cooked a freshly culled bird...too tough, whats wrong and what to do?

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
Rigor is gone in any animal after about 12 hours- after that it's just about breaking down tissue. I think part of it is that we're used to the mushy, store bought chicken. Any home grown bird is going to be firmer than grocery store bird.

Rigor is slowed by chilling or cooling, it will take longer for the meat to break down. Remember Mr. Bobbitt was in cold field overnight and still reattached, the tissue is actually still viable for some time when chilled. Chilling and cooling as done in a slaughter house is for safety. The reason that the old timers could kill and eat in the same day is the same reason the Chinese do, they don't refrigerate. In fact they hang the chicken carcass in open air markets, no refrigeration. I strongly do not recommend this but if you want tender chicken let it stay chilled for 3 days. Beef used to be aged 30 days hanging before being made into cuts. Now it is sectioned shrink wrapped and shipped in boxes. And there is a big difference in texture and taste.

Invest in a pressure cooker, it can make even the toughest of cuts of beef tender. Then nothing goes to waste also, chicken bones pressure cooked 30 minutes will crumple in your hands, and become great addition to dog food for older dogs(calcium).

 

[Brunty_Farms]

My grandparents use to do this too. Kill it and grill it..... Too tough for me, It's what's your use to.

I let it set at least two days before selling, freezing, or cooking.

Even in your case this isn't going to help much though as the meat is naturally tough as nails. Lots of flavor but the meat is worthless in my opinion. If I ever cook with a older bird I use it for stock and then add chicken breast meat from a cornish x... as I'm spoiled on young tender meat as is most of this country

 

[stormylady]

didnt any1 who grew up in the era of killing and then cooking chickens cook them the same night? let me know.
I didn't grow up killing and eating chickens the same night but my DBF did and he said there were no problems with it, there were nine kids in there family plus aunts uncles and all lived on the farm. So I don't know . He said noone ever complained about eating them. Maybe back then thats what chicken was expected to be like, I know Im spoiled because Ive alway had chicken from the store and not homegrown til now, Haven't butchered any yet, and not looking forward to it but I have heard that it needs to be cooled down right after butchering and then left in the fridge for a couple of days for them to loosen up.

 

[stormylady]

Walking wolf Thanks for that tidbit of info, I have an 18 yr. old pitbull that could use some calsium. Hadnt' thought of that before.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Another tip for tender meat used with wild game. After aging meat for 3 days in refrigeration. Brine or use tomato juice marinade for at least 24 hours. Our wild rabbit and pheasant were always falling off the bone tender. And a exceptional treat and how I prefer wild game is cook a pot of home made pasta sauce after lightly browning your game or chicken toss it in and cook for hours until the house is completely full of the aroma. You will not be disappointed.

If you throw any meat in a pan and it draws up drastically it is not aged long enough. BTW this is the reverse for fish, it should never be aged and should tighten up when it hits the heat.

 

[da-cajun-angla]

well...darn...dat' suxxx...i honestly tought' dare' was a way of tenderin' dem' cheekons up! guess dem' cheekons gon' hav' ta' be put in da' gumbo...ah well...C'est si Bon!

 

[newchickmom]

I culled 4 roos Sunday and have 1 in the crock pot right now. When I get home, it should be ready to debone for chicken and noodles. When cooked like this, it is nice and tender. I can say, though, it has a much richer flavor than store-bought meat.

 

[Bossroo]

When I was growing up, for Southern fried chicken we whent to our old neighbor couple's (who came from Southern Georgia) place . Later, We also followed their advice as the chicken was outstanding...Buy 2 dozen day old RIR mail order chicks and put them under a broody hen, grow them in a small pen (theirs was about 10 x10 pen with an attached coop about half that) , as letting them run in the barnyard will make them tough. Catch a half dozen cockerels ( any leftovers are great for lunch the next day) just as they start to crow (the rest of the cockerels a week later, then the pullets about 2-3 weeks later ) in the early morning and put them up in a crate with water in the shade untill late afternoon, chop off their heads, pluck, gut, wash, cut up into peices and then spice and batter the peices, deep fry and serve with mashed potatoes,with country gravy, corn on the cob and biscuits with butter... all in about an hour. YUUMMMYYY and tender!!! This is an all family and friends all day blast affair all the way. For old hens that have stoped laying... simmer all day in a covered black kettle with vegatables untill the meat falls off bones, remove bones , add dumplings , cook untill dumplings are done. Tender and MMMMmmmm !!!

 

[da-cajun-angla]

i culled them sat nig, put them in a brine last night...gonna give em bout 2 more days in the brine. ill try to bake em...if they dont come out right...well...in da gumbo dey go!

 

[silkiechicken]

I always age birds here for 2 or 3 days in the fridge. My mom talks of eating a bird the night of butcher back in China... but that bird was gutted and sat around at room temperature... even in the summer in the 90's for the whole day... I'm sure that sped up the aging process by a lot.