First time flutters

[Danfella]

I was wondering, as a first time flock owner, I have processed my first meat chicken and cooked it within 30 minutes from death. why was the meat tough as leather and also had a strong tast of chicken feed?

 

[BCMaraniac]

I was wondering, as a first time flock owner, I have processed my first meat chicken and cooked it within 30 minutes from death. why was the meat tough as leather and also had a strong tast of chicken feed?

By the time you get a clean carcass, rigor mortis has set into the muscle of the chicken...shoe leather. It takes about 3 days for it to go completely through the process. Rest in the fridge in a plastic bag for 3 days, and check the legs of the bird. If it moves freely, then it is ready to eat or freeze. As for the feed taste, I can't speak about that....

 

[Elke Beck]

The feed taste concerns me. All of my chickens have tasted very clean and like chicken. Could there have been contamination fromt he crop or intestines at any point in the processing? Did you take off the oil gland at the base of the tail? I have heard that can make the meat taste funky. I don't have any experience with it because I always the gland off.

As BC Maraniac said, the meat was tough because you did not rest it. I don't go by time in the refrigerator, but instead how the leg wiggles. When the bird is in full rigor it is like it has been frozen, so the leg will not move. As the bird ages the leg muscles start to loosen up, and the leg will start to move when you wiggle it. For me, I will not cook the bird until I can hold the leg by the end of the drumstick and the whole leg, drumstick and thigh, will wiggle easily without moving the rest of the bird. It usually takes 3 to 4 days to get to that point. Most of the chickens you buy in the store have been dead for at least a week before they make it into the refrigerator case, and sometimes much longer, which is why you never run into a store bought chicken that is in rigor.

 

[Danfella]

The bird was 9 weeks old and was a cornish rock. Broiled it in the oven with some veggies until fully cooked. It looked delicious, tasted like a baseball glove with chicken feed gravy. The bird was cleaned very well and I was very careful cleaning out the innerds. I did not know about the oil gland at the base of the tail. Not sure exactly where it is and what it looks like and how to remove it. I kept the tail on.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I did not know about the oil gland at the base of the tail. Not sure exactly where it is and what it looks like and how to remove it. I kept the tail on.

That was most likely your problem. The gland secretes an oily substance that is used in preening Here is a link that shows where it is located and how to remove it:

http://butcherachicken.blogspot.com/2007/09/step-6-remove-oil-gland.html

From what I understand, leaving it on will make the meat NAAAAASSSSTY!!!