Barred rock processed

[Skydive Chicken]

Do you pluck the feathers before you put the bird in the fridge to "rest"? Do you dip him in hot water before plucking?

 

[itsy]

Quote:
You rest the bird after you completely process it. At that point - the bird's insides are all gone and the feathers are also gone. There's a sticky section at the top of this forum with some sections that will explain how to process a chicken.

Welcome to BYC

 

[grumred]

If you process a barred rock or probably any of your chickens over 6 months in age, they are most likely going to be tough. Try brining the bird over night. There are plenty of great brine recipes on the internet. Cornish crosses are great meat birds and should be processed between 6 and 7 weeks. If you wait any longer than that, they run a greater risk of broken legs (they are bred to have huge breasts) or heart attacks.
If your birds are free range, they are going to be leaner than cooped birds as they get a lot more exercise and eat less fatty items. The eggs will have bright yellow/orange yolks because of the higher protein content. As to a gamey taste, it depends on what they are eating. If they are eating a lot of weeds, yeah, I can see that. If they are eating mostly bugs and scratch, they shouldn't be gamey at all.