Freezer Time! Strong Rooster Taste?

[tackyrama]

I put 7 orpington roosters in the freezer on thurs. Had one for supper yesterday. This group didn't get butchered when they should have last fall so were already mating age when the time came. My question is can roosters have a strong taste. The one we had for supper seemed to me to have a strong taste.

 

[chickenbottom]

im not really sure did it just overwelm your mouth with a chicken flavor? or what

 

[tackyrama]

It had a strong aftertaste that lasted for hours. Not my imagination. I know for a fact that hogs can have a very strong flavor if they are butchered with a undescended testicle.

 

[menageriemama]

I have noticed more of a texture issue with old roos, but did you remove the glad tissue above the tail? It can impart a stong not so great flavor to the meat.

 

[tackyrama]

Quote:
Not sure. That was my wifes part of the job. I'll have to check with her. OK, she says she did cut it out so...

 

[dancingbear]

I've eaten a lot of older roos, and they have a lot more flavor than the young birds. I wouldn't call it unpleasant in any way, or strong, though. Sometimes the kidney tissue, which is the liver-ish looking tissue that can be seen on the inside of the lower back portion, (tail back, not the shoulder back) can impart a strong flavor that I don't care for. It would very likely be more pronounced in an older bird. I usually scrape that part out of the back, and rinse well, before cooking the bird. You might look for other bits that you didn't mean to leave behind, like lung tissue, between the ribs of the shoulder-back portion.

I sometimes forget to remove the oil glands on the tail, but even when I've cooked the bird without removing them, I've never noticed any change in the flavor from that. They just become two hard little oval pellets, that are easily removed. I eat the tails, too, so I'd notice if they tasted funny! Others say that it causes a bitter taste, but that has not been my experience. I suspect it may a be a myth that's just been accepted as fact and passed along. Either that or some people have a sensitivity to something there that doesn't affect me.

 

[rufus]

Breaking the gall when cleaning them can really affect the taste.

Rufus

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I forgot about that, yes, it certainly can. It's bitter. If you break the gall bladder, you'll see dark green where ever it touched, trim those bits off, for sure.

 

[TexasVet]

According to Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, the hormones in a mature rooster change the color, flavor, and texture of the meat. Makes it dark, stringy, and gamey.

He suggests butchering them before the spurs and combs begin to develop, and then letting the cleaned birds "rest" in the refrigerator for a couple of days before cooking or cleaning them.

Kathy in Texas

 

[Wifezilla]

When you cook your next one, would brining it after it thawing help with flavor and texture?