What's new

Would you eat the giant legs of this luxury Vietnamese dragon chicken?

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis
proxy.php
In honor of the Lunar New Year...I found this article fascinating & quite possibly tasty too (I would try it...grilled or BBQ)...enjoy. 😋

By Theo Farrant - euronews.culture - 12 Jan 23

"Le Van Hien, a farmer in northern Vietnam, carefully selects the finest bird from his flock of 2,000 "dragon chickens," a breed known for their thick legs that can fetch extraordinarily high prices.

The Dong Tao chicken, named after the commune where it is raised, is sought after for its lumpy legs, which are considered a delicacy and are particularly popular during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, known as Tết. It is celebrated this year on Sunday 22 January.

Hien's four-kilogram bird, with legs that make up around a fifth of its body weight, sold for around €140. But larger and more elite chickens can sell for much more - up to €1,850 a head.

Why is the Ding Tao Chicken so expensive to buy
proxy.php


1674589328563.png

Dong Tao chickens in the yard of a poultry farm in Hung Yen province

First of all, have you seen the size of their legs? :a47:

They can genuinely grow to be as thick as bricks, which obviously takes a lot of feed to bulk them up.

And what do these chickens eat, you ask?

They have a strict regimen of high-quality corn and rice.

The chickens, which were once bred exclusively to be served to the royal family and mandarins, are also given ample space to move and exercise, which contributes to their muscle development and overall taste.


"The more the chicken walks, the stronger and bigger their muscles are," says Hien, who has been breeding chickens for more than 15 years.

The meat of the Dong Tao chicken is prized for its tough and chewy texture, which is also low in fat and contains high levels of collagen, which according to Hien is "good for women's beauty".

Le Van Luan, who picked Hien's chicken meat as a year-end gift for his business partners and elderly relatives, is a regular customer in Dong Tao.

"The best part of the Dong Tao chicken is the skin of their legs. The bigger the legs are, the tastier," he says.

1674589770444.png

Poultry farmer Le Van Hien holding the legs of a Dong Tao chicken at his farm in Hung Yen province

But these chickens aren't just valued for their taste but also for their beauty, and are sometimes entered into beauty contests. They also act as a status symbol and are considered as a luxury item. [...]

Chúc ngon miệng, and Happy Lunar New Year!"

Read More: Vietnamese Dragon Chicken Legs
proxy.php
"[Chicken legs have] very elegant characteristics. It has more of a cache than [turkey legs]...so it should be presented in such a way". Todd English

PS Cái yuán guǎng jìn (Chinese Translation: May your money and treasures be plentiful)!
 
Last edited:

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Not a huge fan of chicken feet but I've used them to make some great broth before. I saw many bags of many feet at the butcher's last week. I'd check out the dark meat, though!

I tend to prefer to buy up bags of necks and backs, roast them, and make broth from that. Then we can the broth and put it in the root cellar against future need.

O.H.
 

Ad Astra

The Instigator
To paraphrase Freddie Mercury ... fat-legged chickens make the world go round.
🤔 "Arrrrrrre you gonna fry that bird tonite?"

Had to play FBG the other day for someone who saw the movie.

😎 A beautiful bird, but it would be like eating one of those multicolored pheasants, too pretty.

AA
 
Not a huge fan of chicken feet but I've used them to make some great broth before. I saw many bags of many feet at the butcher's last week. I'd check out the dark meat, though!

I tend to prefer to buy up bags of necks and backs, roast them, and make broth from that. Then we can the broth and put it in the root cellar against future need.

O.H.
Amen to that. I'm a little more of a cheapskate than you because I make up the broth from scraps. I can chicken thigh meat after stripping the meat from the bone. The skin, bone and extra fat from the meat goes into the freezer for processing later. If I run across some of what the grocery store labels 'chicken paws' they'll go into the pot also along with the backbone and carcass, well picked of course, from any spatchcocked chicken I've roasted.
 
Top Bottom