Funny looking and tasting meat

[HeatherLynn]

We butchered a roo today. Yes in the snow. He beat up one to many hens and my husband was just done. Anyway his meat was very very dark all over. No white meat that I can see. Now he had almost no fat on him. he was a 6 or 7 month old bird and was a RIR. I baked the bugger and the meat tastes funky and the meat is similar to my husbands tooling leather. Horrid. Usually we let it rest in the fridge and then freeze, blah blah blah but I figured save myself the trouble and just make him for dinner. Our dinner in not tasting so great. What happened.

 

[chickendude]

I think the problem with the taste was that you didn't let it rest over night.

But I can't explain the all dark meat.

 

[Judy]

Heritage birds like RIR have darker meat than Cornish X, or grocery store chickens. The breast will look more like store bought dark meat but will still be a bit lighter than the legs. Have you ever eaten a heritage bird before? It is like eating a different animal. Resting the meat and slow roasting (like 200 or 250) or any slow cook method will make it more tender, but it will never be as tender (or mushy, depending on your viewpoint) as store bought.

Here is an excellent article on eating heritage birds:

http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

 

[HeatherLynn]

Quote:
I have only ever eaten BR and wyandotte. Neither of those looked like this meat. WOW was it dark.

 

[Talihofarms]

I have harvested RIR before. Mine were free ranged and they are a darker meat. Just remember with heritage breeds your meat color and texture is Al Dante compared to the cornish X.

The best way I have found is to soften the muscle up in a rooster is to let it age in the fridge 2-4 days.
You can soak it in a brine while it ages in the fridge.

Or make "coq au vin"




just my.02

 

[Judy]

Quote:
We processed a bunch of roos including all 3 of these breeds and a few more. I did notice that some were darker than others. We hadn't marked them so I didn't know which breed we were eating. Everyone here either doesn't mind or prefers the dark meat (the legs) so maybe this is why no one even mentioned it.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Ok, then next time i brine. Mine are sorta free range. We have an uncovered run and they all just leave the run during the day time whenever they like. They are only confined at night.

 

[Jared77]

The meats darker because they use those muscles. Its why the thighs are dark. They were obviously flying or trying to so their breast muscles were well used. Id add some lemons or lime to that brine mix for added flavor. Plus the added acid will help break down the meat a bit too and render it softer.

 

[speedy2020]

Quote:
I put in the slow cooker to make soup. It taste great.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

resting and crock pot (slow low cooking) are my solutions and they always turn out great.