Aging old hens for tenderness !!!!!IT WORKED!!!!!Post 9

[PaulaJoAnne]

I had a post a while back, on how we tested the aging method for old stewing hens.
We did the minimum days recommended for this method on one test bird, and it was not quite enough.
Still hard to pluck, and after roasting, we found it had to be stewed anyways.

The goal is to tendrize them, in much the same way you would a game bird, and allow for easy dry plucking.

This week, we were trying to figure out who was causing our egg numbers to drop all the way down to 9, rather then over 20.
Well, I found her, and she is now cooling her heals in jail.
In a bit, I will go out and select 4 more that are no longer laying but once per week, and add them to the jail house.

We will bleed and gut these hens, and then hang them in an old fridge we have, so I can regulate the temps properly.
On day 6, they should be ready to pluck.
I will update with more on the how toos of this second experiment.

Update in post 9!

 

[ScoobyRoo]

I would greatly appreciate your updated reports. I'm one that really cant have freeloaders here.

Excess roos go in the freezer. We are going on our 3rd year with chickens and I know that time will come soon that the older hens will go to freezer camp. Knowing what is the best way to process and end up with tender meat would be great. Otherwise, I tend to breast them (roos only, have not done a hen yet) out and make stock with the rest. I will be subscribing to this topic.
Thanks PJA

 

[silkiechicken]

Good luck! I personally would pluck and gut all the way to a "finished" product before letting to hang and age. Along with meat getting "tender", so would any tissue including the linings keeping the guts in which would seep out into the cavity (not to mention the bacterial load inside escaping) and the skin holding the feathers which will make it hard to pluck. But at any rate, everyone has their own methods.

In an older hen, there is going to be a higher percentage of collagen in the muscle fibers and tissues, with an increased amount of bone mass in the skeletal system that comes with age. Even if aged a week, I wouldn't be too shocked to find the meat may be stringy due to the tight bundles that form at adulthood not present in the tissues of younger birds.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
We're not trying anything new here. This is an age old method for games birds, that is tried and true. I have just never seen it written about with chickens.

What would make the bacteria load any different?

 

[silkiechicken]

I'm sure it's fine as long as you know what you are doing. I know back in china my mom never had a refrigerator and they would eat meat sitting out in hot summers a day or two later without getting sick. Healthy people can eat a bit of bacteria and good stuff without issue, just probably a good for newbies to try "lower risk" ways before digging into getting optimal hanging temps and such.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

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Optimal temps are easy. Hang in empty fridge set at 40 degrees

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Today is day six! We will know by morning if this is helps those tough old biddies!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Maybe you missed this part:

Quote:
I'm interested in whether the long hang time will make them easy to pluck. If it doesn't, then I'd rather process as usual, then hang for a week.

Paula, when you say you hang them, you literally mean they are dangling from something inside the fridge, right? My question is how do you hang them, and why hanging to age, rather than in a pan or bowl or whatever? Do you have a rack or something you put in the top of the fridge to hang them from?

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

So, The 3 year old hen aged for 6 days, at 40 degrees. I roasted it this evening, and not knowing what to expect, was pleasantly shocked to find it to be so very good!!

Here is the process.
Choose an old hen that is no longer laying. Keep her off feed for 12-24 hours.
Bleed and gut, removing the crop as well. Rub the inside out with a dry cloth. NEVER get the carcass wet. That is what invites problems.
Hang by feet in a place that can maintain 40 degrees. A small fridge works well.
Hang for 6 full days.
Now, it is very important to pluck the bird dry. Never dip it, as per normal procedures.
When pulling feathers, take a bit of care, so as to not rip the skin.
We found that even though this is a bit slow, if you are only doing one or two hens at a time, it is very doable.
We also found, that it is easier to remove the wing tips, because the big wing feathers do not come loose, no matter what.
So just clip off the tips. Really no loss, as there is no meat on them anyways.

After singing the fine hairs off, I rinsed the whole bird well, and after draining it, I set it in the fridge overnight.
Today, I rubbed, paprika, black pepper, sea salt and sage all over the chicken, and then cooked it in our cook smoker until the breast meat registered 160 degrees.
Results?
The leg and thigh meat, will still have some bite to it, but it will not be stringy. The breast meat will be moist and succulent!!!

We will be emplying this method from now on. But, as I mentioned above, due to it taking a little bit of extra time to pluck, we will do one or two at a time.
Well worth it though.

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

Quote:
Maybe you missed this part:

Quote:
I'm interested in whether the long hang time will make them easy to pluck. If it doesn't, then I'd rather process as usual, then hang for a week.

Paula, when you say you hang them, you literally mean they are dangling from something inside the fridge, right? My question is how do you hang them, and why hanging to age, rather than in a pan or bowl or whatever? Do you have a rack or something you put in the top of the fridge to hang them from?

If you lay the bird down in a bowl, you creat a place for stuff to pool and bacteria to grow.
Google a bit about hanging game birds to age. Its a fascinating study, and as we found, a process worth doing.

As to how to hang, just tie the legs together with some string, and hang by the string. You want air movement arond the whole carcass.
This is really no different then aging red meat.