First harvest, very little meat and tough

[Yoder Farm]

Thanks everybody. The more I read, the more I think it was the bird's age, and she was also stressed (picked on by the other hens and just coming off a broody cycle). She had gotten skinny when she wasn't eating and I was trying to get her off the nest. Just not a happy-go-lucky chicken, she became bad-tempered when she started brooding and it went downhill from there. So we decided to cull her based on age, she wasn't producing eggs very much anymore, and she was getting into everything like the gardens and running off into the woods. I thought either we cull her, or she gets taken by the coyote. Or worse... she teaches the others to run off into the woods.

So I think the combination of age and using a rotisserie oven (electric) caused the problem. The meat tasted good, and I roasted it almost immediately after killing and dressing. The bird wasn't even close to rigor when I put her on the spit. I think maybe we cooked it too long, because she was a smaller bird and she was just old.

I ended up taking the whole bird carcass and put it into a pot of boiling water with some onion, garlic, parsley, sage and salt... made a stock out of it, pulled the meat from the bones and chopped it, and used the stock and some creole spices and pepper to make "jerk chicken" with rice. It came out great! The meat got very tender but had to be boiled for several hours.

Now I know what to do for next time

 

[jenny_kap]

they'reHISchickens :

It is all a matter of what one is accustomed to. In countries young and old without refrigeration, it's kill, cook and eat. If it's done during the cold weather, it makes it tenderer to hang a few days. Hence "aged" meat-- which is more expensive to buy!
Different strokes for different folks. Your mileage may vary

yes, you are right, it is a matter of what one is accustomed to. even if you find a cooler and a freezer in every house now, in the country side people kill, cook and eat their chickens. they say they like the meat to be fresh, not frozen. but, also, our food usually have sauce, it is wet, i don't know how to explain. and also we cook many kind of soups. so, the meat become tender even if the chicken is 2-3 years old. and, growing birds at home for all our life, we are used with the tougher consistency of the home grown meat, i guess.​

 

[Yoder Farm]

As hot, humid and "buggy" as it has been here these past few weeks, I felt that hanging the bird even for 20 minutes would result in the meat going bad. I hung the bird just long enough to let the blood drain out and immediately brought it in. The carcass was HOT. I had to run it under cold water for several minutes just to get it cooled down, and really felt that it wouldn't be safe to eat if I had let it sit. It's been in the upper 90's here in SW Virginia for several days.

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

I processed two meaties last week due to the heat, well over 100 here. Both went into an opened gallon freezer bag in the fridge for 3 days. One is in the freezer now, the other was mighty tender and tasty.

I do feel many call "toughness" premature. Most times its teh processing mistakes (no rest/aging) or an inferior cooking method. Combine them and that makes the bulk of these threads. I also feel most have never tried chciken that wasnt from the store. Farm raised birds have a texture, more firm and flavors you usually dont find in a fast raised store bought bird.

Just like using fresh eggs in recipes, there is adjustments made and the taste can vary depending on the cook.

 

[Yoder Farm]

This is all so new to me but I am sure that the end result will be the self-sufficiency and better-for-me meals I am trying to attain

Thank you all so much for your very helpful advice and info. I have had farm-raised, "country" food chicken before (not from the store) and I know it can taste different and have a different texture. I guess I just made some of the mistakes a "newbie" is going to make LOL