CHICKEN HEART

Product

Heritage Chicken Heart
1-1.5lb total
Delaware and New Hampshire

For Anticuchos, Peruvian grilled skewers.

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.

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

Grilled Chicken Giblet Anticuchos with Aji Pepper Sauce 
Not everyone thinks nose-to-tail when it comes to poultry, but this recipe uses every last bit of our heritage poultry. Traditionally made with beef heart, today we are preparing this classic Peruvian dish that showcases the country's delicious native smoky pepper, with our heritage chicken giblets.

Ingredients:
Neck and giblets from one chicken (can be made with all heart!)
1 quart of chicken or turkey stock
1 head of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
½ cup olive oil
½ cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted and freshly ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-6 bamboo skewers, soaked in water
½ cup of aji peppers or aji paste in a jar if you can't find fresh peppers
2 egg yolks
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water, as need to thin sauce
½ cup chopped cilantro, stem included

Preparation:
Remove giblets from the bird cavity and pat dry with paper towels.

Chop the neck into bite sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

In a dutch oven over medium high heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sear necks until brown. Deglaze with chicken or turkey stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for about 30-45 mins. Remove, drain and set aside.

Mix together olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and cumin and season with salt.

Dice the liver, heart, and gizzards into bite sized pieces and skewer on the bamboo sticks, alternating pieces of liver, heart, and gizzards. Skewer the necks separately. Place in a baking dish and cover with marinade. Let sit for at least an hour or overnight.

Meanwhile, in a blender add aji paste or fresh peppers(deseeded), egg yolks, garlic cloves, mustard, and vinegar. Turn on low speed and drizzle in, drop by drop, olive oil until an emulsion starts — eventually build up to a steady stream turning the blender up to high speed. Add a tablespoon of water to adjust the consistency to slightly thinner than mayonnaise, and set aside.

Preheat a charcoal grill to medium-high heat and sear the necks until brown and crispy, set aside. Grill the Liver, heart, gizzard, and skewers for about 4-5 minutes per side.

Serve on a plate with a bowl of the aji pepper sauce to dip your skewers into. Garnish with chopped cilantro.