanted level 5. This level program rates how farm animals are raised using independent, third-party certifiers to audit their supplier farms and assess their compliance.
Imagine my disappointment when I was told they only had level 1. For chicken the day I visit and carefully make my decision.
Here is Level 1:
Promotes good health and welfare and allows birds to dust bathe.
Birds must not be given antibiotics or animal by-products in their feed.
I may need to be a vegan! I HONESTLY do not want to contribute to an animal's misery, nor do I wish to contribute to a world that feeds commodity grains that are grown with herbicides and pesticides and are detrimental to our soils and environment.
So, I went shopping 0n- line which I hate to do, but seriously, I need some meat. I did place a $400 online order with White Oak Pastures, because I know them and their products.
And I do see that they sell their products to Whole Foods- See there is hope!
White Oak Pastures have a program I can get behind.
They have a holistic grazing program for their 100,000 animals that are raised on a 5000 acre regenerative farm.
Regenerative farming practices that rebuild soil and mitigate climate change and may just save our planet. .On their values page, I found this quote: If there was ever a time to know your farmer, it is now. There's never been more focus on the supply chain than there is right now…” so do your homework and n decide who you want to support, and what you want to eat !
Or ask you farmer how the animals are raised:
Here is hope North Tabor Farms Responded to my questions:
The breed of chicken we grow is imperial broilers. They are bred for flavor and texture with more dark meat. They are more like a real chicken that can walk(breast natural not too big) They are raised on organic grain and pastured on grass- we move them every couple of days . We buy the grain from Lakeview organic and I can send you a breakdown of the % of each grain.
I love full transparency and I love the conversations. I encourage you to keep asking!
Consider all your foods like Hellman’s who uses 331 million eggs a year, and have made an ongoing commitment to use real, simple sustainably-sourced ingredients for all Hellmann’s Mayonnaise and Mayonnaise Dressing , the chickens are cage free similar to the photo above, but, let's consider the the pollution from the facility, too.