A Bielefelder Thread !

[DesertChic]

maybe you are not hungry enough yet for rooster supper? Get em while they are still tender? Sorry, I didn't resist temptation. Grins

The problem is I can make any bird come out of the oven nice and tender. I roast at least one chicken per week.

 

[bluejean55girl]

The problem is I can make any bird come out of the oven nice and tender. I roast at least one chicken per week. 

that's a valuable talent. One a week? You have a pretty good sized flock. I'm impressed!

 

[Sylvester017]

They swore that is what they were.. and I saw the Roo(a beast! deepest voice I have ever heard too!) and a few hen's.. from what I can tell searching images at least those were the real McCoy.. but the blacks, well I am curious what they are mixed with! They definitely have a more high strung personalities then the tan's. Regardless, hope they grow out nice! From what I have been reading they are a terrific breed. We are new to chickens last year so still trying to figure out which breed we prefer. Thanks for the feedback!

There is always something nice and not nice about every chicken breed. I cycled through 13 chickens in 5 years to finally get down to the 3 or 4 breeds that fit my particular needs/requirements. My first motivation was a colorful egg basket until I realized that certain different egg color breeds were not compatible with other breeds, that some LF breeds are too pushy around lighterweight LF or bantam breeds, that having a compatible docile flock was ultimately more important to us than having a lot of different colored eggs or a lot of different unusual chicken breeds. Once you decide what works best for you there might be some culling or re-homing of chickens before you decide on the one breed you like or the one mixed flock you like. Things will work out - I think most of us have been there, done that, and I wouldn't trade a minute of all the experiences we went through to find our "perfect" flock. My friend needed a larger good-laying flock while I wanted a smaller human-friendly pet flock with not so many egg layers.

 

[Red Banks]

The problem is I can make any bird come out of the oven nice and tender. I roast at least one chicken per week.

Please tell me how you do this. My sister swears killing roosters isn't worth it. Says they are tough and have no meat on their bones.

 

[Sylvester017]

For culling my unruly roosters I drive to the next inspected butcher or ask our animal welfare manager to do it. The butcher is a 15 min drive and charges 50 cents per chicken , pucking, gutting and air cooling included. I could have done a workshop on butchering for my flock, but no.... 50 cents are okay.I get all paper work and vaccination stuff done by the breeders club for 15 euros a year. If you own horses,cows, sheeps, goats, pigs or chickens as hobby, you are heavily invited by the local farmers assoiaction and the ministry for agriculture to take part in workshops for good husbandry. You can take workshops on animal health, animal care, breeding managment, claw trimming, sheep shearing... oh and chees making or you join a breeders club. I joined the club but maybe next summer I will take a workshop on chees making. Maybe some day I will have a sweet Dexter or a small Jersey...... and the costs are tax deducible b/c I own livestock, not the one you can milk, but still it is livestock.

In Los Angeles County our nearest private person processor charges $5.00 US dollars per chicken butchered, plucked, and ultimately packaged with giblets, feet, and neck, returned with the packaged bird. 50 cents would be a BARGAIN here!

 

[Red Banks]

In Los Angeles County our nearest private person processor charges $5.00 US dollars per chicken butchered, plucked, and ultimately packaged with giblets, feet, and neck, returned with the packaged bird. 50 cents would be a BARGAIN here!

50 cents would be a bargain anywhere! I can't imagine anyone doing that job for 50 cents.....

 

[Sylvester017]

Please tell me how you do this. My sister swears killing roosters isn't worth it. Says they are tough and have no meat on their bones.

On the farm my folks processed Leghorns which you know are not meat birds. We used one chicken which was enough for 3 of us. If the bird was old or lean, Mom made soup of it, and as for roasting, she put carrots, potatoes, and celery in a covered roaster with the bird and roasted on a slow low heat in the oven for a couple hours at about 250 to 300 F maximum. Low slow heat makes the meat tender and the veggies in the roaster absorb the flavor of the meat juices. It's how we roast our holiday turkey meat today - long, slow, low roaster heat.

 

[Red Banks]

On the farm my folks processed Leghorns which you know are not meat birds. We used one chicken which was enough for 3 of us. If the bird was old or lean, Mom made soup of it, and as for roasting, she put carrots, potatoes, and celery in a covered roaster with the bird and roasted on a slow low heat in the oven for a couple hours at about 250 to 300 F maximum. Low slow heat makes the meat tender and the veggies in the roaster absorb the flavor of the meat juices. It's how we roast our holiday turkey meat today - long, slow, low roaster heat.

Sounds good!

 

[DesertChic]

Please tell me how you do this. My sister swears killing roosters isn't worth it. Says they are tough and have no meat on their bones.

Okay...here's one of my favorite recipes. The trick is low and slow...

My Favorite Roast Chicken Recipe

Okay....you have to thoroughly salt and pepper the inside and outside of a dry heritage 5-lb chicken and let it air dry in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Take the chicken out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes prior to roasting so it can reach room temperature. Preheat the oven to 250 °F.

Stuff the chicken with lemon quarters, a bunch of fresh thyme, and 1 head of garlic that you’ve separated into cloves, but left the papery skin on. Put the stuffed bird breast-side up in your chosen roasting pan or rack with the feet facing the rear of the oven and roast for 3 hours or until the bird reaches an internal temp of 155°F.

Close to the end of the roasting period, mix 2 TBSP raw honey with ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and 1 cup fruity white wine in a small saucepan and heat enough to allow the honey to melt into the other liquids.

Remove the chicken from the oven and increase the temp to 475 °F. Separate about 3 TBSP of your honey wine mixture from the pan and brush or pour it over the chicken, and then return the chicken to the hotter oven for another 10 minutes or until the skin is thoroughly browned.

Remove the chicken and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving. Meanwhile, cook down the remaining sauce mixture until it’s slightly syrupy.

Carve up your chicken and pour the sauce over each serving. If you want you can squeeze some of the lemon quarters or smear some of the garlic cloves on the chicken as well. DELISH!


I've also substituted oranges for the lemons and turned the wine into a 1/2 cup orange juice + 1/2 cup fruity white wine mimosa. REALLY good orange chicken. The meat just falls off the bone and the sauce is stellar.

 

[Sylvester017]

On the farm my folks processed Leghorns which you know are not meat birds. We used one chicken which was enough for 3 of us. If the bird was old or lean, Mom made soup of it, and as for roasting, she put carrots, potatoes, and celery in a covered roaster with the bird and roasted on a slow low heat in the oven for a couple hours at about 250 to 300 F maximum. Low slow heat makes the meat tender and the veggies in the roaster absorb the flavor of the meat juices. It's how we roast our holiday turkey meat today - long, slow, low roaster heat.

Sounds good!

I'm getting hungry!