We tried out the delicious local chicken and the popular Kawamata Shamo chicken!

While free-range chicken breeds are now found all over Japan, Kawamata Shamo from Fukushima Prefecture is attracting attention from many chefs for its excellent taste.
This time, we'll explore the appeal of Kawamata Shamo, which is also a certified Fukushima Prefecture brand product.

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What kind of chicken is Kawamata Shamo?

Kawamata Shamo, a specialty of Kawamata Town, Date County, Fukushima Prefecture, is a breed that was born out of a spirit of hospitality, according to the Kawamata Town Agriculture Promotion Corporation, which is the organization that oversees it, and which wants people to "nourish their minds and bodies with the finest ingredients that can only be found in the countryside."

In pursuit of a more delicious chicken, extensive research led to the creation of the current Kawamata Shamo breed. This breed was developed by crossbreeding a purebred Shamo female with a Red Cornish male, then crossbreeding the resulting male with a Rhode Island Red female.
These chickens, with their beautiful brown color and robust appearance, are free-range chickens raised by Shamo farmers in Kawamata town, blessed with clean air and pure water. They are raised for more than twice as long as typical broilers.

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Eh, what? I even tried some rare cuts!

Wanting to savor Kawamata Shamo chicken prepared with professional skill, I visited "Hifumi" in Fukushima City.
With the tagline, "The prefecture's leading specialty shop that takes Kawamata Shamo seriously," I knew I had to go!

Looking at the menu, it seems you can enjoy Kawamata Shamo chicken in various forms, including skewers, hot pot, and à la carte dishes, and there are also set courses.
However, I decided that the simplest way to experience the true essence of Kawamata Shamo would be through skewers.
So, I ordered, "Please grill all kinds of Kawamata Shamo chicken!"

While waiting for the food to be cooked, I read explanations about how it's grilled over the finest binchotan charcoal and uses salt extracted from a 200-million-year-old Texas rock salt layer. The appetizer that arrived was "Shamo liver pâté."
It looked delicious, and it really was. By this point, I had already drunk more than half a glass of wine.

This is where the skewers start

• Main meat: firm texture and powerful flavor. This is Kawamata Shamo!
• The skin is baked to remove all the fat, leaving it crispy and fragrant
• Chicken wings: The meat underneath the skin is so tender, you'll want to suck it right down to the bone
• Gizzards: "They're quite tough," as they say, but they're delicious
• Liver: Grilled to perfection, it's both tender and fragrant
• The buttocks are oozing with oil. But what's surprising is that the oil isn't greasy
• Tsukimi Tsukune: Although it is well seasoned, the taste of the meat is not overpowered by it
• Because they are raised for a long time, the cartilage is large. One piece is the equivalent of five chickens

From here on, we have limited quantities of rare cuts of meat on skewers, so we recommend making a reservation

• It is said to be the muscle at the base of the leg, and has a unique elasticity and a rich flavor
• Shoulder meat: Meat from around the shoulder blade. It has a texture that combines the best of thigh and breast
• Gizzard fin I didn't know you could eat this part! And it's so delicious!
• Skirt steak diaphragm. It has a soft texture and is slightly sweet when you chew it
• Neck: A rich flavor seeps out from the moderately chewy texture
• Heart: Three hearts per skewer. The sauce "specially for hearts" goes really well with it
• Heart: The joint between the heart and liver has a squishy texture. This makes 5 chicken pieces
• Grilled chicken fillet: Crispy on the outside and rare on the inside. A perfect match
• This is the testicles of a gamecock. They're soft and fluffy and have a rich flavor...I want to eat about 10 of them!

Savoring perfectly prepared, exceptionally fresh Kawamata Shamo chicken, grilled to perfection—it's pure bliss.
Owner Hiroki Sato not only knows Kawamata Shamo chicken inside and out, but his deep passion for the breed is evident in every word he speaks.

Sato-san said, "I think Kawamata Shamo is a chicken that can be cooked in any way, whether it's boiled, grilled or fried, and it tastes delicious." In addition to skewers, I really wanted to try fried chicken, Shamo minced meat, and Kawamata Shamo oyakodon, which is made using techniques directly taught to me by Tamahide in Ningyocho, Nihonbashi, but I was already full

But even though I ate quite a lot, I didn't feel heavy at all. That might be another charm of Kawamata Shamo chicken.
Less than an hour after the meal, a new idea popped into my head: "Next time, maybe I'll have a few skewers as an appetizer, a hot pot as the main course, and finish with oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl)?"

INFORMATION

name	Shamo and Wine Shop Hifumi
location	1F Ishiyakoji Building, 2-18 Omachi, Fukushima City
telephone number	024-522-1455
Official URL	http://www.hifumi-syamo.com//a>
GOOGLE MAP

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If you want to buy Kawamata Shamo, come to Kawamata! We can also order popular items

You can buy all kinds of Kawamata Shamo chicken meat and processed products at "Michi-no-Eki Kawamata" (Roadside Station Kawamata).
You can also order them online from the Kawamata Town Agricultural Promotion Corporation's online shop, "Jidoriya Honpo," although the selection will be smaller.

The Kawamata Shamo corner at Roadside Station Kawamata offers a wide variety of fresh meats, as well as flavorful smoked meats ranging from chicken fillets and livers to whole chickens, hot pot sets, roast chicken, jerky, and more. You'll be surprised at how many products there are just for Kawamata Shamo. You can also try freshly fried Shamo minced meat

These are the Kawamata Shamo chicken "skin offal" and "liver bowl ingredients" that I bought at the "Kawamata Roadside Station." Both are apparently new products, but they were quite delicious

Other dishes include smoked fish and gizzard ajillo, which are perfect as snacks to go with alcohol, and when I tried making chicken cutlet using chicken breast, it turned out to have a rich flavor similar to that of chicken thigh, which was very satisfying

Actually, while looking at the raw Kawamata Shamo chicken at the store, I was saying things like, "Unlike regular chickens, it has less subcutaneous fat and the meat is a darker color," when someone told me, "If you buy a whole chicken, you can use it in various dishes, it's very filling, and you can even make soup with it, so it's a good deal." And that sparked my ambition.
Wait for me, Kawamata Shamo! Next time, I'll cook a whole one for you.

INFORMATION

name	Kawamata Roadside Station
location	13-1 Tsuruzawa Higashi, Kawamata-machi, Date-gun, Fukushima Prefecture
telephone number	024-566-5253
Official URL	http://f-road.info/eki-menu/eki/kawamata/
GOOGLE MAP

INFORMATION

name	Jidori-ya Honpo (Online store of Kawamata Town Agriculture Promotion Corporation)
Official URL	http://kawamata-shamo.com/

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You should definitely try the deliciousness of Kawamata Shamo

Kawamata Shamo is not greasy, has a pleasant texture but is not hard, and the more you chew it, the more rich its flavor becomes. Be sure to give it a try!

Also, every August, the Kawamata Shamo Festival in Kawamata is held, where the world's longest whole roasted Kawamata Shamo chicken is also held, so be sure to remember that too

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