The Rarest Chicken Breed In The World

Let's address the elephant in the room: a truly rare chicken is a terrible idea. It puts you at risk of salmonella, so make sure to always cook it all the way through.

With that awesome joke out of the way, let's explore the world of poultry. Specifically, let's take a look at what just might be the single most difficult chicken to get your hands on, should getting your hands on a chicken be the sort of thing that you're into. We're talking the top of the pecking order. The Bugatti of "buh-cawk." The Action Comics No. 1 of the bucket of thighs industry. The chicken so expensive that you'd have to actually double down to afford a KFC Double Down made out of it.

The singular contender for the title of "World's Rarest Chicken Breed" is called the Ayam Cemani, and brother, it is metal to its bones.

First thing's first: the Ayam Cemani is a deep black color. Its feathers? Black. That wobbly bit on top? Black. Feet, beak, and cold dead reptilian eyes? All the color of the endless abyss. But as any furious 14 year old can tell you, it's not about what's on the outside. A rock and roll lifestyle goes deeper than that.

Maybe that's why even the muscles and internal organs of this particular breed of chicken are, yes, charcoal colored, as if Keith Richards himself wrote a song about decorating them. If you're looking to prepare a meal that looks like it's part of a moody local art exhibit by a kid whose parents just got divorced, you're looking for tender cuts of Ayam Cemani meat.

Of course, it's going to set you back a bit, since the breed is tough to get your meathooks on stateside. According to the Phoenix New Times, the price of an Ayam Cemani chicken runs anywhere between $50 and a staggering $2,500, depending, presumably, on what coupon you use at the deli counter. Well worth it, since a breeder interviewed in the article described gazing upon the animals as "stunningly beautiful, like staring into a black hole."