Blue Foot Chicken

Blue Foot Chicken is a Canadian breed of chicken bred to resemble the French chicken Poulet de Bresse, also known as "Bresse Blue".

The breed is attributed to Canadian breeder Peter Thiessen of British Columbia and was later marketed in the United States by California farm manager Bob Shipley. The Blue Foot Chicken was originally conceived as an alternative to the French Bresse Bleu, availability of which is tightly regulated by French law, with export expressly forbidden. It was bred by Thiessen over a period of 15 years starting in the 1980s. The breed was almost lost in 2004 when avian flu control measures during an outbreak in Canada led to the Canadian government ordering the destruction of vast numbers of fowl, including all the chickens at Thiessen's farm. However, one week before this decision was made, several breeders had been relocated to California, allowing the breed to survive and flourish in the US.

Blue Foot Chicken is characterized by a red comb, white feathers, and steel-blue feet, which give the breed its name. This trait is so admired that the feet are usually left on for presentation. Due to biosecurity concerns they have not been allowed outside since 2006. Blue Foot are typically slaughtered much later than traditional chicken, being left to grow longer. Thus they require 12 to 14 weeks to reach market size, rather than the 42 days possible under regular farm conditions. After slaughter, the chickens may be air-chilled, rather than undergoing commercial water-chilling, leaving the meat dense and rich in flavor, as no water is absorbed into the meat during the chilling process.

In the wake of the Canadian cull, all remaining stocks were maintained by one producer in California, and the Blue Foot was being marketed there as the California Blue Foot or California Poulet Bleu, in spite of its Canadian origin. After a short time for sale, the producer culled the entire flock when the asking price was not met. There are now two breeders offering the birds to the general public; Heaven Sent Ranch in Red Bluff, California and Frasier Creek Farm in Corvallis, Oregon.

It is usually served with the feet still attached and tied in an upward position.

Blue Foot Chicken is sold for raw consumption in Japan, under special license, as Toriwasa sashimi. Raw consumption was mentioned on Iron Chef America (Season 5 Episode 1).