PurpleCArTires
Crowing
So I just started Caponizing this past summer. I caponized all our extra roos hatched last summer in hopes they would be more palatable for me (sensitive about the texture).
My first batch had a slip, so I thought this would be a perfect test to see if this extra effort is worth it. We finally harvested them 2 weeks ago and decided to do a side by side comparison of the size, taste, texture, etc. Here is the results incase you were as curious as I was. I saw there was another similar older post, but I wanted to go into detail about each.
This is Al CAPON and AL the Roo.
They are just a Barnyard Mix. Born 8/31/2020. They spent their lives free ranging in my Rooster flock, with free choice access to 20-22% flock raiser/meat bird mash. They also got lots of fresh fruit and veggie treats.
As you can tell, visually, they were different. Mr. Roo started crowing and started getting mildly aggressive with the other boys. Mr. Capon, was very chill, never crowed and was extremely submissive with me and the other boys. Mr. Capon was also very friendly, would let me pick him up. The Roo was not.
Their Live weight was 5.5 LBs at harvest. They weighed exactly the same.
Butcher date was 2/20/21 (almost 25 wks old) I processed them the same as I do with everyone else. They sat for 24 hours in a salty ice bath, then I vacuum seal them and they rested for 2 more days in the fridge before hitting the freezer.
Their Processed weight was very close:
Rooster - 3.7 Lbs
Capon - 3.6 Lbs
Not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but the Capon was significantly more fatty than the Roo. The Rooster's meat also appeared slightly darker under the skin. The Rooster did look meatier tho.
Then we had the blind taste test.
I cut pieces of Leg, Thigh, and Breast and fed them to my family without them knowing which was which. The results where:
Leg -
Rooster was very tough, hard to pull apart even by hand. Flavor was good, but very hard to chew
Capon was a little stringy, but much softer than the Rooster, easy to chew and pull apart
(Family all said they preferred the Capon)
Thigh -
Rooster was tough, not as bad as the leg. Had a very rich flavor
Capon was only slightly more tender than the Rooster. Also had a very rich flavor
(Most of the family said they preferred the capon over the rooster)
Breast-
Both were incredibly soft and tender. the Capon had a slight buttery flavor and was a bit more smooth than the Rooster
(family said they liked both the same and couldn't really tell the difference)
Final Conclusion:
So I might have noticed even more of a difference had the chickens been a little older. But for my efforts, I believe the Capon was worth it. Reason being is the Capon's demeanor while alive was much better than a typical Roo, Also I personally noticed a difference in the tenderness of the meat and the richness from the extra fat. I can let these Capons grow much longer than Roo and only harvest them when I need to restock my freezer. Unlike the Rooster, who was long over due because of his sour attitude within the Roo flock and even at 6 months, he was pushing too tough to roast.
My first batch had a slip, so I thought this would be a perfect test to see if this extra effort is worth it. We finally harvested them 2 weeks ago and decided to do a side by side comparison of the size, taste, texture, etc. Here is the results incase you were as curious as I was. I saw there was another similar older post, but I wanted to go into detail about each.
This is Al CAPON and AL the Roo.
They are just a Barnyard Mix. Born 8/31/2020. They spent their lives free ranging in my Rooster flock, with free choice access to 20-22% flock raiser/meat bird mash. They also got lots of fresh fruit and veggie treats.
As you can tell, visually, they were different. Mr. Roo started crowing and started getting mildly aggressive with the other boys. Mr. Capon, was very chill, never crowed and was extremely submissive with me and the other boys. Mr. Capon was also very friendly, would let me pick him up. The Roo was not.
Their Live weight was 5.5 LBs at harvest. They weighed exactly the same.
Butcher date was 2/20/21 (almost 25 wks old) I processed them the same as I do with everyone else. They sat for 24 hours in a salty ice bath, then I vacuum seal them and they rested for 2 more days in the fridge before hitting the freezer.
Their Processed weight was very close:
Rooster - 3.7 Lbs
Capon - 3.6 Lbs
Not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but the Capon was significantly more fatty than the Roo. The Rooster's meat also appeared slightly darker under the skin. The Rooster did look meatier tho.
Then we had the blind taste test.
I cut pieces of Leg, Thigh, and Breast and fed them to my family without them knowing which was which. The results where:
Leg -
Rooster was very tough, hard to pull apart even by hand. Flavor was good, but very hard to chew
Capon was a little stringy, but much softer than the Rooster, easy to chew and pull apart
(Family all said they preferred the Capon)
Thigh -
Rooster was tough, not as bad as the leg. Had a very rich flavor
Capon was only slightly more tender than the Rooster. Also had a very rich flavor
(Most of the family said they preferred the capon over the rooster)
Breast-
Both were incredibly soft and tender. the Capon had a slight buttery flavor and was a bit more smooth than the Rooster
(family said they liked both the same and couldn't really tell the difference)
Final Conclusion:
So I might have noticed even more of a difference had the chickens been a little older. But for my efforts, I believe the Capon was worth it. Reason being is the Capon's demeanor while alive was much better than a typical Roo, Also I personally noticed a difference in the tenderness of the meat and the richness from the extra fat. I can let these Capons grow much longer than Roo and only harvest them when I need to restock my freezer. Unlike the Rooster, who was long over due because of his sour attitude within the Roo flock and even at 6 months, he was pushing too tough to roast.
