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

[SnapdragonQ]

Good news! First Moyer's Imperial Broiler successfully rotisseried. Dark meat was delectably tender and flavorful. White meat was toothsome and a little dry. I brined it and the meat was salty, so I waited too long. Did not detract from the taste. I am happy with the meal and the birds. I prefer the firmer texture to CX. Many thanks to Jolene's Dad for introducing these to me.

25 processed and work tomorrow. I'm doing good to get 5 a day to the refrigerator. By myself. It just hit me, at one a week, this is a year's worth of meat. I'm sure I will share some with the kids. It'll still last us nearly a year.

Jolene's Dad - what in the world are you doing with 150? That is a lot of chicken meat.

Back at my old farm that had a better poultry set up, I'd do 25 meatbirds and about 4 or 5 turkeys per year. My turkeys were my own Bourbon Reds and I'd usually have the processors leave one whole and quarter the rest. Extra turkeys, beyond my 4 or 5, were used for bartering with neighboring farms for a little beef and pork, but it always amazed me when I was weighing and bagging the chickens and turkey that it was a whole year's worth of meat in front of me.

And because I was always busy running the farm I found crock potting a whole chicken worked best for us. Sometimes I'd roast one, but having the tender crocked chicken ready for any kind of meal was perfect.

 

[RUNuts]

Back at my old farm that had a better poultry set up, I'd do 25 meatbirds and about 4 or 5 turkeys per year. My turkeys were my own Bourbon Reds and I'd usually have the processors leave one whole and quarter the rest. Extra turkeys were used for bartering with neighboring farms for a little beef and pork, but it always amazed me when I was weighing and bagging the chickens and turkey that it was a whole year's worth of meat in front of me.

And because I was always busy running the farm I found crock potting a whole chicken worked best for us. Sometimes I'd roast one, but having the tender crocked chicken ready for any kind of meal was perfect.

I crockpotted the backs, gizzards, hearts and livers. Lots of meat from the 5 backs from parted out chickens that DD#2 took to college. Been using that this week and everyone is liking the tender meat. We have plenty to eat this week.

The innards are for MIL and my breakfast. I chop them up into eggs. Some kind of wonderful.

 

[jolenesdad]

Good news! First Moyer's Imperial Broiler successfully rotisseried. Dark meat was delectably tender and flavorful. White meat was toothsome and a little dry. I brined it and the meat was salty, so I waited too long. Did not detract from the taste. I am happy with the meal and the birds. I prefer the firmer texture to CX. Many thanks to Jolene's Dad for introducing these to me.

25 processed and work tomorrow. I'm doing good to get 5 a day to the refrigerator. By myself. It just hit me, at one a week, this is a year's worth of meat. I'm sure I will share some with the kids. It'll still last us nearly a year.

Jolene's Dad - what in the world are you doing with 150? That is a lot of chicken meat.

Well I certainly won’t be processing them myself!

when I move I’m going to do a small separate mobile home or metal building structure for my photography studio and so I can go through getting a retail inspection to sell chicken from the farm. Most of my photography clients would take chicken and I think I could create a niche market that would keep my chicken hobby even and pay for my own meat.

I love the bones of these imperials. Make. A. Bone. Broth. It seriously tastes a different level of taste than typical, like a stewing hen. But these are still young so there’s so much collagen. Anyway, we are using one whole and some sort of parts almost every week because I’m really not eating other meat than the chicken I raise. It makes multiple meals from the amount of meat for two meals to making a broth to use for another one. A pack of breasts or thighs or tenders and you’ve gotten at least 4 meals of the week. Lunches too if you make like a chicken salad. I did 65 at once this year so I don’t think it’s an unrealistic jump to 150, unless I move to an area with totally different microclimate and need to learn more.

anyway, I think if I do 150 three or four times a year then I can break even on everything I spend on chickens.

I also use the instant pot a lot with these. The breast is long and thin and so it ensures moist meat.

you’ll notice the later ones you process have more fat and will cook more even. someone in a pastured poultry group I’m in grows these commercially and said that after twelve weeks during that 13th week they really add lots of fat. I grew a batch to 13 weeks and another to 10. When I would cook the birds in the instant pot, the younger ones would yield maybe 1/2-3/4c of fat. The older birds were more than double that.

 

[FortCluck]

We still didn’t butcher the meaties. We have been so busy. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow night we can do it.

 

[RUNuts]

Well I certainly won’t be processing them myself!

Try it! You'll find it exhausting, I know I do. Pride of work and all that. Feels good, but my goodness!

when I move I’m going to do a small separate mobile home or metal building structure for my photography studio and so I can go through getting a retail inspection to sell chicken from the farm. Most of my photography clients would take chicken and I think I could create a niche market that would keep my chicken hobby even and pay for my own meat.

I love the bones of these imperials. Make. A. Bone. Broth. It seriously tastes a different level of taste than typical, like a stewing hen. But these are still young so there’s so much collagen. Anyway, we are using one whole and some sort of parts almost every week because I’m really not eating other meat than the chicken I raise. It makes multiple meals from the amount of meat for two meals to making a broth to use for another one. A pack of breasts or thighs or tenders and you’ve gotten at least 4 meals of the week. Lunches too if you make like a chicken salad. I did 65 at once this year so I don’t think it’s an unrealistic jump to 150, unless I move to an area with totally different microclimate and need to learn more.

anyway, I think if I do 150 three or four times a year then I can break even on everything I spend on chickens.

I used some of the broth from the backs for rice. Everyone loved the flavor. Almost looks like dirty rice with the color and no added seasoning. I will save the next bones for a broth. I only use so much broth and it goes bad in the refrigerator. I should start canning the stuff to preserve it. Using it for stir fried vegetables is my favorite. That and the fat.

I also use the instant pot a lot with these. The breast is long and thin and so it ensures moist meat.

you’ll notice the later ones you process have more fat and will cook more even. someone in a pastured poultry group I’m in grows these commercially and said that after twelve weeks during that 13th week they really add lots of fat. I grew a batch to 13 weeks and another to 10. When I would cook the birds in the instant pot, the younger ones would yield maybe 1/2-3/4c of fat. The older birds were more than double that.

These had large fat pads that I left on the carcass. Looking forward to it. The backs (no skin) yielded about a cup of fat. That I put in a pint jar and stuck in the freezer. I have plans!

 

[jolenesdad]

Try it! You'll find it exhausting, I know I do. Pride of work and all that. Feels good, but my goodness!

I used some of the broth from the backs for rice. Everyone loved the flavor. Almost looks like dirty rice with the color and no added seasoning. I will save the next bones for a broth. I only use so much broth and it goes bad in the refrigerator. I should start canning the stuff to preserve it. Using it for stir fried vegetables is my favorite. That and the fat.

These had large fat pads that I left on the carcass. Looking forward to it. The backs (no skin) yielded about a cup of fat. That I put in a pint jar and stuck in the freezer. I have plans!

I made those frozen stock concentrates last time. Each small ice cube of stock added to three cups of water made a perfect broth and saved SO much space. I used a crawfish pot....

 

[Ridgerunner]

I should start canning the stuff to preserve it.

I pressure can it but it freezes too. My canner only holds 18 pints. I make three batches of broth for one canning and wind up with about 20 pints. One pint goes into the fridge for immediate use and the other goes into those 1-cup freezer containers. Do not overfill. The broth expands as it freezes.

 

[RUNuts]

How do y'all use the broth? I make rice occasionally. Soups seldom. Etoufee rarely. I just don't use the stuff when I do make a batch quick enough to justify all the broth. I've had broth cubes in the freezer for a while now that don't get used because of all the fresh stuff.

I'm down to cooking for 3 people and we don't eat as much as growing kids.

Etoufee sounds great right now. Is it lunch time yet? I've got the rest of the chicken breast and I forgot the mustard. Next time.

 

[Parront]

How do y'all use the broth? I make rice occasionally. Soups seldom. Etoufee rarely. I just don't use the stuff when I do make a batch quick enough to justify all the broth. I've had broth cubes in the freezer for a while now that don't get used because of all the fresh stuff.

I'm down to cooking for 3 people and we don't eat as much as growing kids.

Etoufee sounds great right now. Is it lunch time yet? I've got the rest of the chicken breast and I forgot the mustard. Next time.

When I have good chicken broth we eat a lot more noodles, cooked in broth with cream of mushroom soup and chicken meat. Casserole baked with cheese on top in the winter. Or just added to regular canned soup in stead of the water, if I feel lazy. Or in Ramen noodles. In any place where you would use a bouillon cube, chicken broth is better.

 

[jolenesdad]

When I have good chicken broth we eat a lot more noodles, cooked in broth with cream of mushroom soup and chicken meat. Casserole baked with cheese on top in the winter. Or just added to regular canned soup in stead of the water, if I feel lazy. Or in Ramen noodles. In any place where you would use a bouillon cube, chicken broth is better.

All of these things.

We also cook so much in it. Beans and other veggies. Broccoli. Mmmm. But beans especially. Last time we made black eyed peas that I normally eat one spoonful of on New Years Eve and I think I had three servings.

there’s a lot of anecdotal and not entirely scientific evidence surrounding bone broth, but it sure feels good to drink it, too.