BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[CanadianBuckeye]

We were taught to cut one vein and let them bleed out. They are in shock so I doubt they are in much pain, By puncturing the palate, and provided you actually hit the brain, the bird is instantly killed and I personally think less blood will flow from the corpse.

The salt helps relax the muscles and further removes blood that might have been trapped and I think what might make the birds taste gamy could be retained blood in the carcass.

For what it's worth......

Thank you (ran out of ovations!) I'm defnitely brining.

 

[DesertChic]

I can't even stomach commercial chicken any more. It's weirdly like soft tofu comparatively, it seems.

I totally agree! The consistency is almost chalky sometimes, and absolutely no flavor to the meat. And the broth I make from the carcasses, feet, etc is amazing for cooking.

 

[Beer can]

@CanadianBuckeye good luck getting them to like home grown birds, some do some don't, some are stuck on the store bought mush meat, I was myself actually. Growing up we always ate homegrown chickens, canned, stewed, soup, chicken and biscuits or dumplings.
I've ate grilled and roasted, breast meat good, rest tough, like a wild turkey.
Reading everything here you always have some doubts if you never had experienced a good tender one. I actually never had a good one IMHO until this last winter. Roasted a very large young (5-6 months) jersey giant rooster alongside a much smaller and younger wellsummer/easter egger cross cockerel. I brined them per Hellbenders recommendation, don't know if it helped, would have to do a side by side comparison to know for sure, couldn't hurt I figured. FYI, the big turkeys you buy in the store are brined (sort of).
I have faith now, the JG was to date the absolutely best tasting flavorful, tender chicken (without mushiness tender) we have ever ate. JG was very dark meat legs and thighs, like a store bought turkey kinda but darker and no tendons in the legs, thighs were to die for..., the breast was very tender and juicy flavorful, long grain strands to the meat.
The younger smaller cross on the other hand, while not bad, wasn't as good by a long shot. The legs were tougher, the breast was tougher and I don't know how to put it, short grained mush meat but tough? No long strands of meat to pull off. Was the exact oppisite of what I was expecting. Don't know if it was cause the giants are so big they don't run and raise heck like the others, when they 'run' it almost looks like it is in slow motion, big lumbering dinosaurs. The younger cockerel was probably much more active?
Going to try finishing them out differently next time less active more confined space, milk and corn, see what happens.
Also will have some capons in the works hopefully this week

it's time, hopefully my hands are steady and they live.
Looking forward to these naked necks, had planned on German New Hampshire's but it didn't work out, maybe these naked's will be better anyway.
I thank @Arielle for directing me here when I was on her 'Foraging and feed efficiency comparing breeds' thread that was great but not very active.
Have learned a lot here, and has inspired me, into being confident that raising other than cornishX (I don't have anything against them) is possible, for a great tasting, self sufficient, hatch your own, meat bird that actually IS much better than store bought, experiencing is the best reward. The biggest bestest thing I've learned is, they don't have to be boiled or pressure cooked, crock pot, to be edible. Really looking forward to many more, Christmas capons, roasting, grilling, frying even, I know It's possible now without having to exercise your jaw.

 

[lpatelski]

Didn't someone post a pipe cutter? Seemed like a great idea...

or was it for cutting bones instead..?

I use pipe cutters. The front of the neck goes in the cup and I cut the neck bone with the blade. Instant death. They bleed-out well enough for me. I brine for three days.



http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Flexible-Tube-Cutter-99518/206743941

 

[lcertuche]

I think brining in salt water is really good for drawing blood out. I do it for any home butchered animal. I don't know about tenderizing it. It should be cooled completely before freezing to let the muscles relax. I like to dump the meat in a cooler with a bag of ice dumped in. This is good for version and wild pig. I cook most meats in a crockpot which is good for tenderizing meat. If I suspect meat will be tough I will start it the night before on low heat.

Incidentally, I thaw my Turkeys in a ice of cold water. I start a few days before cooking. Doesn't take up a lot of space in the refrigerator this way. If I was going to brine I would just add salt to the water.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

@CanadianBuckeye good luck getting them to like home grown birds, some do some don't, some are stuck on the store bought mush meat, I was myself actually. Growing up we always ate homegrown chickens, canned, stewed, soup, chicken and biscuits or dumplings.
I've ate grilled and roasted, breast meat good, rest tough, like a wild turkey.
Reading everything here you always have some doubts if you never had experienced a good tender one. I actually never had a good one IMHO until this last winter. Roasted a very large young (5-6 months) jersey giant rooster alongside a much smaller and younger wellsummer/easter egger cross cockerel. I brined them per Hellbenders recommendation, don't know if it helped, would have to do a side by side comparison to know for sure, couldn't hurt I figured. FYI, the big turkeys you buy in the store are brined (sort of).
I have faith now, the JG was to date the absolutely best tasting flavorful, tender chicken (without mushiness tender) we have ever ate. JG was very dark meat legs and thighs, like a store bought turkey kinda but darker and no tendons in the legs, thighs were to die for..., the breast was very tender and juicy flavorful, long grain strands to the meat.
The younger smaller cross on the other hand, while not bad, wasn't as good by a long shot. The legs were tougher, the breast was tougher and I don't know how to put it, short grained mush meat but tough? No long strands of meat to pull off. Was the exact oppisite of what I was expecting. Don't know if it was cause the giants are so big they don't run and raise heck like the others, when they 'run' it almost looks like it is in slow motion, big lumbering dinosaurs. The younger cockerel was probably much more active?
Going to try finishing them out differently next time less active more confined space, milk and corn, see what happens.
Also will have some capons in the works hopefully this week

it's time, hopefully my hands are steady and they live.
Looking forward to these naked necks, had planned on German New Hampshire's but it didn't work out, maybe these naked's will be better anyway.
I thank @Arielle for directing me here when I was on her 'Foraging and feed efficiency comparing breeds' thread that was great but not very active.
Have learned a lot here, and has inspired me, into being confident that raising other than cornishX (I don't have anything against them) is possible, for a great tasting, self sufficient, hatch your own, meat bird that actually IS much better than store bought, experiencing is the best reward. The biggest bestest thing I've learned is, they don't have to be boiled or pressure cooked, crock pot, to be edible. Really looking forward to many more, Christmas capons, roasting, grilling, frying even, I know It's possible now without having to exercise your jaw.

Thanks @Beer can . Well if worst comes to worst, I can grind them up for the dogs! I agree, just thinking about it, you don't want to eat a well- exercised chicken of any breed- that's probably why those meatie cornish x are so mushy, they basically just sit there.....

 

[bnjrob]

Thanks @Beer can . Well if worst comes to worst, I can grind them up for the dogs! I agree, just thinking about it, you don't want to eat a well- exercised chicken of any breed- that's probably why those meatie cornish x are so mushy, they basically just sit there.....

Why not grind them up for yourself? I make my own chicken and turkey burger all the time - it's cheaper than ground beef. And I cut the meat off raw to freeze and pull out whenever I have a dish that calls for chicken. Cutting it up into small pieces for use in meals as well as grinding it tends to help those who freak out at the texture of homegrown chicken because then the pieces are so small that they can't really gripe about it being tough. Not to mention that I'd quickly run out of room in the freezer if I kept every carcass whole for roasting.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
This is a good point - I'm a HUGE fan of cooking my chickens whole (it's just what I like to do), but the freezer space is not as efficient. The further I get along in my breeding projects, the more I'm going to have to part or otherwise divide chickens before freezing...

- Ant Farm

 

[Beer can]

That's what my plan is for the next bunch of older layers. Need to do several a couple months ago...to save on feed.
Plan to go the easy route and just skin debone and grind. I've done it many times with store bought turkey when they are on sale.
Stuff the carcasses in our big pressure canner and make stock to boot.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Why not grind them up for yourself? I make my own chicken and turkey burger all the time - it's cheaper than ground beef. And I cut the meat off raw to freeze and pull out whenever I have a dish that calls for chicken. Cutting it up into small pieces for use in meals as well as grinding it tends to help those who freak out at the texture of homegrown chicken because then the pieces are so small that they can't really gripe about it being tough. Not to mention that I'd quickly run out of room in the freezer if I kept every carcass whole for roasting.

Good idea, thanks! I'm just so used to stuffing chicken with the bone in the grinder for the dogs, I never thought about cutting the meat off and grinding it for us. Around here dogs come first LOLOLOL