Cooking time for Meaties

[silkiechicken]

The cornish x meat bird is what you'll have to get if you want a bird similar to the store. With "dual types" you'll have a skinny bird no matter what. Any older and they'll be tougher. Age at least a day.

About cooking and eating meat... here in the US we are always told refrigerate, refrigerate, and refrigerate... but my mom leaves whole chickens fixed up for the oven sitting out 3-4 hours at room temp before going in, and we're still alive. Our thanksgiving turkey and freshly butchered birds often spend half a day just sitting out on the counter open to the air. She says when she was young, they'd just hang raw meat from the market overnight in a door way from a string so cat's wouldn't steal it and they'd still cook it and eat it. After cooking meals, they just brought to boil/finish what ever was being eaten and did not open the lid before re cooking the next day. They didn't have a fridge where they lived since electricity was often spotty.

 

[dancingbear]

A meat thermometer will tell you when the meats done enough to be safe, but not when it's at peak flavor, which is well past the "safe-to-eat" point. When the skin has browned nicely and caramelized, (the fragrance will change, it'll smell a lot better than it did the last time you checked it) and the meat's done enough that the joints move easily when you grab the leg and wiggle it a bit, then your bird's truly done.

I cook birds around 4 lbs for about an hour and 45 minutes, unstuffed, I don't know for sure how much longer for a stuffed bird. I know by the time it meets my test for being done, it's done all the way through.

 

[greyfields]

Get a thermometer. Pull it out of the oven when the "juices flow clear" and allow it to rest at least 20 minutes. During the rest, the temperature will rise 3-5 degrees. Since our homegrown birds are not brined to 20% moisture, they are very commonly overcooked adding to people thinking they are 'tough'.

 

[mtnhomechick]

Well...thanks for all the replies everyone. Unfortunately........they came too late. I think I overcooked them. I thought they were good and I gave one to my elderly neighbors who raved about them. Then I sent a dinner over to my next door neighbor to take to work for her lunch. She raved about them.

But, the one who really mattered to me......dh........didn't like it and said it was too chewy. He only eats dark meat so I don't know. I eat white meat and enjoyed it. Go figure!!!

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I only brine older birds, and not all of them, because I generally crock pot them.

I've never had a young bird become tough from overcooking. (Unless it was forgotten long enough to dehydrate it into jerky, or dried out on a grill) Generally, they just get more tender. This is oven-roasting with a lid on, maybe taking the lid off to brown, if needed. An undercooked bird will be chewy. Check during the roasting, if you don't believe me. When the bird's about half done, try moving a leg, see how stiff it feels. Then, after it's completely done, skin nice and brown, wiggle that leg again. It should move easily, if you don't have it trussed up or something like that. If it doesn't, it's not done yet. Check in another 20 minutes. If you wait until the leg moves easily, it will not be tough.

Edited to add: I roast chickens at 350 F. If the oven's too hot it could dry it out. If I'm baking cornbread or biscuits I increase the temp to 400 at the END, when the bird's already done, and let it brown a little more while the biscuits or cornbread bakes. (20-23 minutes) I've never had it get tough that way.