freedom ranger taste

[Mimi13]

Process them young. The store chicken you get is about 52 days old! Like the other poster, you can work up to older, tastier (some say gamey) flavors in time. I like to cook them in a pressure cooker when they are older layers & roosters.

I would like to know how you prepare the old birds. Brine? Marinate? Etc. Please and thank you!

 

[Parront]

I would like to know how you prepare the old birds. Brine? Marinate? Etc. Please and thank you!

I have an article linked in my signature, with scans of my pressure cooker book from the 70s. You would never pressure cook a chicken from the store. I don't brine them, I like to brown them in oil with onions and then pressure cook ~20 min.

 

[Mimi13]

I have an article linked in my signature, with scans of my pressure cooker book from the 70s. You would never pressure cook a chicken from the store. I don't brine them, I like to brown them in oil with onions and then pressure cook ~20 min.

Thank you very much. I can’t wait to take a look.

 

[Parront]

Thank you very much. I can’t wait to take a look.

You are welcome. If you read the recipes you will notice they call for a 2 lb. chicken. That is the size for a young Leghorn rooster, or dual-purpose bird. I cook them a little longer for a larger, old bird. I don't use flour any more, just cook them and pull the meat off the bones for chicken salad and soup and chicken noodle.

 

[Doublete]

Freedom rangers and the color yields are supposed to be ready at 11-13 weeks...
My mother has raised Cornish cross and had them in a tractor and I LOVED it..

 

[Parront]

Freedom rangers and the color yields are supposed to be ready at 11-13 weeks...
My mother has raised Cornish cross and had them in a tractor and I LOVED it..

I would think that the time they are ready is when the grower is getting a slow down in the growth rate. The older the bird the more flavor! If you try one that is younger, it will be small and tender, and have milder flavor. A Cornish game hen in the store is a 4 week old female Cornish-X, they are about 18-20 oz. The growers don't want to raise the females because they are not as "efficient", so they sell them small.

 

[Mimi13]

You are welcome. If you read the recipes you will notice they call for a 2 lb. chicken. That is the size for a young Leghorn rooster, or dual-purpose bird. I cook them a little longer for a larger, old bird. I don't use flour any more, just cook them and pull the meat off the bones for chicken salad and soup and chicken noodle.

I have 5 excess cockerels I’ll be processing this weekend. They are all 17 weeks. By chance, do you let your carcasses “rest” before freezing or upon thawing? Then again, you might not process multiple birds with the need of freezing.

 

[Parront]

I have 5 excess cockerels I’ll be processing this weekend. They are all 17 weeks. By chance, do you let your carcasses “rest” before freezing or upon thawing? Then again, you might not process multiple birds with the need of freezing.

You can rest them after freezing. I did 15 Cornish-X in one day ONCE! Not since.

 

[Mimi13]

You can rest them after freezing. I did 15 Cornish-X in one day ONCE! Not since.

I am wanting to get some meaties, but for some reason keep putting it off.

 

[Parront]

I am wanting to get some meaties, but for some reason keep putting it off.

That was in 1987, there was a 25 bird min to order. I got 10 layers and 15 Cornish-X. I let them get to ~10 lbs dressed & they could barely walk. The next batch was smaller, (I think I got 10) and they were 5-7 lbs @ 7-8 weeks, less fat too. They were much more accepted by the family than the Buff Orp males. Less time to get attached, not as friendly & cute. I learned to raise them away from the layers, too. They get bullied!