Finishing Meaties with Liquor

[zachs chickens 07]

Anyone heard of adding wiskey to the water of meaties for their last week or so before butchering? I had someone tell me it was a good idea... Any thoughts???

 

[al6517]

And what was the reason given for doing this ??. Flavor, Growing/finishing what ??.

Personally I wouldn't and I don't really see the benifit from it, I have been raising meaties for a long time and this sounds a little wacky. Not to mention wasting good whiskey on chickens LOL.

 

[zachs chickens 07]

While I agree on the possible waste of wiskey.... I am assuming flavor but not really sure.

 

[al6517]

That's what I was thinking could be the only logical conclusion, Although I happen to be pretty good in the kitchen and chickens don't transfer eatin/drinkin products into flavored muscle like some other animals like Pig for example. Now there may be some folks who say they have fed such & such and it did this and that to the flavor but I think that is negligable at best.

 

[Blaineiac]

I might have something to do with relaxing the rigor, IDK? It got me thinking though.

Blaine

 

[silkiechicken]

Well, let's think this through... assuming chickens have alcohol dehydrogenase's....liquor's active ingredient is ethanol. Ethanol will be adsorbed by the body and mostly and metabolized by the liver which produces alcohol dehydrogenases... so you could start the process of cirrhosis and fatty liver syndrome before you butcher the bird. I suppose if you like eating fatty livers and gave them enough ethanol you'd have a tasty fried fatty liver, but why waste the ethanol? These birds already eat so much so fast with corn laden food, by 8 weeks old they probably already have yellow fatty livers.

Ethanol is metabolized VERY fast.... so can't be for flavor, and rigor is a whole different beast in a live animal or fresh kill. That is based on ATP supplies in the muscle, or rather, the lack there of when something dies.

 

[al6517]

Quote:
I agree X2................... now as for relaxing the rigor I would think that since the bird would be bled out there wouldn't be anything in it's system to relax rigor, and the alcohol is processed so fast throught it's system, I think that is a none possibility. Good topic we should explore it more. I would like to hear from the OP as to his source of this technic that could lend some credibility or shoot it in the foot altogether. If it was an Old timer Maybe, if was an old wives tale then for sure it get's thrown out as they are rarely even remotely true. OP help us out on this one.

 

[Bossroo]

Alcoholics die ... anyone hear of the term " drunken stiff" ?

 

[zachs chickens 07]

I heard this from an old farmer. No idea if it does anything or not but it made me think...

 

[blueskylen]

maybe it's just to keep them in a stupor so that they don't panic every time you open the door and stampede over each other?