Help with cooking fresh chicken and rigor mortis--need help ASAP!!!

[BCMaraniac]

How do people butcher a bird then eat it right away without having the meat be tough? My Dad grew up on a farm in IA and says his Mom did it all the time. Everything on the internet says to let the bird rest for 24 hours minimum.

I started this thread back in 2012, and I slow cooked the bird in the crock pot after resting a few days in the fridge. The meat was tender, juicy, and the best chicken I've ever had. It was an 8-9 month old Rooster.

Back in the day, they killed one chickens at a time usually, so they would wring the neck, pluck gut, cut up dredge in flour and have in a frying pan in 30-45 minutes.....before rigor mortis set in.....

 

[cbascom]

So am I going to need enough fridge space to cool all the birds I process in a weekend? Or can they "rest" in an ice chest? We are about to embark on our first journey raising "meaties" and I plan to process 5 at once the first time out. There's not room in my refrigerator for that!

 

[pipemum]

They can rest in the ice chest, or they can get bagged up and go directly in the freezer.

 

[LilyD]

I agree I place mine directly in the freezer after processing, either as whole birds or cut up into breasts, thighs legs and wings, saving the backbone and neck for stock. When I am thinking of using one to cook with I will take it out about 5 days before I want to cook it and put it in the fridge. Sometimes I brine it, sometimes I don't but I always let it rest for about 5 days before use. If I am going to be putting it in the crock pot or into the pressure cooker (older roosters usually between 9 months and 3 or 4 years) I will just put them into the pot and let them go and they taste wonderful. The slow cooking allows the muscles to break down while cooking so no resting is needed. Any bird I will be using for fried, braised or roasted chicken I will actually rest before cooking. So far so good I have two of the toughest critics in my house and I have never had them turn away from firsts, seconds and sometimes thirds.

Tonight I cooked a 7 month old rooster in the crock pot with enchilada sauce then deboned it and put it into tortillas with rice and black beans and then topped the whole pan with more sauce and mozzarella cheese. I have no leftovers for lunch tomorrow sadly because my son brought friends over. Guess i should have cooked two because teenagers eat a lot.

 

[gander007]

I have never really noticed it as much of a problem as with any deceased animal if you put it in some real warm or hot water the mussels tend to relax enough to work with but it is just meat once killed and needs to be treated as such ......

I have on more then one occlusion killed a bird or animal and had it in the pan in less then an hour but letting it hang in the winter time or in a cooler for several days always makes it taste a little better, but if you ever have any dough then put a chicken bouillon cube with the chicken in to a pot of hot water for about 45 minutes and all dough should be wiped out .........

 

[laroz]

I bought some fresh chicken now I don't know what to cook because the meat is so small and I have had major problems with this rigor mortis.. Help please...

 

[LindaB220]

I bought some fresh chicken now I don't know what to cook because the meat is so small and I have had major problems with this rigor mortis.. Help please...

Laroz

The first thing to do is get it in the fridge. For a few days. A lot of people soak it in buttermilk later to tenderize. If you had to put them in the freezer, just let thaw in fridge for about 3 or so days. Good luck. Search around for different thread that you like. We are a pretty happy bunch. Keep coming back. If you need anything feel free to PM me. Look at my page under my flower.

 

[Farkha Laziza]

In my experience, if you put it in the pot right after it has been slaughtered you don't have to worry about rigor mortis.

 

[WalnutHill]

I grow turkeys for the Thanksgiving market, and schedule them for processing 4-7 days before Thanksgiving. After processing they are water chilled, drained, and bagged so they take the desired shape. Within a few hours they stiffen, but they are already in "market shape". Over the next few days, in the customer's fridge, they will pass through rigor mortis and become the most tender turkey they have ever eaten.

Yes, the joints are sometimes stiff, but they loosen in stuffing and roasting. If cutting up for smoking or frying, just work the joints. I've never had a stiff turkey after 3 days.

For my Cornish X broilers, they go same as the turkeys, but a day or two less. I generally bag and freeze them right away, then when planning a meal I pull the bird out 3-5 days early. Despite the fears of people who have only experienced grocery store birds, they won't spoil in the fridge in this amount of time.

The only tough bird I ever did was my first home-processed Ameraucana hen. She was about 5 years old and chewing on her was like chewing a tire. The dog thought it was a chew toy when I gave him the meat. I did everything wrong, including roast her while in rigor mortis. Live and learn!

 

[BBQJOE]

I did my first bird a few days ago, popped him in the fridge, and he's still stiffer than a new broom.
(can I say stiffer? Can I say broom) I don't want to offend any prudes or witches here.


Anyways, I pulled him out and have him in a brine. I hoping a day of that helps.