CHICKEN WINGS

Product

Heritage Chicken Wings
1.5-2lb total
Delaware and New Hampshire

Chicken wings are actually made of white meat! While our heritage chickens have all the pasture they desire and are much more active than commodity chickens (yes, they really do fly!), they choose to spend most of their time on the ground. Adorned with silky, yellow fat, these wings take best to dry heat to make the skin as crispy as possible. Our heritage chicken wings consist of the tip, drumette, and flat. 

Kansas-based heritage farmer Frank Reese, who has made it his life’s work to preserve endangered breeds of poultry, has worked for years to maintain stronger lines of chickens. Reese has partnered with his first-ever protégé, Jed Greenberg of Chosen Farms, to raise and process heritage chickens in New Jersey. His flock is the only heritage breed line available online! 

“A chicken is no better than the farmer behind it. And the genetics, of course,” says Frank Reese, whose chickens are one of the only flocks in America to receive certification by the American Poultry Association, and the USDA, as 100% purebred Heritage, standards that were set in 1873 to define and defend best practices in American farming.

Shop our Larder for your favorite dipping sauces!

Good Shepherd Ranch and now, Chosen Farms, are the premier breeders and farms for America’s oldest line of poultry.

• Certified Standardbred
  
• Pasture Raised
• Free Ranging Flock
• Vegetarian Fed
• Naturally Mating
• Antibiotic Free from hatching to plate

Farm

Chosen Farms is founded and operated by Jed Greenberg who has worked with Frank Reese at Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch for almost a decade, learning the art and history and skills needed to raise heritage breeds of poultry. 

Frank is almost 75 years old and is considered the Godfather of American poultry so Jed plays a pivotal role as he is the one destined (and you could say being bred!) to inherit the responsibility of running the network of what is currently the only heritage breed (Standardbred) hatchery for rare breeds in America. 

Jed's New Jersey farm is currently raising exclusively Good Shepherd genetics of chicken, turkey, and guinea fowl. Jed is working to spread heritage breeds to farms across the country as the Director of the Good Shepherd Conservancy of which his farm is a leading member. The Conservancy is working to build a hatching and education center, as well as a museum on the Kansas prairie, ensuring a future for rare breeds around the world.

Breed

Your parts come from two breeds: 

The New Hampshire breed is a beautifully red-feathered and fast-growing breed that epitomizes American innovation and quality. Prized for its rapid early growth, heavier breast development, and solid egg-laying ability, this newer breed was able to dethrone the Plymouth Rock as America’s #1 chicken in the 1930s.

Created in the 1940s, the Delaware breed is the youngest breed in our preservation program. Originating from the state that provides its name, it is the result of crossing a Barred Rock rooster and New Hampshire hen. This bird carries many of the benefits that made Rocks and New Hampshires favored and also sports a fully white under-fluff and pin feathers.

Cooking

How to Prepare

Extra Juicy Chicken Wings
1. For the juiciest and most tender heritage chicken wings, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Take the fully thawed chicken out of the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking.
2. Drain the excess liquid from the package over the sink, remove the chicken wings from the packaging, and add them to the pot of boiling water. Season the water with a tsp of salt and 2 bay leaves. Simmer the chicken wings in the water for 30-40 minutes.
3. After 30-40 minutes, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Drain the wings and spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Season with salt, pepper, your favorite dry rub seasoning, and a light drizzle of olive oil on all sides. If you have bbq sauce, brush it on now and then re-apply more when you flip the wings in the next step.
4. Bake the chicken wings for 15 minutes, then remove them from the oven and flip them. If you like the skin extra crispy, put them back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes, If you prefer them extra juicy, only cook them for 5 minutes longer. 
5. Remove the wings from the oven, toss with your favorite seasoning or sauce, and serve!