Chronicles of Raising Meat Birds - Modern Broilers, Heritage and Hybrids

[aart]

You do not need 50lb turkeys...well the biggest was 40 dressed other a little smaller, neither will fit in a typical oven.

Part them out into portions!
Have done that for the last few years because I don't want to cook and eat a whole turkey, nor do I want to freeze cooked turkey. It's really been nice to roast a breast fillet or leg and thigh or wings...carcass gets cut into portions that will fit in my pressure cooker for stew/soup.

 

[jolenesdad]

Part them out into portions!
Have done that for the last few years because I don't want to cook and eat a whole turkey, nor do I want to freeze cooked turkey. It's really been nice to roast a breast fillet or leg and thigh or wings...carcass gets cut into portions that will fit in my pressure cooker for stew/soup.

Fab tip.

my friends grinds most of their turkeys to freeze.

Subscribed, another meat bird thread
Have to read back, just caught some of the beginning and skipped to end.

I try to get them, both cockerels and pullets a little after they start, the cockerels crowing, don't keep track of weeks. But 3lbs is about average for mine dressed. Great on the grill and tender and tasty.

Welcome!!

Careful with turkeys. I was given free two broad breasted bronze ended up both being toms this spring. Just got around to processing them a couple weeks ago. You do not need 50lb turkeys...well the biggest was 40 dressed other a little smaller, neither will fit in a typical oven. Turkeys are much easier than chickens though way calmer.

I think when we move I will definitely do some turkeys. I was actually allergic to chicken in my youth, and the only meat I could safely eat without getting sick was turkey. It's still my favorite.

And, 3 lbs for a 13 week old heritage bird is very respectable, IMO. I've grilled and roasted birds in that age range, or a week or two older, and found them quite tasty and tender.

Yes, there's actually a few of them over 3 lbs! They look like they will be nice to eat. I wish I would have been able to save the smaller ones to process on my own later, but, not this time.

My friend does this ministry where she donates wholesome food boxes to the refugee community in Houston so since I had all of these boys USDA processed, I can donate all the hearts, livers, feet and backs to their boxes for Christmas. I felt that was a great use of these birds!

 

[igorsMistress]

@jolenesdad I brine my chickens for about 3 days before roasting or bbq.The breasts even turn out nice and moist regardless of cooking method.

Those BIG ziplock bags work great for it, I think they're 2.5 gallons.

 

[jolenesdad]

@jolenesdad I brine my chickens for about 3 days before roasting or bbq.The breasts even turn out nice and moist regardless of cooking method.

Those BIG ziplock bags work great for it, I think they're 2.5 gallons.

BRILLIANT!!!!!

 

[Kusanar]

Kinda of oddly dark?

Yes, it seemed odd to me. But I had brined it overnight? The pic does look darker too so it’s not THAT much of a difference, but a notable difference.

You said that these were more active than the other meat birds, correct? Apparently activity and muscle use is what causes the dark meat / white meat on birds and why store bought CX only really have any dark meat in the legs due to having to pick their big butts up off the ground every now and then. Wild turkeys are supposed to be mostly dark meat due to the active lifestyle.

You do not need 50lb turkeys...well the biggest was 40 dressed other a little smaller, neither will fit in a typical oven.

Nice to see this, I said on another thread that my dad raised turkeys as a kid and they would get 50 pounders easy (adult birds, not processed on a specific date) and people thought I was nuts and my dad was telling big fish stories. His were some sort of white barnyard mutt, he doesn't know what breed they were, but they could breed so I suspect not BBW but who knows, maybe the young toms were breeding rather than the full grown monsters.

 

[jolenesdad]

You said that these were more active than the other meat birds, correct? Apparently activity and muscle use is what causes the dark meat / white meat on birds and why store bought CX only really have any dark meat in the legs due to having to pick their big butts up off the ground every now and then. Wild turkeys are supposed to be mostly dark meat due to the active lifestyle.


Nice to see this, I said on another thread that my dad raised turkeys as a kid and they would get 50 pounders easy (adult birds, not processed on a specific date) and people thought I was nuts and my dad was telling big fish stories. His were some sort of white barnyard mutt, he doesn't know what breed they were, but they could breed so I suspect not BBW but who knows, maybe the young toms were breeding rather than the full grown monsters.

Yes definitely. My Delaware birds are really dark, especially once frozen....

ive seen that referenced that exercised birds are darker and more flavorful. I also see many people say more exercise negatively affects the meat texture. I have yet to experience that. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with age, too. While exercised, these birds are all still pretty dang young.

These imperials use the heck out of their wings, too. I was slightly concerned i could have bruising like we discussed in the thread a while back, but none of them did. I really should have made a video of them moving.

Good thing I have another round of Imperials coming this week. merry Christmas to me? Haven’t told my husband yet.

 

[aart]

I’m sure a lot of that has to do with age, too.

..and how long the carcasses are rested with older birds.

 

[Mosey2003]

The big Ziplocs are 2 gallons. If you're lucky, you'll find them at Wal-Mart sometimes. I'll snag them there when I can, otherwise I order a couple boxes from Amazon when I'm running low and ordering something else. They come in really handy! I use them when I'm resting carcasses in the fridge, I can get two small cockerels in one, or a bigger bird alone. The bigger birds don't fit into a 1 gallon zip bag well at all.

 

[RUNuts]

When learning about brining, I was shown a 3 gallon crock. Ceramic, wide mouth jar. Think moonshine bottle without the small top. These were used for pickling meats in brine. The ceramic is acid and salt resistant. Cast iron or other dutch ovens wouldn't hold up. The ceramic coated dutch ovens might work.

The meat goes into this and a plate is inverted on top and holds the meat below the surface. Whole thing goes into the fridge to hold temperature. Since I don't have a 3 gallon crock, I've used plastic (2 gallon) bowls with a plate over the meat holding it below the brine surface. Works OK, but the bowl is a lot shallower than the 3 gallon crock. Be sure to get all the air out from under the plate. Submerge the plate, then work out all the air.

Large ziploc bags sound easier. Mine usually leak. Sharp bone or caught on whatever pokes a hole. Do you put the ziploc in a bowl?

 

[Mosey2003]

If I use a bag to brine, I usually put it in a cake pan, just in case.