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!

 

[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.

 

[K0k0shka]

I recently ate two at around 10 weeks old (started crowing). They were delicious! One made a pressure cooker soup, and the other a sous vide roast. Everything but the breast was tender and very flavorful. The breast... Well, I don’t like the breast on any kind of bird, so I’m biased.

 

[Mosey2003]

That's plenty young, they'll be fine.

 

[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.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We all have our own personal preferences as far as flavor and texture. As chickens age they gain flavor and texture. If the Cornish X butchered at 6 to 8 weeks is your point of reference you may or may not like those differences.

This happens to pullets too but much slower than cockerels. When the cockerels hit puberty the hormones start to make a difference. at 14 weeks it won't be much. My preferred butcher age is 23 weeks, it is noticeable then for sure.

You can make a tender gourmet meal out of a rooster several years old, as tough and gamey as you can get. Coq au Vin is one way to do that. Hunters cook turkey, pheasant, ducks, and such regardless of how old and tough they are. You just have to know how to cook them.

At 14 weeks old you still have a lot of options on how to cook a cockerel. If you age them properly to avoid rigor mortis they can be really tender and the flavor should not be that strong at all. With a good gumbo you probably won't even notice. With a stew, well how are you going to season it? With the right herbs, spices, and flavorings you should not notice.

 

[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.

 

[Parront]

That is plenty young. Depending on the breed, they will be ~2 pounds or so dressed. You could even still put them on the BBQ grill if you split them in half and par-boil them for 3 minutes first. I like pineapple as a tenderizer in a pineapple-teriyaki type marinade, too. I would not call the flavor gamy, more chickeny is what I would describe it as. You do not need a chicken bouillon cube in the chicken soup you make with your own birds!

 

[Parront]

In my signature, there is an article with pressure cooker fried chicken I like for a bird ~16 weeks old.