Best way to cook fresh chicken?

[Nicole01]

My husband and I just culled and processed a hen that was an internal layer on Saturday. I'm cooking the whole chicken and wondering what the best way is.

Should I grill, oven roast or crockpot? The hen was just over a year old and weighs about 4-5 pounds right now.

Thanks.

 

[arabianequine]

Soup

 

[Zanna]

Crock pot works well, paprika, salt, pepper, wine of choice (I like Marsala), carrots, potatoes, insta dinner in about 6 hours and nice tender chicken!

 

[AZBootsie]

Crock pot works well, paprika, salt, pepper, wine of choice (I like Marsala), carrots, potatoes, insta dinner in about 6 hours and nice tender chicken!

That sounds great....gonna give it a try!!

 

[Nicole01]

I'll crockpot the chicken today. Therefor, I will not have to turn on the house air conditioner. It's going to be in the 80's, turning on the oven will make it hot in here. I'll probably take most of the skin off before throwing it in. This is how I cook crockpot chicken. There's enough fat in the dark meat to keep it tasteful, plus the seasoning.

The kids will have chicken nuggets. I don't think they are ready to eat a chicken we raised for a year.lol my youngest(9) had to look at her insides. She actually went in the garbage can and opened the bag. I guess she was curious. We did this without the kids looking.

 

[bigmike&nan]

Think about it a minute - like any meat that has been processed it is best to let it rest refrigerated for two days after you have culled/cleaned it out. On the 3rd day it will be ready to eat. Then serve it up any old way after. Look around on Yahoo to understand the technical aspect of it all a little better.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/livestocksystems/components/0701a.html

 

[Oregon Blues]

She's an older hen, so would benefit from slow cooking.

Chicken needs to be rested until rigor passes. 1-2 days in the fridge before cooking.

I like chicken simmered all day in the crock pot with a can of enchilada sauce poured over it. It's then taken out, the meat stripped off the bones, and used to make enchiladas or tacos.

 

[Nicole01]

Oops, I thought today would be fine since we did it early Saturday. It's too late now, but I hope it was enough time to rest. I ended up skinning it and putting it in the crockpot with chicken bullion, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. I'm slow cooking all day, so it should be tender. It's cooking now.

I will do this if we happen to do this again in the future. The farm store sells chick broilers and I'd like to raise 3 next early summer free range for eating. They have a bit more meat then a wyandotte.

 

[Mainedixie]

We did our rooster and let him rest for 2 days... He ended up being the toughest bird I had every had. I don't know if it's because he was a rooster or not. He was only a year old.

 

[donrae]

I know this is an old thread, but I've butchered and cooked roosters the same day and they've been fine. I pressure cooked and slow cooked them. I'll have to study the whole rigor mortis thing more, but I believe you have a time frame to start cooking before it starts.