Chickens smell really bad - BRINING DISCUSSION

[PurpleChicken]

We culled 4 roos on Sunday and Drum did a 5th on Monday.

We put them all in a big pot with salt water.

I started one rooster in soup monday night and when
we strained the soup tuesday night it had a bad odor.
The meat tasted fine. It was

Then on tuesday I started two more in the soup pot, froze one,
and gave one away. They were in the brine for 48 hours and
room temp was around 75 degrees. This morning the soup
that was simmering all night smelled bad like the birds did.
It's more of a sulfur smell (sort of) than a rotting smell.

We had thunderstorms coming in on sunday when we processed
so they weren't as clean as usual but still ok. The skalding water
was too hot(over 200) so I did cook them a bit.

Any thought??? Do people usually brine in the refridgerator?
Am I an idiot?

 

[Cuban Longtails]

We always brine in the fridge. The stuff I've read say you have to keep it cold, around 40 degrees or so.

Here's a link with some information that I found useful:

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Poultry/BriningPoultry.htm

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I put my birds in salt brine soak in the fridge overnight.......simmering whole chicken shouldn't be a nasty smell...

 

[cheeptrick]

As long as your brine had plenty of salt in it you really do not need to refrigerate it. I use Alton Brown's brine recipe for his turkey. Did you bring the brine to room temp before you added the bird?

Here is Alton Brown's recipe...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_8389,00.html

 

[PurpleChicken]

Thanks for those replies and links. I just learned a lot.


To begin with I didn't use nearly enough salt. Plus, even at room
temp that water was too warm.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[jhill1440]

Yep, we do our turkey with brine. Lots of salt, bring to a boil, let cool, pour over bird and ice down over night in a cooler. When I stick a thermometer in there the brine is under 40 degrees. I would guess if you used enough salt you would not have to use ice to cool and keep bacterial growth in check but it is easy enough to do for the safety.

peace
josh

 

[blueskylen]

hi, just wondering if you brine all of your chickens before cooking, or just for special occasions? We are taking our 27 red broilers this Friday to be processed, and if the majority of folks are brining before cooking - that's what we'll do to.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Brining helps make tough birds tender so most of us do brine if we are culling
standard breed birds which can be stringy, especially if they are older or free
rangers.

With 27 birds your gonna need an aweful big pot or lots of pots. Hopefully
someone else with more experience on meat birds will chime in.

 

[PurpleChicken]

I called my boss in Boston who is having his 9 week old, 9 pound
Cornish Crosses processed on Saturday and he doesn't brine them.
He said they do nothing but sit in front of the feeders so they won't
need it.

 

[Riparian]

Did you remove the oil gland from the birds?