Are my roosters too old?

[mama24]

Coq a Vin is the traditional French way to eat an old mean rooster! LOL. I made that with my mean rooster last year and he was delicious!

 

[cjsgrlsx3]

I have to say we may a gumbo with one of my roosters the other day.......I wasn't very happy with the taste

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Those roosters will try and tell you they're too old and tough for eating, but don't believe a word they're saying. I agree with all of the above, rest at least 2-3 days, cook slow with some moisture, they should be fine. We've eaten roosters of that age and older and haven't found a tough one yet.

Older hens are supposed to be really flavorful and great when stewed or made into a long-simmering soup.

 

[Illia]

Yep, had plenty of 8-10 month old roosters and pullets, as long as you freeze them for more than 24 hours and slow cook them with some moisture, they're great! Never had a tough one.

I personally prefer to butcher my birds at 6-8 months, as I have moderate to slow maturing breeds, so the longer I wait the better.

 

[yinepu]

Yep, had plenty of 8-10 month old roosters and pullets, as long as you freeze them for more than 24 hours and slow cook them with some moisture, they're great! Never had a tough one.

I personally prefer to butcher my birds at 6-8 months, as I have moderate to slow maturing breeds, so the longer I wait the better.

X2

 

[FarmTillURdead]

In my opinion there is no such thing as a bird too old if you pressure cook it.
We free range our birds and do not clip wings. We also limit bag feed. They are very lean get TONS of exercise and are very tough unless pressure cooked or baked at 300 until they reach tempature (covered).
But hey - good healthy food is a bit different than those weird fat objects they put under plastic in the stores that have no taste or hard muscle to them at all. I want to eat lean animals so I remain lean also.
You are what you eat!

 

[LilyD]

I found a great recipe for roasting birds up to 12 months old
Roasting chickens were designed to be between the ages of 6 and 12 months of age here's how they say to cook them

Roasting Heritage Chickens
Heat oven to 180’. Rub chicken with desired seasonings. Place chicken in roasting pan on rack. Place ½ to 1 cup water in pan and cover. Cook chicken until meat starts to pull away from bone or meat thermometer read 170’, approximately 3 to 4 hours. Uncover chicken and turn heat up to 325’ and cook chicken for 20 to 30 minutes longer until golden brown.

There are a bunch of other recipes on there too hopefully it's helpful.