DLM to Start New Year With Black Chickens

ROSEANNE HARPER

DAYTON, Ohio — Just in time for Chinese New Year and the coldest months of the year, black chickens will catch the spotlight — probably in soup — at Dorothy Lane Market.

Revered in China for their medicinal qualities, black chickens are a particular breed that is black all over, including skin, flesh and bones. Here, in this country, the unusual-looking chickens have gained favor among Asian chefs and others for their dense, gamey flavor.

“We’ll demo black chicken soup in January and February,” Jack Gridley, DLM’s director of meat/seafood, told SN. “We were just looking for something different, and these definitely are that.”

Supplied by a local grower who raises free-range, all-natural poultry, the black chickens had a quick trial debut at Dorothy Lane a couple of months ago, and sold out quickly at $8.99 a pound, Gridley said. Then, the supplier promised more for the first of the year.

The grower, from whom DLM also sources other all-natural chickens and turkeys, dresses and packages the black chickens whole.

“The predominant way to use these is whole, in soup. That’s the way we’ll demo them,” Gridley said.

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