Yorkshire Chicken (Free Range & Herb-fed)

Free-Range, Slow-Grown Yorkshire Chicken

Our small-flock, free-range chickens are raised on independent poultry farms in the Yorkshire Dales and slow-grown to 81 days. That’s considerably longer than fast-grown commercial chicken, giving the birds time to mature naturally and develop firmer muscle, more natural fat and better flavour.

The chickens spend their days outdoors on pasture, roaming and foraging for insects, grasses and wildflowers. At night they return to small-flock huts with straw bedding, protected from predators until they head outside again the following morning.

The range makes use of the whole bird, from whole chickens, breasts, thighs, legs and wings to livers and carcasses for stock. Everything is prepared to order and Always Fresh, Never Frozen®.

15 products

Why Slow-Grown, Free-Range Chicken?

Giving chickens more time to grow changes the meat. The birds develop stronger muscle and more fat than fast-grown commercial chicken, which gives the meat a firmer texture and helps it stay succulent during cooking.

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Their outdoor life matters too. These birds are able to move, forage and behave naturally during the day, returning to sheltered small-flock huts at night. It’s a slower, more traditional way of producing chicken and one that we think is worth preserving.

Choosing and Cooking Chicken
A whole chicken is hard to beat for a roast and leaves you with the carcass for stock. Supremes and crowns retain the bone and skin around the breast, helping protect the meat during cooking, while thighs and legs have more fat and connective tissue and suit curries, braises and longer cooks.

Wings and drumsticks take marinades and high heat particularly well, whether in the oven or over charcoal. Chicken livers are best cooked quickly and kept tender, or used for parfaits and richer sauces.

For cooking guidance, see How to Cook a Whole Chicken, How to Cook a Chicken Crown and How to BBQ a Spatchcock Chicken, alongside our Chicken Recipes collection.

Benefits of Swaledale Butchers