eating roosters

[dpitts13]

i just processes a rooster what is the bet way to cook it so it will be tender, and can you fry it.

 

[Elke Beck]

Whether you can fry it depends on how old and tough it is. If it is 18 weeks or less, then it will probably be good fried. If it is older, slow and moist cooking will give you tender meat.

 

[UrbanBirds]

I ate a nine month old rooster once last fall. I cooked it in the slow cooker for 10 hours. It was stringy and not that good, but edible. I will probably just make stock out of one next time and feed the meat back to the hens.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I made a mature (6 month old) rooster into Coc-au-vin, which is mature rooster slow cooked in a bottle of red wine. It was very tasty and flavorful and not at all stringy. The secret is to use a low heat and to let it cook for 8 hours or more. If you search for a coc-au-vin recipie, make sure it is an authentic recipie that uses mature rooster, not a modern one adapted to use an 8 week old grocery store bird.

I just posted a recipie in this area that I used to cook a 1-year-old hen that was very delicious. I'm guessing it would work for a rooster too, but I'm not speaking from experience.

 

[Cluky]

Rooster stew. There is a french recipe of old chicken in red wine. Very yummy.

 

[my sunwolf]

Marinade it in something for 2-24hrs (wine, buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, yogurt, lightly salted water). We do ours whole in the oven roasted, but you can also cut it into pieces and fry it in a pan if it is young (as Elke said). Don't forget salt, pepper, garlic (cut cloves and powder), sage, rosemary, thyme, etc. These are basics for a classic roast chicken, but there are infinite variations. Don't try to roast or pan fry anything older then 5-6 months, put them in the crock pot.

 

[HogmanGoat]

Castrating the rooster and then fattening them can make them more useable. But preferably you should catch them at 4 to 6 weeks and castrate (caponize) them to grow a large and tender roaster. I have just recently done this to 12 of my cockerels with nice results.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

As others have said, depends on the age of the rooster. And you probably want to wait three days before you cook it, to allow the muscles to relax out of rigor.

If it's young, you can fry it--but realize that no matter how young, it will still be tougher than supermarket chicken. It will have a delicious meaty flavor that supermarket chicken lacks, however.

If it's much over 14 weeks or so, slow cook it. Here's that Coq au Vin recipe others have talked about: http://sunstonefarmandlearn.com/2009/10/25/favorite-rooster-recipes-coq-au-vin/

 

[SIMZ]

Castrating the rooster and then fattening them can make them more useable. But preferably you should catch them at 4 to 6 weeks and castrate (caponize) them to grow a large and tender roaster. I have just recently done this to 12 of my cockerels with nice results.

Does caponizing cut down on the crowing and fighting?

 

[HogmanGoat]

Should stop it. The capons should be relatively docile.