Help...what to do after chickens are butchered?

[ging3rhoffman]

We have an Amish man that lives in the area that butchers chickens for $2 a bird. What i was wondering is what do I need to do to the chickens when I get them back. He puts them into the coolers that you bring when you come to pick them up a couple of hours later. Do I soak them in water? If so for how long. Do you need to use salt water? What do most of you do to make sure you get a tender juicy bird??

 

[WalkingWolf]

You need to let your birds refrigerate for a few days to age. Until the meat has a chance to go through rigor it will pull up when heat is applied. Personally I soak the first 24 hours in fresh water. Dump water and then put in a brine and soak for at a couple more days. It is best to submerge the birds completely that way the birds are cut off from any air to help bacteria develop. A solid bird should sink to the bottom, and when soaked in brine and it surfaces it is ready to cook. Also check for stiffness, if the joints are still stiff it is not ready yet. If you cut your chicken up leave the legs and thighs as quarters so you can check the joints. Then seperate when ready.

Some restaurants use the large commercial Rubbermaid garbage cans to soak their birds in a walk in cooler. I put mine in a 3 gallon bucket on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Check the brine for any sign of smell during this process, I have never had any but always be safe. This is the way we always did wild game before cooking and it was always tender. You can also substitute tomato juice for the brine. We used to do a milk soak on boneless chicken breasts the night before when cutting into strips for fried chicken strips. Milk soak also works great on beef cutlets for country fried steak.

 

[Harp Turkey Ranch]

He puts them into the coolers that you bring when you come to pick them up a couple of hours later. Do I soak them in water? If so for how long. Do you need to use salt water? What do most of you do to make sure you get a tender juicy bird??

Make sure you get the birds under 40 deg as fast you can. then let them sit either in a fridge or cooler with ice for 24 hours and then freeze if you want.

If you want to brine them you can do that in the first 24 hrs if you wish then freeze.

We have tried it both ways and I don't think it is worth all the extra $$ and work to brine the birds, unless for a recipe or something. If they are young birds they will be tender and juicy already.

When we brine a bird it is an older roo cull or something along those lines, but very rarely on a young bird.​

 

[jaku]

The important thing is to keep them cold- for at least a day. Salt, brining and anything else is up to you.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Thank you all so much. I feel much better, it sounds so simple.