Description
The Volaille de Gascogne PGI is fowl from free-range poultry of different breeds including chickens, pullets and Blanche, Jaune or Noire, breed capons.
Production Area
The production area of Volaille de Gascogne PGI includes the departments of Haute Pyrenees, Gers and Landes in the region of Midi-Pyrenees, Atlantic Pyrenees, Lot-et-Garonne and its neighbouring areas in Aquitaine.
Production Method
The nutrition of Volaille de Gascogne PGI consists above all of cereals, of which 40% or 50% must be maize. The common characteristic of the breeding practises for all poultry breeds is the early access to meadows. So, the animals integrate their nurture with naturally available food. The minimum age for slaughtering is 81 to 91 days for chickens, 120 days for pullets and 150 days for capons.
Appearance and Flavour
The weight of Volaille de Gascogne PGI, after butchering, must be of 1.2 kg, 1.8 kg for pullets and 3 kg for capons. The meat is white and compact; the one of capons is very tender with fat veins. The flavour is characteristic and extremely tasteful.
History
The origins of Volaille de Gascogne PGI are very ancient and linked to the long tradition of poultry breeding in Gascogne. The poultry production registered an important phase of development in the 16th century during the reign of Henry IV. In the 19th century, the hen from Gascogne was famous due its quality meat. The production of volailles fermières (farm winged animals) has restarted at the beginning of the 1970s.
Gastronomy
The Volaille de Gascogne PGI can be conserved for a few days in the refrigerator, wrapped into the purchasing paper and stored in the coldest compartment. Poultry is used to prepare a lot of dishes with variable cooking methods depending on the cut chosen. Thanks to its precious fowls, the Volaille de Gascogne PGI is used for many local, traditional recipes. Generally, important and elaborated, second courses obtained with long and laborious cooking. This poultry fowls are stuffed and enriched with aromatic herbs, sauté in butter and cooked with local, aromatic wines. They can be eaten with foie gras and truffles, but also with curry sauces or dry fruits accompanied with vegetable and potato trimmings. Roasted capon with chestnuts roasted in its cooking sauce, a traditional Christmas dish, is much appreciated.
Marketing
The Volaille de Gascogne PGI includes different types of products, depending on the specific varieties of poultry of the denomination which are individually written on the package. Amongst them, there are poulet, poularde, chapon, pintade, dinde (chicken, pullets, capon, guinea hen, turkey). It is sold fresh, whole or without head or in slices packed in trays with protected atmosphere to guarantee a longer conservation and keep unaltered the organoleptic features of the fowl.
Distinctive Features
The Volaille de Gascogne PGI is raised in the open air, in a protected environment and these characteristics give the fowl a tasteful flavour which enhances the fame of Gascogne gastronomy.
