Dispatched 5 BCM Roos Today

[crj]

Well our first time went pretty smoothly.
We had 5 BCM Roos that were just taking up space and feed. We waited a bit too long (26 weeks) but this was a trial and error test anyway.
It was only the wife and I, we made cones from gallon milk jugs. I tied the feet together and she cut the throats. In 2 minutes they were gone. We scalded them in the turkey fryer @ 140 degrees with a little soap. It worked well. The last one the temp went to 150 degrees and it went REALLY WELL!. I removed the head and feet then right into a cooler of ice water with a little salt while we tended to the others. After all 5 were done we reset the table, set up another cooler with water and ice and salt and gutted each one. It was alittle tougher cleaning out the body cavity than I expected. That stuff is really connected in there, not loose and falling out like you see in the movies. We took our time and were done and cleaned up in less than 4 hours.
All in all not a bad experience. They will rest/brine in that cooler full of ice water and salt for 24 hours then we will dry them and refridgerate for at least another 24 before freezing them
I have to add that my good wife stayed up late last night and sewed together 2 large plastic aprons made from a tablecloth from the dollar store in preparation for todays events. Gotta love her! and she was the one that cut the throats!

 

[patman75]

BCM?

 

[crj]

Black Copper Marans
French Black Copper Marans

 

[dancingbear]

Most of the videos I've seen are of butchering Cornish X or similar birds. They're easier and faster to clean, because they're so young. As the birds get older, the connective tissues get stronger, and some of the cartilage changes to bone. I butcher a lot of roos older than 16 weeks, and they are a lot harder to clean, just as you say. I butchered a couple that were over a year old, I thought I'd never get done with them! Those innards just did not want to come out, and even getting the legs off, something I normally have no trouble with at all, was a time consuming struggle.

I cooked one of those tough old boys in the crock pot last week, he was yummy! Took about 12 hours or more to get him tender, I'm not sure how long I cooked him, but it was worth the wait. The older birds have such rich flavor!

 

[bigredfeather]

BCM roos are very solid birds. I was really surprised at the weights of the last ones I did. They have the whitest skin of any bird I have ever plucked. Oh, and they are very tasty!

 

[mstricer]

I didn't find our 26 wk bcm that good. we rotisserated it and thinking it wasn't long enough cooked. but he was hard to clean also.

 

[dancingbear]

This may be helpful when you are ready to cook one.
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf
If you try to cook them the way you'd cook a young supermarket bird, you'll probably be disappointed. Some say they cook 20 week old birds and older, without anything special, and say they are tender, but that hasn't been my experience. I can make about any bird tender, but I have to cook it properly for the age of the bird.

Mstricer, I wouldn't rotisserie a 26 week old bird. I've had them turn out very nice, slow roasted, 275F for 3-4 hours, depending on the size. Until the meat started falling off the bones, anyway, however long it took. If it's rubbery or tough, it's not done. I use a Litton Simmerpot, which is a clay chicken cooker. Oven bags work well, too, you need something with a lid or some other way to keep it from getting too dry.

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
Thanks for the info. I won't be doing that anytime soon again. I was really looking forward to him tasting good too. He weighed 4.5 lbs naked.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Yay for you and

for your Missus! I'm glad things went so well for the both of you, it's great that you can work together as a team. And it sounds like you did your homework and did everything the way it should be done. After all that resting those birds should cook up tender, especially if you cook them the way DancingBear suggested, slow & low & moist. I've had good success using those oven bags with older roos.

Enjoy your well-deserved meals!