Going to process a rooster for my 1st time need some help

[bobbieschicks]

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Wow. Can't believe it has been almost 8 months and I still haven't processed my rooster! I left him alone since he stopped attacking me and I needed a rooster.

But now I'm back to having too many roosters and wanting to eat them rather than sell them. So I have a few different questions.

I understand now how to cull, skin, pluck, and gut a chicken. But I don't understand what happens next with older birds.

I read that they "rest" in the refrigerator for a few days, but what does that look like? Do I wash them in cold water and just leave the meat sitting on a plate in the fridge or wrap it in plastic wrap? How tightly? I've also read about the "brine" method, but does that replace the resting process or is it in addition to resting?

If I decide to freeze the meat instead of cooking it right away is there any special precaution?

If I decide to use the coq a vin cooking method do I still let the meat rest before cooking?

My roosters range from 4 months to almost 2 years old. I also have a few older hens who are producing poorly and I'm wanting to process those as well.

Is there a different suggested way to process a silky rooster? I have 4 of those to process and 1 Maran rooster to process.

I plan to do one at a time since I'm still fresh to this and without helpers.

Thank you for helping![/quote


Bobbies...once your birds are plucked and gutted, rinse them really well and put them in ice water to cool them quickly. Remove from ice water and pat dry, put them in a ziplock bag and place in the refrigerator. I can usually put 2 birds in each "jumbo" 2 gallon bag. Let them rest in the refrigerator for about 3 days to let the rigor mortis dissipate. You'll know they're ready for the freezer when you can easily move the legs. A this point you can choose to cook, can, or freeze your birds. If freezing, pat them dry again, and wrap tightly. I've had really good luck with shrink bags from Cornerstone Farms. They make a very professional looking chicken that takes up less space in the freezer. Don't forget to label them with the date and weight. Holler if you need more help!

Thank you.

 

[ButchGood]

When I do my meat birds I do so many I cant fit them in the fridge. I have 3 large coolers. I put what I can fit in the cooler, usually 4 or 5. I add ice until completely covered. I add some kosher salt and a little vinegar. I add ice as it melts to keep birds covered. It usually takes 4 or 5 days for rigor to pass. My last batch I rested for 7 days. They turned out delicious. If Im just doing a few birds I do it exactly like Jewels621.

 

[averagetallguy]

My wife and I use a milk jug as a kill cone and I cut the throat. It can be hard with just one person but I find it better this way. I hold the chickens head and body while she holds the legs and feet. We find that that reminds us to be grateful for the chickens. Not sure if this helps. I just can't cut the head on a log.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Wow! That was harder than I thought it would be, and not because I had to kill my silky roosters. The hard part came in the unknown variables that happen and you just have to deal with it.

Like, I didn't know the machete was sold dull and you had to sharpen it. Maybe someone told me once, but since I hadn't used it yet I didn't realize I might as well have used a stick to cut off my rooster's head.

So here was what happened. I have 5 roosters to butcher. Four of the roosters are silky so I decided to skin them rather than mess with plucking. I figured they wouldn't have much meat anyway. I also decided I would do 1 at a time until I feel more confident. My chosen method would be to pick them up by their feet, when they are calmed, hang them from my lawn cart, slice their throat, let them bleed into a trash bag, lay them head first on the ground and chop off their head with the machete. Then hang them by their feet and skin them into a trash bag and get just the breast meat.

I snatched up the first one, he hung upside down and I thought he would calm down, but all of a sudden he flung himself upright and flapped away from my grasp. I chased him down and tried again to have him upside down while looking for my machete in the shed because I quickly realized he was not going to just hang there silently while I tried to slit his throat.

I took him and the machete over to the concrete pad and attempted to chop off his head, apparently with a dull knife. I whacked and whacked, thankfully he died pretty quickly and I hardly made a mess or I probably would have stopped there in tears. I braved on with the Lords help. After he was beheaded it was a fiasco skinning him. Here's some newbie advice...skin a chicken that doesn't have silky feathered legs first to get a feel for how to do it. I was having such a had time even locating his leg to skin it. Finally got him skinned and meat sliced off so figured I would try to do another bird.

I found the other young easy to catch silky and snatched him up. He did the same upswing thing the other rooster did so I was ready for him. I decided to simply break his neck then hang him. So I pulled and thought the job was done. Went to hang him and he tried to get away. I wretched him but didn't break the neck, so I decided to try the broom handle method with my little rake I had nearby. It took me awhile to realize he was dead and I ended up almost severing off the neck with the pull. I stupidly then used the dull machete to cut off the head. I could have just left it on, but I worried that it would come back awake somehow unless I cut it off. It was easier to get the meat off the second one and it went way faster. I think by the last one I will have no trouble locating where to slice and all that.

So, phew! While I thought butchering my roosters would be hard on me emotionally and prepared myself for that part of it, I never figured it would be hard physically.

I think I'll save the other three until tomorrow night to butcher or maybe I'll do a couple more later this evening. For now I want to rest. I have to figure out if I can burn the remains in my burn pit or if I have to take it to the landfill because I'm not burying them in my yard.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Okay I processed my large Maran rooster. So only two more to go. He did calm right down once upside down and only briefly tried to sit up. He was hard to use the broomstick method with because he was so heavy to pull up I couldn't get a good yank. I'm afraid I choked him rather than dislocated his head. He didn't have much meat on him even though he was big. But at least he had more than my little silky roosters did.

I may have to wait for the other two silky roosters to go on the roost now that they keep seeing roosters leave and not return.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Okay all the roosters are done. I won't do that again. I'll go ahead and process them one at a time when I know they are roosters rather than try to process a bunch in one day. By the last one I was practically ready to just toss him without saving the meat. But when I was about to do that I thought about how it would honor his life if we ate his meat rather than wasted it.

Next time I'm going to try the scald and pluck method instead. And I am seriously considering a cone and slice the throat method instead of the rake and chop off the head thing I was doing.

 

[Elke Beck]

Okay all the roosters are done. I won't do that again. I'll go ahead and process them one at a time when I know they are roosters rather than try to process a bunch in one day. By the last one I was practically ready to just toss him without saving the meat. But when I was about to do that I thought about how it would honor his life if we ate his meat rather than wasted it.

Next time I'm going to try the scald and pluck method instead. And I am seriously considering a cone and slice the throat method instead of the rake and chop off the head thing I was doing.

Congratulations on getting it done. I agree with you that doing too many in one day just takes it out of you. I will do no more than 3 at a time. When I do more I start getting sloppy, and the chickens do not deserve that.

I have been doing the cone, and to me it is the easiest. I look forward to hearing how it compares to the rake and chop method for you.

 

[txangel55]

Great info