Answer to the Question, "What do you do with an annoying (delicious) Rooster?"
Here is how I used to take care of my roosters. It is pretty quick once you get over the reluctance to kill a rooster you have raised from a chick.Step one: boil a pot of water, a water bath canner is a good size. Find a 5-gal bucket and a wire coat hanger. Cut the coat hanger on the bottom side so that you can tie it to the bucket handle, leave the hooked end for the beak. Put water or dirt in the bucket, or if you have dogs, put kibble in the bucket. You want it heavy enough to hold the rooster still, ~5 lbs is fine. If you have a cooler, put some ice in it 1/2 full. If not the fridge is OK.
Step two: Hang a rope over a rafter in the garage, one end a slip knot one end tied down.
(20 minutes prep time).
Step three: Rooster feet in slip knot noose, hook the coat hanger to the outside of the lower beak.
Step four: Cut the side of the neck of the rooster, right next to the beak. (Use the sharpest knife you have. If you do not have a sharp steak knife, use an exacto knife or a razor blade). Let bleed until no more blood is flowing. Painless to the bird, wont even squawk. The wings will flap, that is normal. ~Five minutes.
Step Five: Dunk the bird in the hot water, holding it by the feet. The water should be just starting to show bubbles on the side of the pot, not boiling yet. (You can put a couple of drops of dish detergent to help get the feathers wet). Swish him up and down a little. (If you want to be fancy, a thermometer should read ~140-150). You should be able to put you hand in the water, but not able to leave it over a couple of seconds. You hand will be red if you test this way!
Step six: Pull off the feathers -- dunk again if the feathers aren't easy to pull. Another 5 minutes.
Your bird is now ready to go in a cooler with some ice. After a couple of hours, it is time to gut him. If you have gutted a fish, you know what to do.
The only difference is that a bird has an oil gland on the top of the tail to cut off. Just cut down the center, and reach in, grab something that feels hard and round. That is the heart and gizzard, just grab and pull out the guts. Don't cut the skin too deep and nick the intestine with your knife. A small bird, you can cut in half down the spine. Some people use scissors this, but I use my little knife for everything. That makes it really easy to clean out all the small bits remaining. BBQ 1/2 of a young bird, it is just the right serving size for one person. For a larger bird, your hand will fit inside better. If you have ever bought a whole chicken at the store, you know how to cut it up from here; if not then I hear YouTube is the answer to every question! The point is that this is simple, just do it!
A lot of people wonder, now what? Cool the bird in the cooler on the ice after you give him a nice final rinse. You want to get the meat under 40 degrees A.S.A.P. to keep it fresh. If you only have one 5 pound or less bird, just put him in the refrigerator the way you would a chicken from the store. If you have a large bird or a lot of them, your frig might not be able to cool the meat down fast enough to prevent bacteria from growing. (That is why I used a large cooler, I was doing 15 large Cornish-X). Keep your bird refrigerated for 2-3 days before you eat him, aging will tenderize the meat.
If you do not want to eat the skin, it is a lot easier, stop at step #4 and skin him. If he is 12-14 weeks old he is young enough to fry, KFC style, but I like them baked in a small roaster. In a roaster with a lid, leave the cover on until the last 1/2 hour and remove the lid to brown. With the skin on, it gets nice and crispy! YUM!This is my small chicken-sized roasting pan. It is about 12 inches inside, a five pound chicken fills it nicely.
I like it because the lid is heavy, so it keeps in the juices. Old roasters are the heaviest. I got this one at an estate sale. If you let your CX go too long, they will be very large. At 12 weeks (~4 months) mine were over 10 pounds dressed out. They could not walk very well, some had swollen joints. Those would not fit in this pan.
Here is a photo of my chicken killing knife. I have a small one with a rounded tip for skinning, but this one is all you need to do a good job. Simple, do not make it harder by over thinking! It will only take about an hour for your first time butchering your delicious cockerel.
Enjoy your delicious home-grown chicken dinner!
