What is Bresse chicken?

by Cookthink

Bresse chicken is the unrivaled poultry of Bresse, France, in the Rhône-Alpes. This is a highly prized and not inexpensive bird beloved for its rich flavor, tender pink flesh and bright yellow fat. Poulet de Bresse varieties include the red-crowned, blue-footed, white-feathered Bény, decked out in the colors of the French flag, as well as the black Bourg and gray Louhans. Not any old chicken can call itself a poulet de Bresse, and the real thing, farmed according to exacting standards in a designated area, was the first poultry to be granted AOC protection in 1957. France is so fond of the Bresse chicken that it hardly exports any of its stock. Nevertheless, the American blue-foot chicken, grown from French stock in the 1980s and raised with the same strict diet controls and regulation about the amount of roaming space for the animals, can be found at a price in the U.S..