Against the odds hatching thread (with pictures and questions)

[UThobbyfarmer]

Thanks! The chick was 10 weeks old exactly. What do you mean rest the carcass? With the exception of the cone and the wire cutters (my improvements), all the rest of it I did the way I used to do it back in the day, the way grandma taught me Chicken processing was a chore for the kids back then. I let it bleed out for a few minutes, then scalded, plucked, singed (to burn the little hairs off that are hard to pick - this step also gives it a very nice smoky scent that I really missed), then gutted, cut it all up and threw it in the pressure cooker - head and feet and everything. The soup was delicious, just like how I remembered it! The meat was gamier than store-bought chickens, understandably, because this guy had an active life and used his muscles more. But the pressure cooker took care of that and it was fine. The chicken was small, but not too small to be worth cooking at all. The 4 of us had a good dinner yesterday and there's some left over, too. If the next one to crow is an Orpington, we'll have a lot more because those are HUGE compared to this Barnevelder guy.

It means to rest the carcass a few days after processing before eating. It must be allowed it to go through rigor mortis and become tender again.

The other way to do it is like Grandma and you did, eat it immediately. Everything about a rooster is improved with a pressure cooker. That's my "secret" to tasty roos.

You do NOT want to try cooking, freezing or preserving meat that has not been rested properly. It will be incredibly tough and unpleasant.

 

[K0k0shka]

It means to rest the carcass a few days after processing before eating. It must be allowed it to go through rigor mortis and become tender again.

The other way to do it is like Grandma and you did, eat it immediately. Everything about a rooster is improved with a pressure cooker. That's my "secret" to tasty roos.

You do NOT want to try cooking, freezing or preserving meat that has not been rested properly. It will be incredibly tough and unpleasant.

Oh... I’ve never heard of resting the meat. We used to either eat them right away, or freeze them for later. Interesting. I can try it next time. This chicken’s meat was just fine.

 

[aart]

Oh... I’ve never heard of resting the meat. We used to either eat them right away, or freeze them for later. Interesting. I can try it next time. This chicken’s meat was just fine.

At 10 weeks it might not matter.
First cockerel I slaughtered was about 10 months old and came out like shoe leather due to not resting the carcass. Now I always rest before freezing or cooking, it has made a huge differece.

 

[K0k0shka]

At 10 weeks it might not matter.
First cockerel I slaughtered was about 10 months old and came out like shoe leather due to not resting the carcass. Now I always rest before freezing or cooking, it has made a huge differece.

Mine probably won’t live that long, but now I’m curious so I’ll try it. We used to always pressure cook the older birds (including retired old layers). Soups, stews, etc. The younger ones were fine roasted, too.

 

[aart]

Mine probably won’t live that long, but now I’m curious so I’ll try it. We used to always pressure cook the older birds (including retired old layers). Soups, stews, etc. The younger ones were fine roasted, too.

I usually slaughter cockerels at about 14-16 weeks, tender enough to grill but still better with a carcass rest of 2-3 days.
Old(30-42 months) hens get rested 3-4 days, even with pressure cooking it makes a difference in the toothsomeness of the meat.
Found a huger difference in butchering fresh turkeys into parts,
let them rest 4-5 days and they are much easier to part out and more tender after cooking. So regardless of anyone's grandma, I let my carcasses and parts rest in the fridge before freezing or cooking.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

We made the mistake of not resting our first birds. Made a big difference. Not in the good way. It was heartbreaking to have put so much effort into growing and processing then get cringe worthy meat quality.

Age definitely plays a factor. Aart already summed that up perfectly. Younger the bird the more forgiving. Most birds are improved significantly by a few days in the fridge before freezing or eating.

 

[K0k0shka]

Alright, you both really got me curious now so I'll definitely try it next time. It makes sense, so I wonder why I'm only hearing about it now. I do remember having to cook the sh** out of older chickens in the pressure cooker, but nothing cringe worthy. I wonder how much of a difference it will make for a young chicken. Otherwise I hope at least one of my boys lives long enough for me to test this on an older chicken, because I really am very curious now!

 

[aart]

We made the mistake of not resting our first birds.

What birds were they...a batch of CX ...or....?

 

[K0k0shka]

I haven't gotten around to updating my build thread any further, but I did just put in a massive effort and put together a coop article with tons of photos and information on how I did everything. If anybody is interested, you can find it here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-blue-house-coop.75831/

I'm very happy with how the coop and the run turned out, and the chickens seem to really like it, too!

 

[em_dawson]

I haven't gotten around to updating my build thread any further, but I did just put in a massive effort and put together a coop article with tons of photos and information on how I did everything. If anybody is interested, you can find it here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-blue-house-coop.75831/

I'm very happy with how the coop and the run turned out, and the chickens seem to really like it, too!

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It's gorgeous!! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm jealous of your chickens! You did an awesome job!