Below is a link to our (Farmer's Blog) guest blog from one of our long time customers, D.S. of Vancouver, BC.  In his blog, D.S. discussed the difference between pastured heritage birds and regular store bought chickens.  He also shared a roasted heritage chicken recipe inspired by Lyn Hall.
http://www.gradeehfarms.ca/blog/cooking-heritage-chicken-by-guest-blogger-ds-from-vancouver-bc

This Beer Chicken is my Mom's recipe.  I grew up enjoying this chicken stew and just found out a few years ago that the secret ingredient is beer!  This is a perfect recipe for a pastured heritage bird due to the low and slow cooking method but the pastured Cornish Cross will also be a good bird for this recipe.  Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
1 Whole Chicken cut into different parts/pieces (How to Cut Up a Whole Chicken by Martha Stewart)
2 to 3 Whole Tomatoes- Chopped
1 Whole Onion- Chopped
4 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Cup Water
1 Tbsp. Butter
Half a Can of your Favourite Beer
Potatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix the cut-up chicken with tomatoes, onions, water, half a can of your favourite beer, 4 tbsp soy sauce or more depending on your preference.  Let it boil then simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.  Add butter and potatoes (and maybe some button mushrooms if you want) and cook some more until the potatoes are ready.  Delicious with a hint of your favourite beer.

To cook in the oven using a Dutch oven, set the temperature at 350 deg F with a little bit of water to prevent the bird from drying out.  Cook a 4 lb bird for around 2 hours or play it by ear with the cooking time, there is no definite math to it. If you plan to cook on stove top, we suggest you put more water than if you plan to cook it in the oven.

Dutch oven tip & recipe variation from our regular customer R.L. of Chilliwack, BC:

Use a relatively low temperature, eg 300 deg F, and it would take somewhere in the neighbourhood of 2 hours. For best results, brown it first on top of the stove, and then toss in a bunch of shallots and whatever else you want.

He added:  “I should add, browning the chicken on the stove you’ll naturally need tongs to hold the bird. I actually hold it with my bare hands sometimes, but your other customers are probably smarter than that.”

Another Dutch oven tip from Modern Farmer website:

A Dutch oven is an excellent tool for roasting a heritage-breed chicken. The large, heavy, lidded pot is designed to retain moisture over long periods of oven cooking. Place the chicken, breast-side down to keep it moist, in the Dutch oven with quartered onions, garlic cloves, a cup of water and some butter. Roast it for 30 minutes per pound at 325 degrees F.