Cooking old birds

[reniandkelly]

Hi,

We've been keeping chickens for eggs for many years, but have never slaughtered, plucked or gutted one. We buy our meat chickens from some friends and today when I bought two frozen birds, my friend said she had just killed one of their roosters for being too aggressive and asked if I wanted him too. She said she had just killed him an hour prior. When I got him home a few minutes later I noticed he was stiff. I didn't think rigor set in that quickly so am thinking she might have lost track of time - which is easy to do on the farm - and it had actually been longer. If rigor has already set in before the bird is gutted, is it still healthy to eat?

Thanks,
Reni

 

[TexasLisa]

Reni, check this link out. I think it will help you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/after-the-slaughter-and-before-its-cooked.697446/

 

[reniandkelly]

Reni, check this link out. I think it will help you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/after-the-slaughter-and-before-its-cooked.697446/

The link is very helpful. The one question it doesn't address is how long a bird can sit before it's drained of blood. I might have missed it but I don't remember seeing that.

 

[TexasLisa]

I am assuming that your friend has de-feathered and gutted the chicken. If so, you should refrigerate the chicken and let it 'rest' for 3-4 days. Some people will put it in a brine for 3-4 days and then cook it.

 

[RUNuts]

When hunting wild game, it can be several hours before plucking and gutting. Ducks, pheasant or quail. Not an easy way to do it in the field. Yes, rigor sets in. It will be fine.

You are doing it quicker than we did.

 

[rebrascora]

The one question it doesn't address is how long a bird can sit before it's drained of blood.

In order to bleed the bird out, the heart still needs to be pumping which is why the killing cone is used. If the bird is dead by some other means.... decapitation or cervical dislocation), the heart does not pump and the blood becomes congealed in the blood vessels, so it cannot then be drained. That doesn't mean that you cannot still eat the meat, but just that the meat may be a little bit darker. Game doesn't usually get bled or gutted immediately and is fine to eat. You may find that the rooster has a stronger flavour and will be much tougher than any meat bird you have had. You will need to cook him low and slow until the meat drops off the bone. Slow cookers or pressure cookers are ideal for this sort of bird.