Black Asian Chickens Have No White Meat

When Ayam Cemani chicken breeders say their birds have dark meat, they mean it. The native Indonesian breed is black to the bone including all the meat, organs and even their bone marrow. But, at $199/chick, you won't find many on the dinner table just yet. Jenny Taylor is farm manager for Greenfire Farms, Midway, Fla., which raises a variety of unusual and rare poultry breeds. She says the breed is costly because of the red tape and expense importing them.

The all-black chickens come from a 500-year-old Asian breed. Because of an import ban from that region, North American breeders such as Greenfire Farms import from certified breeders in EU countries.

"Despite their hypnotic, otherworldly beauty, Ayam Cemani are usually hardy, low maintenance, and by disposition easy to handle," Taylor says. "We were asked by New York magazine to supply an Ayam Cemani model for their holiday gifts issue, and after we flew him to New York, our rooster patiently allowed himself to be draped with million-dollar jewelry and trussed with a red ribbon while he was photographed under bright lights."