Eating Roosters?

[Devvy]

Does anyone eat roosters 18 weeks or older?

 

[Silkie Chick]

I have eaten one that was about a year and a half... But he didn't taste so good.

 

[mnferalkitty]

Yep I skin them and throw them in the crock pot with chicken stock and make ala king or some other shredded meat dishes

 

[chickenfl]

i ate my rooster he was 6 months old or so. i grilled him and he was pretty good.a little greasy and gamey tastin. i was suprised at how hard his bones were compared to a processed chicken.

 

[kizanne]

Yes at 18 weeks they are still pretty tender. I crockpot or cook on the stove top with moisture for almost all my chicken so I don't know how they would grill up at 18 weeks.

 

[wsmith]

YES!

If they are Heritage chickens, there are some considerations that should be observed during the processing and cooking though. Before WWII, and the proliferation of Factory chickens that were/are slaughtered before 10 weeks of age, there were basically four classifications of poultry meat 1: Broilers, 2: Fryers, 3: Roasters, and 4: Fowl. Broilers were typically up to 12 weeks old and weighed up to about 2.5 lbs, fryers up to 14-20 weeks and up to 4 lbs. Roasters were 21-52 (1 year) and weighed up to about 8 lbs, and Fowl were any chicken harvested older than 12 months. Many chickens will benefit from "resting" in the refrigerator up to 2 days before cooking or freezing. Also, the older the bird, the lower the temperature it should be cooked at, and for a longer time. In chickens, age = flavor. Not like the flavorless factory birds that are in the grocery store.

I think most people are so used to store bought chickens, that they don't know what chicken really tastes like.

 

[oldrooster]

YES!

If they are Heritage chickens, there are some considerations that should be observed during the processing and cooking though. Before WWII, and the proliferation of Factory chickens that were/are slaughtered before 10 weeks of age, there were basically four classifications of poultry meat 1: Broilers, 2: Fryers, 3: Roasters, and 4: Fowl. Broilers were typically up to 12 weeks old and weighed up to about 2.5 lbs, fryers up to 14-20 weeks and up to 4 lbs. Roasters were 21-52 (1 year) and weighed up to about 8 lbs, and Fowl were any chicken harvested older than 12 months. Many chickens will benefit from "resting" in the refrigerator up to 2 days before cooking or freezing. Also, the older the bird, the lower the temperature it should be cooked at, and for a longer time. In chickens, age = flavor. Not like the flavorless factory birds that are in the grocery store.

I think most people are so used to store bought chickens, that they don't know what chicken really tastes like.

Just to throw it out there if you raise a cow for beef and send it to a processor they will age the meat hanging in a cooler and it does wonders for flavor and tenderizing compared to store bought beef it looks like beef you'd toss out if you got it from the store but the ageing time is well worth it.

 

[sagecock]

I let them age a while to let the rigor mortise work out a bit so the they tenderize a bit.

 

[v.cyr]

we are butchering a few older hens, and an older rooster this year(3 years old)... they need long, slow, low temp, moist cooking, so crock-pot is the best way to go... a lot of gelatin in older birds too, so the stock you get will be much better... I am actually thinking about trying a chicken version of brawn(aka, head cheese) with one of them...

 

[Wax Myrtle]

we are butchering a few older hens, and an older rooster this year(3 years old)... they need long, slow, low temp, moist cooking, so crock-pot is the best way to go... a lot of gelatin in older birds too, so the stock you get will be much better... I am actually thinking about trying a chicken version of brawn(aka, head cheese) with one of them...

Try googling chicken loaf or pressed chicken. You can obviously omit the Knox.