HELP Butchered chicken is stiff

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
Let your birds defrost in the fridge, and then rest for a day or two in the fridge before cooking. If I wanted to cook on Sunday, I would pull one out of the freezer on Tues/Wed (roos) or a day or two earlier for the turkeys.

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:
Let your birds defrost in the fridge, and then rest for a day or two in the fridge before cooking. If I wanted to cook on Sunday, I would pull one out of the freezer on Tues/Wed (roos) or a day or two earlier for the turkeys.

to you for answering my question. I will be able to try one now that I know what to do with it. Quite frightening to see a poor bird with legs sticking straight up into the air.

 

[Nostalchic]

I usually let butchered birds "rest" (or age) lightly wrapped, in the fridge for 2-3 days before cooking, or before freezing, unless you are processing and using immediately. I don't like to talk about food with terms like rigor mortis, but that is what's happened - and you will find that the chicken will relax after a few days, and be a lot more tender and taste better if you have the time and space for this.

 

[terri9630]

Quote:
We always debone some of the breast and thighs right after butchering to freeze for frying. It has no affect on the toughness of the meat as long as you let the meat rest before you cook it.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
Let your birds defrost in the fridge, and then rest for a day or two in the fridge before cooking. If I wanted to cook on Sunday, I would pull one out of the freezer on Tues/Wed (roos) or a day or two earlier for the turkeys.

to you for answering my question. I will be able to try one now that I know what to do with it. Quite frightening to see a poor bird with legs sticking straight up into the air.

One thing you can do to make presentation look better... and not have feet sticking out to the sky, is to tuck the feet inside the body cavity and tuck the wings behind the back.

 

[ozark hen]

Quote:

to you for answering my question. I will be able to try one now that I know what to do with it. Quite frightening to see a poor bird with legs sticking straight up into the air.

One thing you can do to make presentation look better... and not have feet sticking out to the sky, is to tuck the feet inside the body cavity and tuck the wings behind the back.

Thanks, if we do this again this spring, I will be sure to let them rest for a few days in the dowstairs fridge. ha No more legs sticking straight out in the freezer for me!!

 

[farmmomofmany]

I always hate letting meat sit to long worried itw ill go bad. I am gonna cook it tomorrow and for now on I know to let them sit a few days an then freeze them. I have about 20 that need done .

Thank you
Amy

 

[silkiechicken]

Don't worry so much about your meat going bad.

The "use by" date on chickens from the store are a full week after the "packaged" date around here at least. Figure the use by date is about 10 days post processing.

 

[terri9630]

Quote:
You can do it either way. Rest then freeze or freeze then rest. We rest after freezing.

 

[mrchaos101]

Came here to search for this thread as I have had this issue in the past. Young Chicken, was still stiff when we cooked it... result was not good.
SO.... it sounds like we stick them in the fridge for about 3 days to wait for rigor to go away. How long after that do we have to get cut up and freeze if we butcher the meat? How do the big chicken companies do their chickens?

Could I just butcher one whole... put in vacuum seal bag and then leave in the fridge for 3 or 4 days then freeze it?

Should I wait to butcher the bird until rigor is totally gone?