Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[bruceh]

i meant that for the person having the issue, sorry no correction intented.

 

[wlhtx]

okay, i have processed a ;lot of birds.you and your husband are both right. can you eat a chicken right after slaughter.technically the answer is yes. if you do not know how to cook it right you are in for the toughest chicken you ever ate . you should let the bird go through a resting time. the resting time is when the rigor passes and the fibers of the meat become relaxed. it is recommended you let the chicken rest for min of 24 hrs. i let mine sit 2-3 days before i eat or freeze. the chicken we butcher is fresh so it will stay good for longer then one you purchase at a grocery store. tell your husband to butcher a bird and cook it like a normal bird you buy at a store. then you will win that argument. another trick to win the argument is the happy wife happy life guide for men.

.

Ha! I fully intend to have an "I told you so" moment with him tomorrow. To be fair, he is basing his opinion off of hunting deer where they kill one, skin it, then eat the backstrap around the campfire that same night. I kept telling him though that, as the one who spends an inordinate amount of time lurking on this forum, I was going to put my trust in the ones who have actually done this with a chicken - which we haven't. I THOUGHT there was some issue with the meat being much tougher than if you didn't let it rest first... Thank you!!!

 

[gryeyes]

If you are processing a bird older than six months, resting is probably necessary. If you are processing 9 week old Cornish cross "meaties" you do not have the problem with tough meat.

So.... Y'see, it's not "mandatory.". Just recommended, especially for older birds.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Ha! I fully intend to have an "I told you so" moment with him tomorrow.

To be fair, he is basing his opinion off of hunting deer where they kill one, skin it, then eat the backstrap around the campfire that same night. I kept telling him though that, as the one who spends an inordinate amount of time lurking on this forum, I was going to put my trust in the ones who have actually done this with a chicken - which we haven't. I THOUGHT there was some issue with the meat being much tougher than if you didn't let it rest first...

Thank you!!!

Enjoy that moment tomorrow

. Remind your husband that the backstrap of a deer is the equivalent of pork tenderloin and filet mignon. It is the most tender part of the entire deer. I bet a big slice of shoulder or thigh wouldn't be nearly as tender. The cool temperatures associated with hunting season would also slow down development of rigor mortis as well. I do so love the venison backstrap!

That said, with all of our discussions about letting the meat rest in the fridge I have considered what chicken must have tasted like and whether or not it was tender back in the days without refrigeration, when a chicken would be killed and then cooked the same day. So I asked my 82 year old father-in-law about chickens in his youth. He said that his mother would go out with him, look over the flock, point to a specific chicken and tell him to "catch that one right there". I suspect she was pointing out the cockerels to him, because he said the Leghorn sure didn't have much meat. I asked him about the timetable of the whole process. He said she would wring its neck, hang it, pluck it, gut it, take it inside wash it off, cut it up, bread it and put it in a hot iron skillet within 30-45 minutes. He said the meat wasn't tough, either.

I believe I read somewhere that, in chickens, full rigor mortis sets in between 1/2 hour to 2 hours, depending on temperature. So perhaps that would explain why my father-in-law's mother had tender chicken, even though it was fresh.

 

[wlhtx]

Enjoy that moment tomorrow

That said, with all of our discussions about letting the meat rest in the fridge I have considered what chicken must have tasted like and whether or not it was tender back in the days without refrigeration, when a chicken would be killed and then cooked the same day.

This right here was part (b) of my husband's argument. With no refrigeration back then, how would they have rested them? If the processing-to-dinner table timeline was that short, then that would make a lot of sense.

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Okay - someone please clarify the following for me because my husband and I are currently in a "discussion" about this and I don't have the patience at the moment to research the answer...

Is it mandatory (as in very heavily advised) to rest the chickens for a day or more after you process them before you eat them? Or can you eat one same day as processing?

I can tell you from experience, rest the bird.

I just processed my first three birds a few weeks ago. The first one was a week prior to the other two. They were all 17 then 18 week old Barred Rock cockerels.

The first one, Boring Boy (yes I name my chickens...but it doesn't effect me) I allowed to rest for two days in the fridge. I also brined him. He was tender.

Chicken number two, Brave Boy, I culled and ate the same day. No resting, no brine, and cooked the same way as bird 1. Tough isn't the word I would use...CHEWY would be. Every part of him was chewy. Not tender. He did not taste good at all. I guess tough is the word everyone uses for chewy.

Bird 3, Pixie, rested in the fridge for 3 days, no brine. He was tender, but not as flavorful as the first bird I processed.

So, tell your hubby "Sure, Babe, we can eat him the same day. Hope your jaw is up for the task, though, cuz it's gonna be chewy!"

 

[ronott1]

This right here was part (b) of my husband's argument. With no refrigeration back then, how would they have rested them? If the processing-to-dinner table timeline was that short, then that would make a lot of sense.

In the old days, they had coolers that used blocks of Ice. It was a big business too. Look up pictures of Ice delivery wagons and trucks.

Here in California, Ice was cut from lake tahoe and taken to ice storage warehouses by Sacramento.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Colt is also a very practical child. He'll be 7 in a couple weeks, and he had no qualms shooting a deer last year, shooting turtles, going fishing, etc.

I'm sorry and I know this is off topic, but why would you allow your son to just randomly shoot and kill turtles? Turtles are having a lot of trouble surviving in the wild. Part of the problem is that they are killed on the roads as they cross to find a place to lay eggs. A university biology student recently did a study on turtle deaths and highways and used a fake turtle on the road. He found that a significant number of people intentionally tried to hit the turtles. I find it abhorrent that anyone would just randomly kill any animal for no reason other than they are there. Did you eat the turtles? Even snapping turtles have a place in the ecosystem.

 

[chicksooner]

I'm sorry and I know this is off topic, but why would you allow your son to just randomly shoot and kill turtles? Turtles are having a lot of trouble surviving in the wild. Part of the problem is that they are killed on the roads as they cross to find a place to lay eggs. A university biology student recently did a study on turtle deaths and highways and used a fake turtle on the road. He found that a significant number of people intentionally tried to hit the turtles. I find it abhorrent that anyone would just randomly kill any animal for no reason other than they are there. Did you eat the turtles? Even snapping turtles have a place in the ecosystem.

We shoot turtles in our ponds because they will destroy a pond if left unchecked. They will kill off the fish. Of course they have their place in the ecosystem but even mother nature has a way of keeping everything in balance. Keeping turtles under control is part of maintaining a healthy pond ecosystem.

Why do you feel the need to keep attacking this person?

 

[Flowers of Abba]

In the old days, they had coolers that used blocks of Ice. It was a big business too. Look up pictures of Ice delivery wagons and trucks.

Here in California, Ice was cut from lake tahoe and taken to ice storage warehouses by Sacramento.

That is quite an effort to refrigerate ! This year the heat wave is weird as the nights have been very crisp. No frost though. (Yet) I remember first moving to Tahoe from san Jose and the wonder of a completely new world led to a lifetime of silly newbie stories. Running from clouds of pollen, freaking out over unidentifiable bugs but mostly getting a grip on being prepared for unpredictable weather. Almost year round mornings are " refrigerated " temps.

Question: how long can we rest the chicken in the fridge? He is still totally stiff and it looks funky?