Cooking recommendations for 13-14 wk old Australorp roo

[chick-chica]

Hello,

One of my 'hens' turned out to be a rooster and when he started to crow at dawn we had to process him. I can't keep a rooster in my neighborhood without making enemies with my neighbors.

This will be our first chicken that we eat from our flock. The rooster was 13-14 wks old. Is he too tough to roast? There as maybe a teaspoon's worth of yellow fat when I cut into his belly (if that gives you any indication).

I was thinking I could brine it and then roast it.

 

[speedy2020]

He is still young so not tough. You can roast or make soup. Don't expect a lot of meat at 13-14 weeks! I like my around 4-5 months old. It is getting tough after 6 months.

 

[chick-chica]

I couldn't wait until he was larger because he had already started crowing in the morning, and that was going to be a problem with the neighbors.

Roo weighed in at 4lb. once feathered and processed. I brined for very few hours and then herb-roasted simply with some fresh sage and a few other herbs from the garden and a bit of olive oil and butter.

He was super delicious and tender. We are a family of 4. We ate roasted the first day, then I simmered the carcass to make broth, and then we ate all the leftovers in a chicken soup. We actually got a full 3.5 meals from this rooster.

 

[Amina]

Looks great!!

 

[donrae]

Not a bad looking carcass for that age! My birds were older, but you can see the EE and Leghorn blood in the smaller size and lack of breast meat....



That's why I kept my Oops Dark Cornish rooster this year, I want more meat next year!