heritage meat bird question

[Acre4Me]

Here is the link to my thread on the excess males for Christmas Dinner:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/22-week-bjg-and-red-dorking-comparison.1342976/

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't roast mine, I bake them in a covered baking pan after cutting them into serving pieces. Timing varies a bit depending on age at butcher, but I bake mine at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. For a 23 week old cockerel, maybe 3-1/2 hours or a bit more. Since they are in a tightly covered baking pan they don't dry out. I generally get about a half cup of liquid that is a great broth. I'm sure I cook them too long but the meat pretty much falls off of the bone. I have to carefully use a slotted spoon or the meat balls off.

 

[jolenesdad]

I don't roast mine, I bake them in a covered baking pan after cutting them into serving pieces. Timing varies a bit depending on age at butcher, but I bake mine at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. For a 23 week old cockerel, maybe 3-1/2 hours or a bit more. Since they are in a tightly covered baking pan they don't dry out. I generally get about a half cup of liquid that is a great broth. I'm sure I cook them too long but the meat pretty much falls off of the bone. I have to carefully use a slotted spoon or the meat balls off.

Is there such a thing as too long when it sounds that delicious and meat falls off the bone???

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you find that the hens stay more tender than cockerels in this age range?

Yes. I typically butcher my cockerels around 23 weeks and pullets at 8 months after I've evaluated them for laying to see which I want to keep. I cook them the same. The pullets are generally more tender than the cockerels. Some of that might be because they are smaller pieces but I think it's mainly the hormones in the boys.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is there such a thing as too long when it sounds that delicious and meat falls off the bone???

If they are cooked dry, yes, it matters. They dry out. Cooked wet, not so much.

 

[BullChick]

White Rocks were the original meat bird before they were crossed for faster growth. Process around sixteen weeks for a tender bird. If memory serves, the range is 16-20.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can eat any chicken of any sex and any age and get a good meal. The age they are harvested has a huge affect on how you can cook them. Also, how you manage them before you cook them (age, brine, or marinade) can have an effect. Coq au Vin is how the French make a gourmet meal out of an old tough rooster. So my question to you is how did you try to cook them and at what age did you harvest them? Or better yet, how do you want to cook them?

My target age for cockerels is 23 weeks but I often start thinning them down around 16 weeks. I typically decide which pullets will make my flock as replacements around 8 months so I eat the others then. The hens I am replacing are usually two to three years old. Since one of my goals is to play with genetics I often replace my rooster, usually at around two or occasionally three years old. The age I harvest and their sex determines how I cook them. I don't butcher any young enough to fry or grill.

Favorite breeds? I don't have one. I breed my own as a mix from several breeds. Before the Cornish X took over back in the 1950's three breeds were typically used for meat birds, New Hampshire, Delaware, and certain strains of White Rock. Not all strains of White Rock, some strains were more for laying or dual purpose. So for 60 years or more hatcheries have not been breeding these birds as meat birds. They are not a bad choice but there are a lot of other dual purpose breeds out there that can be as good. If you can find a breeder specifically breeding a dual purpose for meat (and the breeder knows what they are doing) you can get a better bird than a hatchery bird for meat but those people are hard to find.

 

[jolenesdad]

I raise the other half of the Cornish Rock Xs. The heritage lsrge fowl white Cornish. I can harvest culls anytime after 8 weeks as Cornish game hens.

Higher than necessary scald temps and not allowing the meat to age before use are 2 primary reasons backyard poultry tough. Having the expectation that heritage birds will be tender as purchased in the store is unrealistic. Those store birds are processed at 4View attachment 2003966-5 weeks after hatch.

This!

In addition to resting (at least 2 days on a heritage bird), you have to take into account methods of cooking.

Broiler means a young chicken that can be cooked almost any way. The young meat can take much higher temperatures to cook and so modern roasting methods are high temperature and quick time.

Older and/or exercised meat cannot take the modern methods of cooking. It simply takes longer for the fibers to break down. If you cook them at high temperatures, they’d completely dry out by the time they could even be tender.

This isn’t to say you can’t roast them, but slow and low is key.

 

[jermoatc]

I raise Heritage dual purpose Columbian Wyandotte.
The culling process produces diverse ages of birds.
Pullets and cockerels, and old hens or cocks are used the same.

Friers are harvested at 10 to 16 weeks depending on size and cooking process. For the frying pan or the grill, birds are plucked and rested for two days in the refrigerator.

Young roasters are harvested between 16 weeks and 24 weeks
These are plucked and then rested 2 to 3 days.

Older roasters are harvested at 8 to 10 months.
Again, these are plucked and then rested 2 to three days and then marinated or brined.

Anything over that age are skinned and then processed for canning. Breast and thigh meat are copiously trimmed in large chunks. Pieces are packed into pint jars with a 1/2 tsp of canning salt. A pressure cooker is used at 11 pounds of pressure for 90 minutes. The meat produces its own juices.

The bones and remaining pieces are covered with water and slowly boiled until the meat falls off the bones. I like to add an onion large chop, 2 celery ribs and a peeled carrot to the 4 gallon stewing pot. I strain the broth, skim off and save most of the fat. The broth is jarred in quart jars with a teaspoon of canning salt and canned at 11 pounds of pressure for 45 minutes.
I separate the meat from the bones and make chicken and noodle for my family. This meat can be fed to my dogs or back to the chickens. I dispose of the bones.
The reserved fat is boiled in distilled water, cooled and then separated. It is then chilled in the refrigerator in a quart measuring cup. Some can be labeled and frozen for later use.
Great for frying potatoes and seasoning soup.

Wow! That is very helpful. Thanks.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Question: if you freeze a bird right away can you thaw it out and then age it? or is it too late?

That's what I do.