"Finishing" Recommend minimal costs ways to yield more flavorful meat?

[Mattl12]

I just dispatched one of my excess roosters, in this case 6mo Austrolorp/Cream Legbar mix. Tasted like I imagine his feed tasted like and yielded a surprisingly small amount of breast meat.


How much time is needed to improve the flavor before processing and what are dirt cheap ways to do it? Any advice to offer I'd be grateful for. Also recommend a carving knife that admittedly will not see much use so if you could please keep the price on the lower end................. I spent more time carving than I'd like to going forward.


Perhaps of note maybe not this roo didn't get much forage because he was A pain to re-coop when the time came and once out of the coop became far more aggressive towards the other roos where he was not in coop.

 

[Alagirl]

do you mean a deboning knife?
As one of my uncles always says: We are not rich enough to buy cheap tools
I think Faber is a decent brand of knives, but do get the highest quality you can find. Zwilling, perhaps, or similar. You will just be much happier with a good knife, plus you might end up using it more often as well. and of course, do buy a good set of sharpening stones! A lot can be remedied by just putting a good edge on the blade before you start. Then wipe and put up.
Not that I adhere to this principle....but I hear that's what chefs are trained to do. They don't buy their blades at Walmart!

As to finishing a roo?
I have no idea. Toss him a bunch of aromatics? Grain him up?
I never raised an animal for meat, so I can't tell.
In lieu of ingrained flavor, marinate the bird

Also, we have a distorted expectation of how much meat there should be on a chicken!
I remember shopping for chickens 30-40 years ago, a large one was 3 pounds! Now they resemble little minny turkeys! Freaky little mutants!

 

[high5]

Some breeds like Barbezieux, coucou de rennes, and Malines were/are fed special diets for a week or two before eating. I suppose it tenderises an flavours the meat - like milk-fed pork?

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Last 15 days cracked corn (usually feed mills are cheapest) soaked in goat or cow milk. In Europe a lot of times they will solely feed soaked grains in milk and allow the birds to forage as much as possible for the last couple of weeks.

 

[raingarden]

We have a small pen where the culls are kept awaiting their time in the oven. That group are fed mostly corn. Some are pretty young. All are scrawny compared to store-bought

They are slow cooked in dutch oven without liguid at 175F for 2.5 hours. Then the meat is pulled off the bones and used in a casserole, salad, chicken fried rice, or whatever. The dripping from the dutch oven are incorporated into the dish.

 

[Mattl12]

Some breeds like Barbezieux, coucou de rennes, and Malines were/are fed special diets for a week or two before eating. I suppose it tenderises an flavours the meat - like milk-fed pork?

I have A few Bresse, typically they are finished with cracked corn and goat milk, I don't own goats. Bresse have certain genes bread in other chickens do not though, it boils down to exceptional marbling. Not sure that would be worth doing with "Broilers" or RIRs for instance.

 

[Mattl12]

Last 15 days cracked corn (usually feed mills are cheapest) soaked in goat or cow milk. In Europe a lot of times they will solely feed soaked grains in milk and allow the birds to forage as much as possible for the last couple of weeks.

Landlord compromised the fence unfortunately. Coons, possums, and foxes are abundant here as well and A few nuisance neighbors dogs need to get shot too. I think I'm going to be forced to buy a mobile electric fence soon.

 

[high5]

Not sure that would be worth doing with "Broilers" or RIRs for instance.

Some french chickens have a very finely textured flesh too - perhaps it's this texturing which responds better & the makes it worth doing? If it works with pigs though, why not with RIRs, NHRs, etc?

Sorry to hear about the predators & pests around you - it must be really annoying!