- Jan 17, 2009
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I slaughtered 3 roosters (my first attempt)....I don't remember exactly when....but my wife thinks they were about a year old. I was thinking 6 months...but she's likely right.
I took a hand hatchet and cut off their heads. It was harder than I thought. It took several swipes to get the head off and I felt bad about that. I'm considering trying to cut an artery next time to let them bleed out.
I hung them upside down from a tree branch to let the blood run out...but didn't really see any come out.
I was slow in trying to figure out how to get the skin off and the guts out. The birds got very stiff while working with them.
The meat was soooooo tough that it was barely any good even to stew. The legs wouldn't even cook. The breast meat was tough in the stew.
Questions:
I've heard adrenaline can ruin meat...did I do something wrong in slaughtering them that would have caused adrenaline to mess it up?
Was the rigor mortise an issue? Should I have been quicker or let them sit longer before freezing them?
Is there something I should do different in aging / processing? I've heard to let them sit in a pot of ice-water in the refrigerator overnight.
Or was the whole thing just an age issue and i'm reading too much into it?
Any tips on killing and having tender birds would be appreciated. The more the better!
I want to kill a turkey when he's old enough and want to make sure I do it right and have a good meal.
Thanks to all in advance!!!
Brian
I took a hand hatchet and cut off their heads. It was harder than I thought. It took several swipes to get the head off and I felt bad about that. I'm considering trying to cut an artery next time to let them bleed out.
I hung them upside down from a tree branch to let the blood run out...but didn't really see any come out.
I was slow in trying to figure out how to get the skin off and the guts out. The birds got very stiff while working with them.
The meat was soooooo tough that it was barely any good even to stew. The legs wouldn't even cook. The breast meat was tough in the stew.
Questions:
I've heard adrenaline can ruin meat...did I do something wrong in slaughtering them that would have caused adrenaline to mess it up?
Was the rigor mortise an issue? Should I have been quicker or let them sit longer before freezing them?
Is there something I should do different in aging / processing? I've heard to let them sit in a pot of ice-water in the refrigerator overnight.
Or was the whole thing just an age issue and i'm reading too much into it?
Any tips on killing and having tender birds would be appreciated. The more the better!
I want to kill a turkey when he's old enough and want to make sure I do it right and have a good meal.
Thanks to all in advance!!!
Brian