First time butchering…

[Panhandler80]

Well… That wasn’t much fun. Couldn’t find anybody to take these two and it was getting loud in the mornings. Took care of it Saturday morning. I know they need to rest in fridge for a while. How long? Then brine they before cooking? They were 12 weeks old, so I know I let them go a little too long.

 

[Molpet]

12 wks is not too long for heritage
You can cook them anyway you want at that age.
Rest until the joints move freely. Usually a day or three

 

[FunClucks]

Well… That wasn’t much fun. Couldn’t find anybody to take these two and it was getting loud in the mornings. Took care of it Saturday morning. I know they need to rest in fridge for a while. How long? Then brine they before cooking? They were 12 weeks old, so I know I let them go a little too long.

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Good job! Those chickens look awesome!

First time you do it is usually a bit hard for many folks.

Yours are only 3 months old, which is young actually, they can be cooked any way you like. FYI, heritage birds are usually processed anywhere from 4-6 months old, best cooking methods depend on the age of the bird.

Let them rest in the fridge until rigor passes. Could be 1-3 days, longer for older birds. Try to move the leg joint right now, and see how stiff it is. When it moves perfectly easily like grocery store chicken you know resting is done, and it's ready to freeze or cook. If you want to season it or brine it, you can take a few days to do that after the bird rests. How long it lasts in the fridge depends on how cleanly you butchered it. As long as there are no off smells, you're good.

Butchering yourself is usually cleaner than commercial operations as long as you rinse everything well and often, and keep surfaces, hands, and tools as clean as possible. Also, evisceration and chilling asap after butchering is key to minimize bacterial growth.

If you do a lot of chickens, make sure to layer ice between them when chilling them in a cooler before you put them in the fridge for aging. (Or you can age in the coolers.) You don't want a pile of chickens that retain body heat. Also, too many chickens can overwhelm the cooling capability of your fridge, but one or two is probably fine, as long as you put them in there separately, not stacked together, so they can get good chilling.

Also, you can age (rest) the bird before or after freezing. Just make sure it ages in the fridge before you cook it, so it won't be tough and stringy/inedible.

Enjoy your delicious chicken!

 

[Panhandler80]

Good job! Those chickens look awesome!

First time you do it is usually a bit hard for many folks.

Yours are only 3 months old, which is young actually, they can be cooked any way you like. FYI, heritage birds are usually processed anywhere from 4-6 months old, best cooking methods depend on the age of the bird.

Let them rest in the fridge until rigor passes. Could be 1-3 days, longer for older birds. Try to move the leg joint right now, and see how stiff it is. When it moves perfectly easily like grocery store chicken you know resting is done, and it's ready to freeze or cook. If you want to season it or brine it, you can take a few days to do that after the bird rests. How long it lasts in the fridge depends on how cleanly you butchered it. As long as there are no off smells, you're good.

Butchering yourself is usually cleaner than commercial operations as long as you rinse everything well and often, and keep surfaces, hands, and tools as clean as possible. Also, evisceration and chilling asap after butchering is key to minimize bacterial growth.

If you do a lot of chickens, make sure to layer ice between them when chilling them in a cooler before you put them in the fridge for aging. (Or you can age in the coolers.) You don't want a pile of chickens that retain body heat. Also, too many chickens can overwhelm the cooling capability of your fridge, but one or two is probably fine, as long as you put them in there separately, not stacked together, so they can get good chilling.

Also, you can age (rest) the bird before or after freezing. Just make sure it ages in the fridge before you cook it, so it won't be tough and stringy/inedible.

Enjoy your delicious chicken!

10-4. Thanks.

Cleaning wasn’t a big deal at all. I think I’ve cleaned over a 100 deer, 20-30 hogs, a bunch of alligators and a few turkeys so this was nothing!

The head removal, on the other hand was pretty traumatic. I used a landing net to catch them. The first one I managed to pop his head off while in the net. That sucked. The second one I took him out and after a couple twirls the deed was done. Much easier that way. Anyway, that was Saturday morning so I guess I need to see how loose their legs are tonight. I thought brine was pretty much mandatory. Sounds like that’s not the case.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Aging - Letting rigor mortis pass. Store it cool to retard bacteria growth.

Brining - Soaking in a salt solution. The main purpose of brining in salt is that the salt helps the meat retain moisture. If you are going to cook the meat using a dry method this can help. That's why grocery chickens are typically brined, so many are grilled or fried. Helps with roasting too. If you are going to cook it with a wet method like soup, stew, pressure cooking, and such, not very important. Many people age in a brine.

Marinading - Soaking in an acid to break down fiber which tenderizes it. Really helpful with older birds that can be tough. For birds as young as yours be careful with marinades, they can make the meat kind of mushy. Many marinades are based on vinegar, tomatoes, or wine but other acids can be used.

You can add flavorings at any stage. Many people do when brining and a lot do with marinading. Some do when cooking.

 

[FunClucks]

10-4. Thanks.

Cleaning wasn’t a big deal at all. I think I’ve cleaned over a 100 deer, 20-30 hogs, a bunch of alligators and a few turkeys so this was nothing!

The head removal, on the other hand was pretty traumatic. I used a landing net to catch them. The first one I managed to pop his head off while in the net. That sucked. The second one I took him out and after a couple twirls the deed was done. Much easier that way. Anyway, that was Saturday morning so I guess I need to see how loose their legs are tonight. I thought brine was pretty much mandatory. Sounds like that’s not the case.

Brine is not required, but if you've never had completely natural, home raised chicken before, you may be surprised how bland the flavor is without some type of seasoning. The commercially sold chicken ALL have some type of flavoring added.

Since you've butchered and I assume cooked many animals, you probably already have some favorite ways of seasoning stuff.

Some options: chicken roasting herbs, salt, BBQ sauce, Curry spice with yogurt, Coq au Vin, etc. If you have a favorite brining solution, go for it.

 

[Panhandler80]

Next question:

How long can fresh chicken stay in fridge? Obviously there’s no transport time like commercial purchased chicken. We killed these two on Saturday and schedules have not allowed us the time to make something worthy with meat. They went directly into a 37 degree fridge and have been kept at that temp ever since. It would seem that 5-6 days would be just fine. Was thinking about cooking this Thursday.

Edit: found a thread that addresss this. As I suspected, it sounds like we’ll be fine.

 

[Charlie Wooster]

Next question:

How long can fresh chicken stay in fridge? Obviously there’s no transport time like commercial purchased chicken. We killed these two on Saturday and schedules have not allowed us the time to make something worthy with meat. They went directly into a 37 degree fridge and have been kept at that temp ever since. It would seem that 5-6 days would be just fine. Was thinking about cooking this Thursday.

Edit: found a thread that addresss this. As I suspected, it sounds like we’ll be fine.

Your Nose Knows.. smell will tell.. always sniff and look for abnormal colors.

 

[Panhandler80]

Well, today was Day 5. Still no time to cook and leaving town tomorrow. Smelled like NOTHING. Want to respect these two birds. Went ahead and broke them down and put in freezer.

Really wanted to eat fresh, but gone for three days home for two to recoup amd then gone again. Upon second return I hope to have a bunch a tuna and other fish. Just had to freeze them. Did in quarters.