Heritage Meat Birds

[TheRealCliffordWilliams]

Hello!

I am wondering if anyone here has raised any heritage dual purpose breeds as meat birds?

I just got 9 Delawares, 15 Buff Orpingtons and a Light Brahma to raise as meat birds. I know they are much slower growing and more expensive than Cornish X or the Rangers, but as a former chef, I really want to try a heritage chicken for the first time and see how it compares. I also like the idea of being able to hatch my own meat birds in the future, and will be keeping an Orpington rooster, some Orpington hens, as well as a Barred Rock and a Brahma hen.

Has anyone raised heritage breeds for meat? Any tips, tricks or advice for a relative newbie? What feed schedule worked for you (did you use high protein broiler feed)? What breed did you raise? What age did you slaughter at? Did you cure the meat before freezing? What was the carcass weight, and how was the meat?!?!

Thanks for reading and replying! I'm excited to hear how this has gone for others!

 

[Molpet]

In my signature is a link to a guy that did a study on a few heritage hatchery.
I process at 16 weeks. Rest a couple days. Hatchery dress 3 1/2 to 4 lbs
I kept a CX pullet restricted diet and exercise long enough to get a few eggs. Used her cockerels to breed to my mixed flock. F3 generation cockerels dress out 5 to 7 LBS

 

[TheRealCliffordWilliams]

Thanks for the reply!

That's a very interesting study. I'm pleased that the breeds I have (except brahma) were included, and am not surprised that hatchery heritage birds are not the most profitable.

That's super cool what you've done crossing the CX. I've wondered about experimenting with the possible crosses - I'm planning on keeping an orpington roo so I could have Orpington Rock crosses; Brahma crosses, maybe even delaware crosses...

How do you rest the meat? Just in a bag in the refrigerator? Do you salt it, or include paper towels/other absorbant? I've heard of some facilities hanging the birds for several days just below 40F prior to evisceration/plucking, but I'm definitely not set up for that!

 

[Ridgerunner]

My rules on aging are:

You age until Rigor Mortis has passed. That is not a set time, it can vary by bird. Your test if it is ready but wiggling a joint or the meat if you cut it into pieces first. If you feel any stiffness it is not ready.

It needs to be kept cool enough that bacteria can't grow. That's generally in a refrigerator or ice chest. What you read about hanging birds is often used with game birds like pheasant. Temperature is very important with that process plus you generally don't know the age of a game bird you just shot. That aging tenderizes the meat. especially if it is an old male. It's a method I would not try without some real clear guidance.

You are dealing with raw meat. Don't contaminate other foods or areas.

That's basically it. There are a lot of variations in these. Some age the meat in water, some use a "dry" aging, for example. Aging is to get past rigor mortis.

Brining is when you soak it in a salty solution. You can add salt flavor anytime during the process, that's not the purpose of brining though it is a result. Brining causes the meat to hold moisture. If you cook it with a wet method that's not very important but if you cook it with a dry method it can greatly improve the product. That's why the meat you buy at the store is generally brined. When that meat is fried or grilled the extra moisture helps.

Another process is marinading. You can use those to add flavors but the real reason marinades were developed was to tenderize tough meat from older birds. Marinades should be acid based, usually vinegar or wine. The acid breaks down fiber in the meat, which tenderizes it. The stronger the acid and the longer it is marinaded the more it breaks fiber down. That's not that important on the meat from the store, that's so tender to start with marinading it too long might turn it mushy. But for older meat with more texture it can really help.

 

[Morrigan]

In my signature is a link to a guy that did a study on a few heritage hatchery.
I process at 16 weeks. Rest a couple days. Hatchery dress 3 1/2 to 4 lbs
I kept a CX pullet restricted diet and exercise long enough to get a few eggs. Used her cockerels to breed to my mixed flock. F3 generation cockerels dress out 5 to 7 LBS

Remind me, what breed was the rooster you originally bred with your held-over CX hen? Also, did you have any issues with your first generation CX-mix cockerels being too heavy for the hens you are breeding them with?

 

[MomJones]

I have switched to Light Brahmas. Big heritage dual purpose birds that make excellent dinners I love them. Plus they're calmer than the other breeds.

 

[Molpet]

Remind me, what breed was the rooster you originally bred with your held-over CX hen? Also, did you have any issues with your first generation CX-mix cockerels being too heavy for the hens you are breeding them with?

He was an unknown barnyard mix I got for free off FB. I got 2 brothers to see if I could train the dog to leave chickens alone before I got hens. Which I did. The other brother wasn't as meaty so he went to freezer camp.

The first generation cockerels didn't have any troubles until about 2 yrs old. The one I used for breeding first lived to about 18 months. The one that was tearing up the girls went to freezer camp at 2 yrs, but it could have been because the girls didn't like him and ran.
the last one died at 2 1/2yrs and didn't have any troubles mating

 

[TheRealCliffordWilliams]

My rules on aging are:

You age until Rigor Mortis has passed. That is not a set time, it can vary by bird. Your test if it is ready but wiggling a joint or the meat if you cut it into pieces first. If you feel any stiffness it is not ready.

It needs to be kept cool enough that bacteria can't grow. That's generally in a refrigerator or ice chest. What you read about hanging birds is often used with game birds like pheasant. Temperature is very important with that process plus you generally don't know the age of a game bird you just shot. That aging tenderizes the meat. especially if it is an old male. It's a method I would not try without some real clear guidance.

You are dealing with raw meat. Don't contaminate other foods or areas.

That's basically it. There are a lot of variations in these. Some age the meat in water, some use a "dry" aging, for example. Aging is to get past rigor mortis.

Brining is when you soak it in a salty solution. You can add salt flavor anytime during the process, that's not the purpose of brining though it is a result. Brining causes the meat to hold moisture. If you cook it with a wet method that's not very important but if you cook it with a dry method it can greatly improve the product. That's why the meat you buy at the store is generally brined. When that meat is fried or grilled the extra moisture helps.

Another process is marinading. You can use those to add flavors but the real reason marinades were developed was to tenderize tough meat from older birds. Marinades should be acid based, usually vinegar or wine. The acid breaks down fiber in the meat, which tenderizes it. The stronger the acid and the longer it is marinaded the more it breaks fiber down. That's not that important on the meat from the store, that's so tender to start with marinading it too long might turn it mushy. But for older meat with more texture it can really help.

Thank you, I greatly appreciate your thoughtful reply. In my search to learn more about this I came across a youtube channel GugaFoods where he dry ages...everything

I think my plan is to bag the plucked eviscerated carcasses and refrigerate them for a few days, then if any of them don't fit in the freezer I will salt and smoke them.
I did find (through gugafoods, i think) these cool bags made from some selectively permeable membrane so that you can dry age in your fridge without any mess or smell (or so they say):
https://umaidry.com/products/umai-dry-aged-steak-artisan-meat-pack-ribeye-striploin
I may have to try that with the pigs we will butcher in the fall! Or maybe even an old turkey!

I am looking at these Delaware roosters getting big and fat and thinking I may be able to eat one on 4th of July. Maybe a 1st of July slaughter...?

 

[Parront]

I will be interested in seeing how those Delawares are for you. I have grown and eaten Orpingtons, which seemed to me to be tasty but small. I processed them ~ when they started to crow to sometimes 6 months. If your 4th of July plans include grilling them, you probably want to process them young. They will keep a week in the frig easily before you cook them. When they start crowing, the hormones are raging and start to make them tougher. It takes a little practice to find out how you like them. If they are starting to look good to you, why not try a young one now!

 

[Ruthster55]

First go-around...butcher whichever roo is the most annoying....

With heritage birds, I prefer to pluck, eviscerate, usually cut into pieces. Then I put them in the refrigerator overnight in a stainless steel pot along with the brine or marinade of choice.

Buttemilk works really well, but even just milk with a bit of lemon juice works, too. You could even put some herbs or seasonings in with that.

I wouldn’t ever just throw a heritage roo in the fridge with nothing. Needs to be brined or marinaded and needs to be in a container.

Generally butcher around 14-16 weeks or around the first crow....definitely try one for the 4th.

You will find more leg meat in proportion to breast meat, but a deeper flavor.

With heritage birds, you can just harvest one or two at a time. You don’t have the situation you would have with Cornish Cross where they all need to be butchered at nearly the same time because they become unhealthy.

Try one and see how it tastes and whether there was enough meat.

When you butcher your roo, pay close attention to the differences between it and an 8-week-old commercial chicken.