Cooking Young roosters

[speedy2020]

I have 6 White Bresse roosters 4 months old and want to wait for another 2-3 weeks until more meat. Hopefully, they aren't too tough to cook patchcock style.

 

[piminuse]

I have 6 White Bresse roosters 4 months old and want to wait for another 2-3 weeks until more meat. Hopefully, they aren't too tough to cook patchcock style.

Bresse are usually poached to keep them moist. If you do spatchcock, then you may want to baste during the cooking process. Here's a nicely informative article that includes a recipe.

Let me know how your birds turn out--I'm planning on Bresse this spring once I finish up my current meat flock!

 

[shaw613]

I think it comes down to a few things:

1. Are the roosters the same rangers that you've raised before? Certain breeds develop differently; rangers are made to get big faster than heritage, but slower than cornish x, and still retain some meatier aspects of a typical broiler.
2. You mentioned you process at 10 weeks--is this your first time waiting until 16 weeks? An extra month can mean more running/flapping/muscle development.
3. Are your birds free range or confined? Birds that free range tend to be more active and therefore a bit tougher.

This is the first time I'm processed the dual purpose roosters ... these were wyandotte and delawares. I've done the rangers for several years, and have done the cornish as well. I've

Age is critical. Any animal becomes tougher and more flavorful as it ages. There is a difference in lamb and mutton. There is a difference in veal, baby beef, and a mature animal. Same kind of thing happens with chickens. A lot of that has to do with age, regardless of sex.

As the cockerel goes through puberty the hormones cause the meat to develop flavor and texture. Many of us like the flavor change but some don't. That's just personal preference. The hormones do the same thing with texture. Once the hormones hit the cockerels you can quickly tell a difference. I think those hormones are what makes the difference in a 10-week-old and a 16-week-old so huge. I don't get the same effects with pullets until they are a lot older.

I've never cooked a chicken rotisserie style. I don't know what temperatures you use but it looks like a fairly dry method. The older the bird is the more you need to use a slower moister cooking method. Again there are some personal preferences but many people consider a 16 week old cockerel too old to fry or grill. Part of your problem may be that they are too old to cook by that method. This is different from the aging/rigor mortis issue.

When a chicken dies, rigor mortis sets up. How fast will depend on a few different factors but it doesn't take that long. If you cook it immediately before rigor sets up you'll be OK but if you wait you can get a really tough bird. You need to wait until rigor passes. Again, different factors control how long that will be. If the joints wiggle freely or the flesh is "jiggly" it is ready.

Many people store the meat in cool temperatures in the fridge or an ice chest until rigor has passed before they freeze it. I don't, I freeze it the day that I butcher. But I thaw it in the fridge and then let it age before I cook it. I take it out of the freezer on a Sunday to cook it on Thursday. With my freezer and fridge that works for me. Your equipment and the way you package it may be different.

I do understand all about meat and age .... we're ranchers and I've done meat birds (cornish and rangers) for years. This was the first time I tried butchering the extra roosters that we always have . I'll try the thaw/rest in the fridge method next time and see how it works. I did notice when I was trussing this rooster that the carcass was really 'stiff'; didn't think at the time about rigor. I don't have fridge space to let them rest before I freeze them. In my 'youth', we processed chickens every summer (white rocks), and never had a problem or a tough bird like this. We bagged them and froze them in the same day, as I did with these roosters. Always something new to learn, right? Thanks

 

[shaw613]

Don't do this! Once thawed the meat has to be cooked immediately. Otherwise you will risk food poisoning.

One thing to take into consideration: A stressed bird is an adrenergic bird which will lead to chewy meat. We have the best results plucking them off the roost at night and immediately butcher them (hatchet), so they will be gone without even waking up. This makes for wonderfully tender meat.

I'd say these guys were stressed alright .... I caught them in the morning, put them in crates and took them to the processor an hour away. There may come a time when I can butcher on my own, but honestly I did it every summer growing up and it's something both my husband and I would rather hire out. Will sure change my methods on the next one! Thanks

 

[Molpet]

I'd say these guys were stressed alright .... I caught them in the morning, put them in crates and took them to the processor an hour away. There may come a time when I can butcher on my own, but honestly I did it every summer growing up and it's something both my husband and I would rather hire out. Will sure change my methods on the next one! Thanks

Could the processor keep them for a day? Most of the rigor would be gone in 24hrs

 

[shaw613]

Could the processor keep them for a day? Most of the rigor would be gone in 24hrs

That's sure worth asking about! Good idea

 

[speedy2020]

Bresse are usually poached to keep them moist. If you do spatchcock, then you may want to baste during the cooking process. Here's a nicely informative article that includes a recipe.

Let me know how your birds turn out--I'm planning on Bresse this spring once I finish up my current meat flock!

I've eaten about 30+ breeds of chicken over the years. Bresse is my top choice on the list so should be good. I started a block of Ixworth x Bresse cross last month. Hopefully, I will have a chance to taste some within 4 months for comparison.

 

[shaw613]

Good news ... I thawed another rooster and gave it an extra day in the fridge. Cooked in a Dutch oven at 300, and a few minutes at 400 with the lid off to brown. It was so good and the white meat was more juicy than the rangers. Happy. Thanks all!

 

[Parront]

Good news ... I thawed another rooster and gave it an extra day in the fridge. Cooked in a Dutch oven at 300, and a few minutes at 400 with the lid off to brown. It was so good and the white meat was more juicy than the rangers. Happy. Thanks all!

Yeah! That young should be tender, glad you solved the problem!

 

[Mimi13]

Upon slaughtering I let them rest in the fridge for 48-72 hours. If you put them directly in the freezer you will need to do the same once they are thawed before cooking. Weird, I know!

Since keeping chickens and slaughtering them, I can’t understand how “Granny used to tell little Johnny to go kill a bird for Sunday dinner.” Or that’s the way it’s portrayed on TV shows anyway.