Cooked chicken real tough

[Aaron B]

Quote:
About the second part of your advice, do you gut the chicken prior to putting it in the fridge? When I did mine, I skinned them, then cut them down the middle and removed the guts. I guess what I'm getting at is, can I skin the chicken, put it in the fridge for a few days, then quarter it up and remove the guts at that time?

 

[Aaron B]

Quote:
Thanks for the link. I printed it off, good reading!

 

[gg706]

no you get the guts out ASAP. You dont want all that bacteria inside the resting chicken.

 

[Aaron B]

Quote:
Ok, thanks. I'll do that.

 

[ellandeeranch]

no you get the guts out ASAP. You dont want all that bacteria inside the resting chicken.

+1 on this. Clean the chicken, put the whole bird in fridge for aging. I put mine in either a big ziploc or wrap it in waxed paper to keep it from drying out in the fridge. I've heard of other tricks as well.

 

[1muttsfan]

If you are going to smoke chicken, brine it first - this also allows it to rest, as brining is done at refrigeration temperature and for an older bird (more than 6 months) should be done for 24 hours. Brining also results in a more tender, tastier smoked bird.

ALWAYS clean and gut birds immediately after killing them to reduce the chances of bacterial contamination. Chickens should never be left to rest uncleaned or at room temperature any time after killing.

 

[gg706]

Saw a thread were someone laid a moisened towel over hers. Any of it would work well...you just dont want the skin to dry out.

 

[gg706]

Thank You for the advice! I cant wait to try the home grown meat! Although I am not looking forward to the actual butchering day. What kind of chicks are in you avatar? They are gorgeous with those blue hues!

 

[IttyBiddyRedHen]

We just ate our first official homegrown rooster for supper tonight. Culled him last weekend, rested in cold water in the fridge will Wednesday, brined from Thursday till today.

Roo- 9 month
Plymouth Rock
pen and coop..not free range.

Results- Should have separated him for 1 month, fed him higher calories (more scratch maybe).

I roasted him in a 350F oven for 2.5 hours with butter, thyme, sage, carrots, celery and onions. And 1 cup chicken broth added.

We ate the legs, but they were still stringy. Tomorrow he goes into the crockpot for chicken and noodles for supper.

 

[jyurina]

My roos were hatched mid July and we slaughtered them the last week in December so about 5 1/2 months old. However the same day I helped my BIL slaughter some of his chickens including a hen that had stopped laying and an older rooster(2 years old) that was getting too aggressive with the hens. They were processed, put in an ice bath, then left to rest the same way and also were tender enough to roast-though I think they did brine them and roast them slower. You should try brining for some or your older chickens, it does make for more tender meat. You just put 1/2 cup of salt, 1/2 cup of sugar and any spices you like into about a quart of water, bring it to a boil, let it cool and then immerse your bird in it overnight. Drain and cook.