Help, would you cook/eat this.

[momofchicks]

Okay we processed our first EE Roo a few weeks ago. Well I noticed some blue spots on his leg, I figured since he had black feathers it was just the color of his skin. Well today as I am thawing him out I noticed a few feathers left on the wings so I pull them out and out came one of those black spots (which was part of the feather, duh) Anyway, there are several of those feather parts on the legs of the chicken. So can I cook it like that and can we eat it (not that I want to eat the skin now) but can we eat the bird?

 

[EllyMae]

I wonder if those are the pin feathers(what my grandma called them). I know on store bought chicken you will have those black dots on the skin and if you squeeze them they pop out(kinda gross but I'm a picker, lol)
I would say it would be fine if that is what you are talking about.

 

[Alaskan]

When the feather is growing the hollow shaft is full of blood. When you pull the feather out after the bird has died, that blood tends to coagulate together into a string, and looks pretty dark too.

Ucky looking, but nothing bad about it.

 

[blue90292]

if it feels weird, just skin the bird.

 

[dancingbear]

I'd just pick out any quill bits and cook it and eat it. There are sometimes pockets of pigment left after plucking a dark bird. Other than the pigment, there's really nothing there that wouldn't be the same on a white bird, but with those you can't see it so easily.

There's nothing wrong with the skin, it's perfectly edible, though sometimes with an older bird it will be a bit chewy. Once the bird is cooked, they probably won't be noticable, depending on how you cook it.

If the bird was more than 12weeks olds. I would choose a slow cooking method, rather than frying or grilling. With lots of moisture, and it helps to soak in a brine solution few at least 2 or 3 hours prior to cooking, overnight is better.

Crock-pots work wonders on tough birds, they get tender in about 4-5 hours, overnight or all day on really old ones. I've cooked some that were more than a year old, they got tender, eventually. Made great enchiladas!

 

[momofchicks]

Thank you all. We ate it and it was wonderful!
Sorry for the freaking out earlier. I have just never done all this before.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Quote:
Congrats! Sounds yummy