Bummer!!!! Wife and kids did not like the chicken dinner

[Hobbley_Farm]

Havent read all posts but have to say that the first page helped ME out tremendously. I really appreciate all the knowledge and opinions on this site! I subscribed to this so I can refer back to this thread easily when my husband asks questions. lol

 

[the1much]

^^^^ i have medication that would help your cat in the av

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
Yes no problem I will post it as soon as she is free.

The recipe PLEASE!?!? I have my mouth all ready for some fried chicken but I don't have a recipe......

 

[Crush]

I would do Cornish X at 5 weeks for fryer.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
Yes no problem I will post it as soon as she is free.

The recipe PLEASE!?!? I have my mouth all ready for some fried chicken but I don't have a recipe......

DH currently out of town, still working on it.

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
The recipe PLEASE!?!? I have my mouth all ready for some fried chicken but I don't have a recipe......

DH currently out of town, still working on it.

Thank you!!

 

[austinchicken]

I know others have weighed in with the same advice I'm about to give, but I'll just sort of sum up what jumped out at me:

(1) The bird was too old.

(2) It could have been aged another couple of days, which would have helped.

(3) Brining might have helped, but it wouldn't get rid of the stringiness.

As far as them being "tough," that results from the fact that your birds actually move around, unlike the factory birds. Even so-called free-range chickens that you get at the store really aren't much better off (or better for you, or much better tasting) than the ones who live their entire lives crammed in a tiny cage; to be called "free range," all that is required is that they have access to the outside, not that they actually go out.

I bring this up because I'm guessing your family is simply used to the "non-tough" (I would call it "flaccid" myself) meat from grocery store birds. They will eventually get used to the character your own meat birds have and come to prefer it once they're "weaned" from the grocery store stuff.

 

[dancingbear]

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I agree, as I said earlier, but wanted to add my experience with aging. I've eaten quite a few older birds over the years, and even with aging about 5 days, an old bird is pretty tough. Better to crock pot them than to fry them and end up with rubber chicken.

Quote:
Brining doesn't really help with toughness, but it keeps the moisture in the bird, so it doesn't dry out. The older the bird, the longer it has to be cooked, so keeping the meat moist is important. Even a tender bird will become tough if it dries out. Water follows salt. Brining gets salt into the meat tissues. That keeps moisture in the meat, instead of the salt applied externally to the bird drawing moisture out. Stringiness is less noticeable if the meat doesn't dry out, as well.

Quote:
My birds all free-range. (real free-range, not legal-term fake free-range) and young birds are still tender. They do have a firmer texture, but are far from tough. Texture is also influenced by breed. Some are just better eating than others, i.e., Malay fighting cock vs. Barred Rock, Delaware, Buckeye, etc. Those tall, skinny birds bred for fighting just aren't going to be as tender as others, even when young. Even those cook up ok in the crock pot, though.

Quote:
I'm guessing the family just didn't like that 6 month old rubber chicken. They'd probably like a young bird just fine, or the older ones when brined, and slow cooked. I don't think I could ever get used to 6 month old fryers, and I eat a lot of old birds.

I use my older, crock-pot cooked birds to make enchiladas, tamales, burritos, casseroles, BBQ sandwiches, all kinds of things. Not "just for soup", as I've often seen suggested. I can only eat so much soup. Not enough to use up my excess roos every year.

 

[al6517]

Great suggestions, what you have said is what I was thinking, I am going to try all of these to be sure, it makes so much sense. but this was the first one the others will be better, trial and error.

AL

 

[greyfields]

Rejoice in the "stringy & tough" meat. It means your bird had a life and actually was afforded enough room to stretch its legs during it's life. They probably also said it tasted 'funny' to them.

Basically, what is going on here, is that the chicken you get at grocery stores are young birds, brined to 20% moisture content, who come from conditions in which they can hardly turn-around. When you put 4 broilers on floorspace the size of an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, they never get to use their legs so they don't become 'tough'. The 20% moisture content ensures people think the chicken was "moist".

You and your family ate your first chicken, which is the chicken your grandparents ate. Everything up until that point was completely artificial. It's all just fake. Hollywood chicken.

Now, if you continue to process roosters as culls, I would let them go to 10-12 months then find yourself a recipe for coq au vin (especially from a French cookbook). It will really change your perspective on eating older birds. I crave them fortnightly.