The Meat That Anthony Bourdain Called 'Slimy And Tasteless'
Anthony Bourdain was well known for enjoying all kinds of meat with gusto, from the popular fast food burger chain he truly loved to his favorite cuts of steak. Throughout his globetrotting career, Bourdain ate many outrageous animal products, always with his signature blend of respect, curiosity, and humor. However, the celebrity chef was also known for his strong opinions, and he publicly and fervently expressed his distaste for one particular variety of meat: chicken.
Of course, Bourdain didn't eschew all chicken -- poultry is the world's second most popular meat and an essential element in cuisines across the globe. His specific gripe was with American-raised chicken. In an iconic 1999 piece for The New Yorker, "Don't Eat Before Reading This," Bourdain asserted that most chefs think American-raised chicken is "slimy and tasteless" compared to European birds. To add insult to injury, he added that, in his experience, American chicken spoils easily, and, worst of all, it's boring. "Chicken always tastes like chicken," Bourdain lamented.
Read more: 7 Costco Meats You Should Buy And 5 You Should Avoid
Americans consume nearly 70 pounds of chicken per capita annually, making it the most popular meat in the United States. Bourdain acknowledged as much before going on to list all of the reasons not to eat it. So is American-raised chicken really that different from chicken in other parts of the world? The short answer is yes -- in fact, American chicken legally cannot be sold in most of Europe. This is because U.S.-raised poultry typically undergoes an antimicrobial chemical rinse, which is banned in the European Union and the United Kingdom. Although these chemical rinses have generally been shown to be safe, some say they can negatively impact the taste of the bird and believe they are used to compensate for a low-quality, unhygienic product.
Another key factor is the chilling method. Most European chicken is air-chilled, while U.S. chicken is largely water-chilled. Air-chilled poultry is generally considered superior in quality and shelf life compared to water-chilled varieties. Although taste is subjective, most people would probably agree with Bourdain that American-raised chicken tends to be subpar to European varieties in both texture and flavor -- at least when it comes to large-scale, factory-farmed poultry.
Bourdain argued that Americans should be eating more of the world's most consumed meat, pork, instead of bland chicken. However, all hope is not lost for American chicken lovers because even U.S. customers can avoid picking out bad chicken at the grocery store.
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