Can I Cook My Meat Bird Immediately After Processing?

[machoman]

It'll take me about 15 minutes from star to finish to have it table ready. If rigor hasn't set in yet, am I good to toss it in the oven? My husband swears yes, he grew up in Mexico and fresh meat was common. I've had rigor set in about an hour to 1.5 hour after processing.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I've always heard it is better to rest the birds for 3 days.
When I did my roosters the person helping me said we could cook them right away, but even though the pair of us were VERY fast doing it, they were too stiff to cook that day.
Julia Child says Americans never rest their meat long enough. The french hang their birds for 2 weeks. They are, apparently, more patient than we are.

 

[PotterWatch]

I know lots of people who have cooked a bird directly after killing, before rigor. I think it would be fine. Usually a quick-cooking, direct-heat method is used like putting it on the grill rather than roasting.

 

[machoman]

In Mexico, they hang them in the market. It appears the entire gigantic market with different vendors is kept at a cooler temperature and has doors so it can be closed in the evenings. Now that we process birds, I tend to notice things like that. My husband doesn't really notice and thinks the chickens in Mexico are just special and void of rigor, LOL. But hey, he also told me his sister had a pain free natural labor without contractions. The look on her face when I repeated what my husband said was priceless, haha.

 

[al6517]

Resting meat has always been the method of choice for tender aged meat, however many cultures do eat fresh meat immediately after processing, it's all in the way it's cooked. Most Americans lack the patience to concentrate on the finer aspects of cooking in this microwave, hurry up and serve it up age. Americans & Europeans age our meat most everywhere else they don't, cooking methods vary and can be very successful in obtaining a great table bird. Anyone can butcher a bird because it's pretty easy but you will find when it comes to what to do with it in the kitchen many folks are just a little lost. Regional aspects also need to be considered, in some parts of the world refridgeration is none exsistant so aging a bird is out of the question. Think about how the early pioneers and how they would butcher a young pullet for Sunday dinner on sunday afternoon, they were just used to certain things.

I have processed many an old tough rooster and with al little planning, knowing it was not going to be aged just takes some know how and some time & Wa-La a good meal. When me and my buddies go out to bird camp for 10 day's in the fall to hunt quail, pheasant, chuckar, praire chicken & wild turkey. We eat our birds that day without aging and all over an open fire in cast iron dutch ovens just like the olden day's, the birds always were very tasty. just takes planning and a little time.

 

[lynnemabry]

my mom was in China a couple of years ago and at one restaurant they picked a chicken dish.

the guy ran outside and caught a chicken, processed it and it was cooked and served within 30 min.

they (in that restaurant) are better at catching chickens than i am.
mine run away.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Many decades ago, when we had chicken for dinner, Mom would tell me to get one. I'd catch it and hand it over to her plucked and cleaned. She cooked it immediately. Depending in age she might fry it or make chicken and dumplings, but it did not age.

 

[al6517]

Waking up before the crack o dawn and hunting birds all day 10 hrs, using dog's, horses, 20-25 ml of riding, shooting from the saddle and having a super passel full of game, well......... we git hongry and we can't wait......... so we eat fresh well seasoned well cooked birds just butchered around a high fire and a good dbl barrel scoth and it never ceases to warm your soul. The game is slow cooked several way's from Praire chicken & Dumpling in a heavy gravy to 30-40 quail split down the back and roasted in a pile basted with ton's of butter & Olive oil laced with fresh picked & diced wild garlic and red pepper flakes, to 6 = 2 1/2lb Pheasant cocks on the side spit's all being slow cooked for hours. The pheasant get's picked on all night long and the left over's are shredded into the mornings bisquit gravy.

These are some of the way's you can truely enjoy fresh unaged wild game and have it made fit for a king. Sorry if this is a tad off topic but it does show just what is possible when dealing with fresh wild game birds to eat.

AL



Bird dog Camp, NW TX Praire hunt.

Dryin our socks and telling big Ole lies.

 

[happychick]

We haven't had any luck with cooking a bird, or for that matter, freezing a bird, immediately after processing. But once we learned to let it set a bit we now have the most tender meat around. Luckily we figured this out before this Thanksgiving, where we and a few others had our Turkeys on the table