Free-Range · Poultry
Road Runner Chicken
Photo: Shark2025 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
A road runner chicken can take up to six months to reach full size, several times longer than a broiler bird, which is part of why it now sells at a premium in the capital.
Named for the way these hardy indigenous chickens roam and scavenge instead of sitting caged, road runner chicken has leaner, firmer meat than broiler varieties. It's typically stewed in peanut butter sauce or simply roasted, and served with sadza and greens.
Why it's made this way: As caged broiler chicken became the cheap urban default, road runner has been reclaimed as a heritage delicacy — a taste of the rural homestead now sold at a markup in Harare's restaurants and stalls.
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