Are roosters appx. 13-14 weeks okay in flavor to eat?

[Kakaruk]

So, I guess I have given my position away: I have some chicks that now have started their real rooster phase - crowing, trying to get on the hens, etc. I am not going to keep them. While I've raised a lot of chickens and slaughtered many meat birds, I have not slaughtered and eaten roos at this age before. Are they too 'gamey' at this age to be delicious in a stew or a gumbo?

I just wanted to see what you all thought, thank you!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

The french used red wine and time (all day) on VERY old birds. The original Coq au Vin recipes called for birds far, far, far older than you will ever find in a grocery - literally males who are no longer fulfilling their productive duties. Take that as your guide.

The older the bird, the more (assuming you don't like the game notes, and it seems you don't) the method should involve strong flavors/spices. Gumbos, hearty stews (we aren't talking chicken and yellow rice or chicken noodle soup here - though the carcass is **fantastic** for stock), there are a tremendous number of middle eastern and Ethiopian dishes that will work. The more active the bird's life, the more you want to favor the pressure cooker, the stew pot, a long braise in the crock pot, etc to break down connective tissues. Again, gumbo, stew, doro wat, various curries, etc. Acids will help as well, whether wine, tomato, lemon, etc.

or go completely the opposite route, grind the meat and use it in a stir fry, egg roll, or similar where its been mechanically tenderized first - and end up a dish with an identifiable protein flavor.

In theory, since you don't like the breast, you could pound it flat (1/4-3/8"), tenderize it like a cube steak, pat dry, then flour, egg wash, season, bread, fry, and drench in gravy over mashed potato. Chicken fried chicken.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I was a kid Mom would fry the gizzards, no pre-boiling. They were pretty stringy but when you are feeding five kids with one bird you use it all and it gets eaten. I use the gizzard in my broth, slow cooked for a long time. When I pick the meat off the carcass to use in tacos, salads, or soup, I reward myself by eating the gizzards and heart. They make a nice snack.

 

[Birdielee]

it's the toughest muscle in the bird

Alternate use for gizzards: my mom used to give us gizzards for teethers. We have a photo of me or one of my siblings crawling around with a gizzard in our hand
apparently we liked them a lot

 

[3KillerBs]

I do use the feet and necks and backs for soup.

Those feet added to the carcass in a crockpot overnight make a stock that can be sliced once it's cold! I loved having that as an ingredient for all those recipes that want chicken broth or chicken bullion.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have found that the feet on my dual purpose birds are MUCH easier to skin than when I did Cornish Cross. I can only assume that a little more age made the skin thicker, thus easier to peel off. I tried to blanche and skin the CX feet and it just didn't go well at all and I ended up scrapping them. I, too, like them in stock.

I agree it is age. Might try blanching them for less time. How do you blanche them? How hot and how long? I bring water to a boil and drop the dual purpose feet in. 15 seconds later I dump them in the sink and cool then down. On older bids I can go 20 seconds but too long and they shred instead of peel. Claws and spurs twist off pretty easily.

 

[Molpet]

So the chicken enchiladas were delicious! But the amount of work from slaughtering the roosters, to brining, to roasting, deboneing, then backing enchilladas........ hhmm I'm not sure it was all worth it.

I bet they were bigger than quail... some people raise those for meat

 

[Molpet]

My goal is to harvest most heritage Cockerels around 16 weeks. They taste like a real chicken, not the mushy bland store bought stuff.
The Jersey giant take longer to fill out, I usually go about 6 months on those.
Roosters (over a year) have great flavor. I pressure cook those

A guy did a study, link is in my signature.

 

[NatJ]

I've eaten some roosters that were several years old. Flavor was fine, (but old roosters are really tough unless cooked for a LONG time in a pot of water.)

I wouldn't worry at all about the flavor of your cockerels. I notice you're already planning stew and gumbo, which should be good choices for birds the age of yours.

 

[3KillerBs]

They will be more chicken-y than the bland and mushy Cornish X from the grocery store.

When I had my in-town chickens I did my "packing peanuts" at about that age -- when they'd started to crow and scuffle. They weren't very meaty (probably production reds), but they made AWESOME chicken and rice and chicken pot pie.