Brad, Carrie and Wade Dorris at their first farmers market as Pamplin Poultry. (Photo courtesy Pamplin Poultry)
History: When Brad Dorris was working at Cibola, a sustainable livestock farm, the idea for his own poultry company began to form, but it wasn’t until he met his wife, Carrie, that the business moved from concept to reality. The duo’s goal was to raise animals and utilize them in their entirety, aiming for minimal waste. They chose chickens and launched Pamplin Poultry in March 2018, pasture-raising their flock on a 3-acre farm.
Specialties: Pamplin Poultry offers whole birds, breasts, wings, livers, broths and more. Their 100 percent chicken sausage comes in a variety of seasonal flavors. Year-round offerings range from chorizo, which packs a welcome kick that makes it ideal for tacos, to a play on traditional sage breakfast sausage nicknamed “old faithful,” the first flavor they introduced. Other varieties include Italian herb and the herbaceous cilantro-lime. Dorris says their chicken sausage links are a customer favorite.
Production methods: Pamplin processes its chickens on the farm and lets them hang overnight to ensure a crisper skin. The birds eat grass and bugs, roam freely and follow their natural tendencies, which the Dorrises believe leads to a tastier product. “We like that we can have fresh product every week, and by the weekend it’s pretty much gone,” Brad says.
Where to find in RVA: You can find Pamplin Poultry products online, at the South of the James Farmers Market and at Cardinal State Butchers.
