Does a rooster have to be stewed?

[lcline]

Hopefully I'm putting this in the proper area!

So I killed and butchered my first Rooster after his attacks got out of hand. He was cleaned and then soaked overnight in salt water. I took him out of the salt water this morning and placed him on a baking sheet to "rest" another night in the fridge.

I planned to just roast him up tomorrow in the oven like a normal store bought chicken. I'm reading a few sites telling me Roosters will be really tough and are better off as stew birds.

So even with the brining and resting would he still be better off in a crock pot type recipe? Or can I just roast him in the oven? He was about 1 year old.


I'm open to sharing your favorite recipe!

 

[cavemanrich]

Roast him in the oven and tell us how it compared to your other chickens you baked before. You cant loose. A slightly tougher meat may mean you chew a lil longer, but it may be TASTIER.. Old school saying """ old hens are only good for soup.. """ This may be true, but we are referring to hens that are 5 years or older. Not sure if you make chicken soup, the old world way, but we do. It is mity tasti. and the meat being cooked for long time is tender. We only cook store chickens, as the few I have are only pets. We eat their eggs.


WISHING YOU BEST.. DON;T FORGET TO LET US KNOW HOW DINNER TURNED OUT.

AND

 

[cassie]

A year old chicken of either sex should be stewed or put in the crock pot. I fried one once. We ended up having a fried chicken dinner with no chicken. We couldn't even bite off a piece never mind chew it. I ended up putting my fried rooster in the crockpot. He was delicious then. I could be wrong, but I think if you roast that year old rooster it will be a once in a lifetime experience. Meaning once in a lifetime is enough and you will never do it again.

 

[Pork Pie]

I would think that a few hours in a slow cooker with stock vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, pepper) for 3-4 hours would at least soften the meat and give you a brilliant stock for other dishes. After that, maybe try roasting him or shallow fry in butter and oil after portioning the bird so you still get a nice brown skin.

 

[lcline]

Thanks for the reply guys!


I opted to buy a sharper knife and section it up. He is currently in my crock pot!

Hoping he's good!

 

[cavemanrich]

JUM JUM

 

[SJ]

A year old chicken of either sex should be stewed or put in the crock pot. I fried one once. We ended up having a fried chicken dinner with no chicken. We couldn't even bite off a piece never mind chew it. I ended up putting my fried rooster in the crockpot. He was delicious then. I could be wrong, but I think if you roast that year old rooster it will be a once in a lifetime experience. Meaning once in a lifetime is enough and you will never do it again.

Yep I did it ONCE.

 

[SJ]

My old bird method is a Low and Slow method. 220*F for 4-5hrs should work. Tender fryers (+350*F) are always under 14 weeks old.