Culling a Rooster-taste

[Schakeitup]

Hey everyone,
We decided to cull one of our 5 roosters. He was a Dominque Bantam. It was our first cull and most aspects of the process went well. We of course learned along the way. All was well till we cooked it. The meat was tougher than we expected and the thigh and dark meat was VERY dark. It tasted ok but I just don't know if we did something wrong to cause the toughness or if he just wasn't a fat lazy broiler and it just wasn't what we are used to. We just boiled him with some pastries just to keep it simple. Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[Melky]

The age of the bird has a lot to do with tenderness. Stewed in a pot would also make it more tender. A longer cooking process or a pressure cooker.

 

[Birdinhand]

how long did you let it "rest"? if you cooked it while it still had rigor, that will leave the meat like rubber bands and totally unappetizing. brining helps, then long slow stewing till the meat falls off the bone, keeping it very moist.

 

[aart]

how long did you let it "rest"?

Absolutely key, IMO, and a mistake that many make...once.
Let cleaned carcass 'rest' in fridge for 48-72 hours before cooking or freezing,
even if you cook low and slow or pressure cook, your teeth will thank you.

 

[Kasilofchrisn]

I put my last culled birds in my crock pot for 8 hours with some veggies and water to make cooked chicken and a stock.
Then shredded the meat and added it with some fresh chopped veggies and the stock to some quart jars.
Pressure canned it as homeade soup.
Turned out absolutely delicious!
Lots of videos of this on YouTube.
My previous rooster was also canned.
The one before that was very tough as I tried cooking him low and slow on my bbq.
Decided after that one that pressure canning is the way to go for me with older birds.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

As others have already noted, it is necessary to rest all meat before cooking. Perhaps if one was fast enough, kill, pluck, gut and plunge into cooking BEFORE rigor sets in but I'm not sure about that.
Even a soft 6 week old Cornish X will be tough when in rigor. The legs/thighs of your bird were dark because he had been using his muscles for much longer than a grocery store chicken. It is often better to part out the bird and cook parts differently because the breast will cook faster than the wings and legs.
I've successfully cooked a whole rooster by cooking low and slow, breast down in a broth. About 220F till the meat falls off the bones. Smoking the bird works too. I have a two level smoker, putting the bird on the lower level and some baby back ribs on the upper level where the drippings fall on the bird. Fabulous.
The advantage of a free range mature rooster is that it is much more flavorful than a baby Cornish X.

 

[Schakeitup]

how long did you let it "rest"? if you cooked it while it still had rigor, that will leave the meat like rubber bands and totally unappetizing. brining helps, then long slow stewing till the meat falls off the bone, keeping it very moist.

Absolutely key, IMO, and a mistake that many make...once.
Let cleaned carcass 'rest' in fridge for 48-72 hours before cooking or freezing,
even if you cook low and slow or pressure cook, your teeth will thank you.

Thank you both I think this is the key. I did not let him rest he was a younger bird but rigor seems to of been our issue. and yes aart it will be a mistake only made ONCE Thanks again.

 

[Schakeitup]

The legs/thighs of your bird were dark because he had been using his muscles for much longer than a grocery store chicken. .

That's what I figured on that one. and the rest period solves the other issues. Thank you.