Fryers To Roaster

[OSUman]

At what age do birds turn from fryers to roasters... Regular birds not Cornish X

 

[Brunty_Farms]

I would say 20-16 weeks... for a standard DP. Since it's based on weight I would like to say 4.5 pounds and up would be considered a roaster.......


I sell my fryers between 3.5-4 lbs and I just dressed some Buckeyes that were about 15 weeks with those weights.

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Sec. 381.170 Standards for kinds and classes, and for cuts of raw
poultry.

(a) The following standards specify the various classes of the
specified kinds of poultry, and the requirements for each class:
(1) Chickens--(i) Rock Cornish game hen or Cornish game hen. A
``Rock Cornish game hen'' or ``Cornish game hen'' is a young immature
chicken (less than 5 weeks of age), of either sex, with a ready-to-cook
carcass weight of not more than 2 pounds.
(ii) Broiler or fryer. A ``broiler'' or ``fryer'' is a young
chicken (less than 10 weeks of age), of either sex, that is tender-
meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and flexible breastbone
cartilage.
(iii) Roaster or roasting chicken. A ``roaster'' or ``roasting
chicken'' is a young chicken (less than 12 weeks of age), of either
sex, that is tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and
breastbone cartilage that is somewhat less flexible than that of a
broiler or fryer.
(iv) Capon. A ``capon'' is a surgically neutered male chicken (less
than 4 months of age) that is tender-meated with soft, pliable, smooth-
textured skin.
(v) Hen, fowl, baking chicken, or stewing chicken. A ``hen,''
``fowl,'' ``baking chicken,'' or ``stewing chicken'' is an adult female
chicken (more than 10 months of age) with meat less tender than that of
a roaster or roasting chicken and a nonflexible breastbone tip.
(vi) Cock or rooster. A ``cock'' or ``rooster'' is an adult male
chicken with coarse skin, toughened and darkened meat, and a
nonflexible breastbone tip.

 

[little_grey_bantam]

Oh crap, I've got a cock. LOL
Just dispatched one yesterday and besides being a little traumatized, I need to "marinate" his meat... O.O

Hopefully it's not like rubber bands (again!).

He's about a year old... and a bantam/standard cross

this should be interesting! Small enough to be a fryer lol

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

From this article - www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf :


There are 4 traditional chicken meat classes: broiler, fryer, roaster and fowl. The traditional broiler age
range was from 7 to 12 weeks, and carcass weight from 1 to 2 1/2 lbs. (Squab broilers would be youngest and
smallest of these, typically Leghorn cockerels about 3/4 to 1 pound dressed.) The next age and weight group
was called the fryer. Traditional fryer age range was from 14 to 20 weeks, and carcass weight from 2 1/2 to 4
lbs. Traditional roaster age range was from 5 to 12 months, and carcass weight from 4 to 8 pounds. Most
roasters were butchered between 6 and 9 months. Hens and roosters 12 months and older were called “fowl” or
“stewing fowl” signifying that slow moist cooking methods were required.


little_grey_bantam : I processed two bantams one year old roos (RIR and a Rosecomb) Friday - small bodies but I am very happy with the meat amount. They are aging now in the fridge.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
The key is "SLOW" cook.

Unless you have one of them fancy pressurized cookers. I'd let the meat rest (refridgerated) a couple of days too, but that's just me.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Try this mantra...."OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM"

Here's my complicated recipe for a tender bird from a tough old bird:

Age the tough old bird in the fridge at least 2 or 3 days, a week is better. Before going to bed one night, put the tough old bird in the crock pot. Season it. Add about 2 cups of water in the crock pot, put the lid on. Plug it in. Set it on low. Go to bed. (Gee, that's rough, so far.)

In the morning, if the bird still isn't tender, check the liquid level. You probably won't need to add anything, but if there's less than about 4 or 5 inches of liquid, add a bit. Put the lid back on. Go on about your day, check back in a few hours. When it's done, the meat will fall off the bones, and be tasty and delicious.

That's it. It really doesn't get much easier.

If you do this, there's no reason any age chicken should ever turn out to be like rubber bands.

That's all there is to it. No muss, no fuss, you just have to wait a long time. In hot weather, I sometimes set up a table outside and run an extension cord out to it. Make sure children, pets, or livestock won't knock it over.

If you don't have a crock pot, they are very cheap at thrift stores and yard sales, make sure you get the kind with a removable crock, the others are a PITA to clean. I put a heavier lid on mine than it came with, to hold the heat better.

Because the time it will take to become tender is not definite, I usually plan some other meal, and cook the chicken up on the side, to use the meat the next day in something else. That way nobody's hovering around the kitchen bugging you about when it'll be done.

Hope this helps, and you enjoy your chicken!

 

[CARS]

Quote:
Try this mantra...."OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM" "OHMMMMMM The crock pot is my friend OHMMMMMM"

Here's my complicated recipe for a tender bird from a tough old bird:

Age the tough old bird in the fridge at least 2 or 3 days, a week is better. Before going to bed one night, put the tough old bird in the crock pot. Season it. Add about 2 cups of water in the crock pot, put the lid on. Plug it in. Set it on low. Go to bed. (Gee, that's rough, so far.)

In the morning, if the bird still isn't tender, check the liquid level. You probably won't need to add anything, but if there's less than about 4 or 5 inches of liquid, add a bit. Put the lid back on. Go on about your day, check back in a few hours. When it's done, the meat will fall off the bones, and be tasty and delicious.

That's it. It really doesn't get much easier.

If you do this, there's no reason any age chicken should ever turn out to be like rubber bands.

That's all there is to it. No muss, no fuss, you just have to wait a long time. In hot weather, I sometimes set up a table outside and run an extension cord out to it. Make sure children, pets, or livestock won't knock it over.

If you don't have a crock pot, they are very cheap at thrift stores and yard sales, make sure you get the kind with a removable crock, the others are a PITA to clean. I put a heavier lid on mine than it came with, to hold the heat better.

Because the time it will take to become tender is not definite, I usually plan some other meal, and cook the chicken up on the side, to use the meat the next day in something else. That way nobody's hovering around the kitchen bugging you about when it'll be done.

Hope this helps, and you enjoy your chicken!

That is the way any food should be cooked (well, maybe not for a day, but you get the idea.).

It actually takes me dang near a hour to make a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew! When it is just heated for warmth, a regular can will fill 2 bowls. When I have it cooked down till every bite is tender and moist I could almost use a second can

(not that my waist would show that or anything

)

 

[erthymom2]

thanks for posting the differances in broiler, fryer, etc. i always stood looking and wondering what the differances were - they all looked like chickens in the meat section to me LOL.