There’s something about the lifeless, pale cuts of bird sold at our usual foodshopping haunts that always leaves me with this sticky, icky feeling. Cooking is not an issue. We usually buy a whole bird and break it down for what we need; sometimes roasting it whole in the rotisserie, other times fricasseeing the pieces in a dutch oven. It’s the shopping for poultry that kills me.
Without sounding too much like a hypochondriac, I’m super picky when it comes to chicken. Red, blood spots, discolored yellow/white skin kill me as does chicken packaged with bloody juices. That’s why we make the extra trip to the poultry farm to pick up fresh killed chicken and free range eggs. Makinajian Poultry Farm has been doing this since 1948. So when we go food shopping, we leave out chicken and eggs until we can make the run to Makinajian (helps that we live five minutes away). And they’ve got way more than chicken and eggs. They sell all sorts of poultry, from duck and turkey to cornish hens and capon. Plus, they’ve got all sorts of fresh, local, organic produce including local honey and fresh baked pies. The extra effort to secure a turkey on Thanksgiving from Makinajian usually results in a far greater experience than buying some Perdue bird from King Kullen.
Knowing that the chicken we eat today was probably breathing that morning means that the chicken is fresh and never frozen. Plus, instead of some large factory, profit driven machine cutting and cleaning the meat, there’s a local business owner who has been doing it his whole life. Last I checked, Frank Perdue’s phone number is unlisted, but if I need to talk to Mick, I just call down to the farm. They also have a huge selection of fresh organic produce, a lot of which is locally sourced. Local honey, cider, New York Maple Syrup and farm fresh veggies are available everyday as well as fresh baked pies and other baked goods.
276 Cuba Hill Road, Huntington, NY 11743
631-368-9320
Store Hours: Sunday 10:00 to 3:00 Monday closed Tues. to Sat. 9:30 to 6:00
