Heard of D&D Poultry?

[chuang]

I dropped by a little place called D&D Poultry in Scarborough and the guy was very nice and prices seemed quite reasonable, but I wasn't sure about this:
(from their website)
"Our Omega 3 line is an All Natural/Drug free line of birds fed with soy, flaxseed, barley and corn. Providing the human body with essential nutrients missing from most human diets.
Brought in weekly from local Mennonite Farmers"
I suppose since all chickens are raised without hormones, this may or may not mean much. I guess I should have asked more questions, but I didn't want to seem too aggressive my first time there. How can I be sure the poultry actually comes from Mennonites?
Anyhow, I bought a whole chicken and it was half the price of the Free From ones I have been getting at Loblaws and I also bought a frozen (non-Mennonite) chicken roll stuffed with red peppers (and other stuff) and it was delicious.
I'd appreciate some input. TIA.

[summ3r]

This is brilliant.
I need a good quality, real roaster and I don't want to have to drive all the way downtown to the St. Law. Mkt to get one. I came to Chowhound, typed in "Scarborough roaster" and found this thread.
I'll be trying this place out today.

[chuang]

Thanks for your comments, everyone. I'll be heading back there to check out more of their stuff. I love this site so much because everyone is so willing to give input. I really appreciate it.

[cynthias]

D& D Poultry is a chicken processing plant that has gotten quite the reputation in their industry. They have grown substancially since they started. They supply many restaurants , banquets, grocery stores..even hospitals. Their "omega 3 line" from mennonite farmers one of their higher end items and I assure you it is from Mennonite farmers. They wouldn't advertise it and risk their great reputation if it wasn't
D&D is very clean , fresh , they even have a huge frozen line of kebabs and stuffed chicken etc. It is worth the drive to stock up on chicken and other items..beats the prices at the store and you are getting it from the wholesaler!

[jayt90]

I had thighs and legs from my Sat.purchase, and the thighs were full , flavorsome and succulent. As good as I have had . The legs (drumsticks) were more normal, but very good.
Pricewise, it was 8 large pieces for $8, and I did the cutting.

[aser]

So is most of their product line IQF'ed?

How much per lb is the mennnonite chicken? I usually get mine from Vince Gasparro's for $2.99/lb, Fiesta Farms has free range for $2.75/lb. Both have spotted skin, which translates to a more varied diet in my opinion.

Gasparro's has roasters on avg of 5lbs, they're my go to spot for chickens in the city. Best balance between quality and price, imo.

[jayt90]

IQF? I'm sure it was there, but I just looked at the fresh display. There were some skewered items plus beef and chicken cuts.The Kerr beef was mostly in cryovac, some of it cut up.
The legs with thigh were $3.95/kg. which is close to the regular price of bagged chicken parts in a supermarket.
Whole chickens were larger than I could use, at $12-$15 each,so I didn't check price per kg.
The sales counter is very quiet, and I could have asked more questions, but when I was assured they bought from Mennonite farms I was ready to make a small first purchase.
To put it in perspective, this is another good source of shopping in the northeast area of the city, along with my favorites such as P.A.T., Diana's, Ho Ho, and T&T; an easy addition to weekend errands.

[aser]

cool, thanks for the info.

I got the IQF from the website, it listed a lot of IQF product. I eventually found the fresh section.

Whole chickens on the site, they listed two types, fryers (3lbs ish) and roasters (5lbs).

[jayt90]

Curiosity got the the better of me and I went to DD Poultry today on the way to T&T Milliken.
They assured me the chickens came from Mennonite farms, big enough for a consistent supply.
The chickens were fairly large, and priced $12-$15. This may be less than SLM farmer's.
There is Kerr Farms beef for sale, as well, in a small clean display.
I bought a good looking package of thigh/legs, $3.95/kg. As a comparison, this would be $5.95/kg at Fresh From The Farm, but frozen. My package contained 4 large leg/thighs, at $8.
I think it will be shake and bake tonight, with frites and SIL's sauerkraut.

[theboer]

From their website it doesn't look like they slaughter the birds there and if they're HACCP they can't bring birds in from small abattoirs. The chickens would have to be coming in from another HACCP accredited plant which usually means large volumes.
HACCP to me means large which unfortunately means nothing special.

[jayt90]

A HACCP place I know has changed suppliers of pork frequently. Most suppliers for this small outfit are small, but they have to deliver in refrigerated vehicles. There is little reason to say small abattoirs may not be certified, Certainly some of them are Mennonite owned.

[theboer]

As far as i know all meat that is going from one business to another has to be transported in refrigerated trucks. Our local charity service groups have even had to store the chickens for their chicken BBQ's in refrigerated trucks for several years now. The local health unit has been enforcing that.
I know that there are some federally inspected mennonite owned plants in ON. I guess what i'm saying is that companies can do a good job without HACCP or HACCP is no guarantee that the product is high quality.

[millygirl]

Interesting. Your post got me thinking about a scene I've witnessed on more than one occasion along the Danforth. On a regular basis I've seen a truck parked in front of one of the local butcher shops and they are unloading whole carcasses. The truck does not appear refridgerated, and in fact it looks pretty scuzzy inside. The animals are pretty much just lying on the bed of the truck. Another thing, the truck is always unmarked. I've oftened wondered about this, but they have one of those green passes from the city so I figured it must be okay?? And besides that, I don't shop there so maybe it's not my business. But it does make me wonder.

This is all done in broad daylight so it must be on the up and up but I have to say the whole thing looks sketchy to me. Funny because my dog hates walking by that particular shop - she gets really freaked out by it. Maybe she senses something off.

[theboer]

the province has a meat inspection bat phone if you have any questions about butcher shops
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/f...

[jayt90]

The few shops or food facilities that have HACCP certification have to track evrything on paper, maybe 2-3 hrs per day. The facility has to be scrubbed down and spotless and is subject to random inspections, or full fledged announced inspections.
For those of us who are fastidious, HACCP is worth looking for.

[theboer]

I thought the province did that too?

[jayt90]

New to me too. http://www.ddpoultry.com/about.html
Did you really get a whole chicken, Mennonite raised, for $6-$8?
They seem to be selling most things in large quantities.
I like the HACCP qualification, indicating cleanliness, care and full documentation in processing.