Help! confused on harvesting info...

[lisa7267]

i purchased dual purpose birds so that I could have eggs from them for about a year and then harvest them for meat-I am ready to harvest them but am reading that if you don’t do so at an early age (like 5 months) that the meat will be tough?? Mine are about a year old. The breeds (in case that matters) are goldenbuff sexlinks-they’re a RIR & Buff Orp x.
Can anyone shed light on this? TIA!
Also-if you’re against raising livestock for meat, please take your comments elsewhere-idc.

 

[Parront]

Older hens are tougher. They still make good eating! Think of the difference between tender T-bone and Chuck, both are good. You just cook them differently. Some like them roasted/braised long and slow, I like to pressure cook them and use the meat in chicken noodle and chicken salad sandwiches. Frying them in the pressure cooker is also a favorite around my house. Broth and chicken soup, excellent! Crock-pot all day with onion, potato and carrot like pot roast, yum!

 

[Kiki]

Just make sure you allow for extra cooking time and you will be fine.

 

[Parront]

i purchased dual purpose birds so that I could have eggs from them for about a year and then harvest them for meat-I am ready to harvest them but am reading that if you don’t do so at an early age (like 5 months) that the meat will be tough?? Mine are about a year old. The breeds (in case that matters) are goldenbuff sexlinks-they’re a RIR & Buff Orp x.
Can anyone shed light on this? TIA!
Also-if you’re against raising livestock for meat, please take your comments elsewhere-idc.

I got carried away thinking about food, and I forgot to say Welcome!

 

[Molpet]

Welcome to BYC
after letting them rest in the fridge or cooler on ice for a day or so to let rigor mortis relax...slow, moist and low temp, or pressure cook or can them and they will be yummy.. makes the best soup ever

 

[song of joy]

We've processed laying hens as old as 3 1/2 years of age, and the meat was fine. However, if it's not cooked "slow and moist" it will be tough, even with a 1 year old hen.

After butchering, I let the carcass rest in a pot of water it the fridge for 2 to 3 days. I put about 1/8 cup of salt in the water. The combination of the brine water and time will help to tenderize the meat. Then I dump out this water, replace it with fresh water, and cook the hen in a stew pot on the stove for 4 to 6 hours at low heat (approx. 180 to 190 degrees) until the meat falls off the bones. This makes great broth and soup.

 

[MasAhora]

I let mine rest for about 2-3 days in the fridge. A couple of times including a few hours in brine and that was my favorite!
My family are not as excited about eating an older bird but they all love the stock!!

 

[aart]

I slaughter cockerels at 13-16 weeks, before they start causing chaos and while still tender enough to grill for that crispy skinned deliciousness. Not much meat but the grilled bones make for some excellent stock. Anything older than that, of either gender, I pressure cook until meat is done and saved aside then a couple more hours to get that bone broth.

Resting the cleaned carcass in fridge for 48-72 hours for rigor to pass is essential for chewable meat from any bird(except maybe CX?). Tho no homegrown bird I've eaten, layer or meat breed, is as soft as a grocery bird, they are more 'toothsome'.

 

[lisa7267]

Thank you! When pressure cooking, do you mean that when the meat is cooked you pick off all ge meat you want then return the carcass to pressure cooker to make the stock?thanks!

I slaughter cockerels at 13-16 weeks, before they start causing chaos and while still tender enough to grill for that crispy skinned deliciousness. Not much meat but the grilled bones make for some excellent stock. Anything older than that, of either gender, I pressure cook until meat is done and saved aside then a couple more hours to get that bone broth.

Resting the cleaned carcass in fridge for 48-72 hours for rigor to pass is essential for chewable meat from any bird(except maybe CX?). Tho no homegrown bird I've eaten, layer or meat breed, is as soft as a grocery bird, they are more 'toothsome'.

 

[lisa7267]

Thank you!

We've processed laying hens as old as 3 1/2 years of age, and the meat was fine. However, if it's not cooked "slow and moist" it will be tough, even with a 1 year old hen.

After butchering, I let the carcass rest in a pot of water it the fridge for 2 to 3 days. I put about 1/8 cup of salt in the water. The combination of the brine water and time will help to tenderize the meat. Then I dump out this water, replace it with fresh water, and cook the hen in a stew pot on the stove for 4 to 6 hours at low heat (approx. 180 to 190 degrees) until the meat falls off the bones. This makes great broth and soup.

Thanks son