Butchered chicken turned red in fridge

[amyisrich]

 

[amyisrich]

View attachment 3582460

This was horrible wrapping job, but maybe you can see the red. It’s worse around the area where I cut to eviscerate. It's like "diaper rash" red.

 

[FunClucks]

Hmmm... This is a one-year old rooster. That may just be the color of the meat. I processed a one year old rooster (skinned and pressure cooked him) and the meat was so dark it was like BBQ pork / BBQ beef after cooking. Tasted kinda like BBQ beef too. I put BBQ sauce on it and had a sandwich.

Other folks may also have some input for you.

Only other thing I can think is if you remove the head, I've heard that sometimes it doesn't drain as well as other methods of dispatch. If you see coagulated blood, then I would suspect this, but I couldn't see any obviously in the picture. Blood coagulates pretty quickly after dispatch, within a few minutes, if you haven't got it out, it's not going to go. But it shouldn't interfere with the taste of the chicken.

If he smells good, I'd just go ahead and cook him after he's rested in the fridge until rigor has passed. Once his leg joints move freely, it's fine to cook or freeze. This can take ~3-5 days for a year old bird.

When you cook, make sure you use low heat for long time cooking methods (slow roast at 275F for several hrs until internal temperature is above 175F I think, slow roast in a dutch oven to preserve moisture, or pressure cook with some water to make broth are good options). Otherwise the meat will be tough. You may already know this, but I thought I'd mention it.

Good job on your processing! Looks tasty!

 

[Klutch]

There's nothing wrong with that bird, just some normal bruising. I my experience he looks a little tuff, not a problem.

 

[amyisrich]

Hmmm... This is a one-year old rooster. That may just be the color of the meat. I processed a one year old rooster (skinned and pressure cooked him) and the meat was so dark it was like BBQ pork / BBQ beef after cooking. Tasted kinda like BBQ beef too. I put BBQ sauce on it and had a sandwich.

Other folks may also have some input for you.

Only other thing I can think is if you remove the head, I've heard that sometimes it doesn't drain as well as other methods of dispatch. If you see coagulated blood, then I would suspect this, but I couldn't see any obviously in the picture. Blood coagulates pretty quickly after dispatch, within a few minutes, if you haven't got it out, it's not going to go. But it shouldn't interfere with the taste of the chicken.

If he smells good, I'd just go ahead and cook him after he's rested in the fridge until rigor has passed. Once his leg joints move freely, it's fine to cook or freeze. This can take ~3-5 days for a year old bird.

When you cook, make sure you use low heat for long time cooking methods (slow roast at 275F for several hrs until internal temperature is above 175F I think, slow roast in a dutch oven to preserve moisture, or pressure cook with some water to make broth are good options). Otherwise the meat will be tough. You may already know this, but I thought I'd mention it.

Good job on your processing! Looks tasty!

Wow! Great advice. Thanks!!

 

[amyisrich]

There's nothing wrong with that bird, just some normal bruising. I my experience he looks a little tuff, not a problem.

Well, he was pretty mean
Thanks, i feel better about him now.