Eating Chicks?

[countryboy]

Quote:
What part is gross? Every culture is different. I don't see it as an ego thing myself.

i understand the cultures, its the idea of eating the chick. but now you got me thinking, its not much different then a hard boiled egg or some of the thing we see as normal others don't.

 

[d.k]

* I'm just really wondering who your target market would be-- at least stateside. I only knew the one 8 y/o in 5O years!!! Since having Miss Chook around, I tend to eat more eggs-- but quite a bit less chicken. That may seem odd, but (shrug)

 

[Omniskies]

There wouldn't be much of a target audience. Killing male chicks and tossing them in a compost heap seems like a waste. I know they're good for the soil, but so is the chicken manuer, chicks that don't hatch, etc.

Also, if I'm hatching out 50 chicks that can be auto-sexed, keeping 25ish roosters for 6-12 weeks just doesn't sound practical, and would be a pain for me to butcher. I thought maybe eating the rooster chicks would be a good dinner without having to worry about caging, feeding and caring for so many additional chickens. I know it -can- be done, I just don't know all the details. Can the fluff be singed off or do we have to pluck the chick? At what point will the meat have to be deboned in order for it to be eaten?

Apologies if this makes some people squeamish.

 

[silkiechicken]

If you deep fried them, I would think the feathers would become indistinguishable and the bones are still soft as a hatchling. Like Fried eel, you can eat all the bones.

 

[d.k]

*Guess your'e kinda left with trying it to find out. . . .Maybe a tempura batter??

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
That is one new outlet for all of those unwanted industry baby cockerals *shiver*

I am sure there is some high priced chef in some super fancy restaurant at the top of the social order of the world that caters to the rich and famous that could come up with something and it would become a must have delicacy.

 

[Omniskies]

If this worked and the final product wasn't recognizable as a chick then you're right, MissPrissy. I can't stand the idea of excess chicks just being killed and thrown away. The hatcheries are bound to have someone they sell them to (compost or something), I just don't know enough about the industry to say what that is. If something like this gives an outlet for unwanted chicks it'd be nice.

I'm eyeing our week-old Cornish-Rock crosses and mulling it over.

 

[MissPrissy]

Quote:
Let them go another 3 weeks and have yourself your own rock cornish game hens like you find in the freezer case of most every grocery store in the US.

 

[jaku]

They taste great- you have to slit the package open though and leave them on the counter for a few days first before you eat them so the marshmallow will crust up a bit, otherwise they aren't as good. It's a shame you can only get them around Easter. Wait- are we talking about the same kind of chicks?

 

[d.k]

* This may be a stupid thought but DH and I were discussing this thread and we wondered why we aren't just sending all the roos to the grocery and table and leaving all the hens to lay at least that extra year that they are pretty good at it. What are we missing??