How old do cornish rocks need to be to butcher

[cassie]

Quote:
Did you let them sit in the fridge loosely covered a couple days before you cooked or froze them? If you didn't, that may be the problem. We are butchering ours at 12 weeks and they are as tender and juicy as they can be. We stuff and roast ours. Yummm.

 

[journey11]

Quote:
Yeah, curing is very important. A couple days in the fridge...then use or freeze.

The first batch I ever processed, I didn't know to do that. And I also didn't know not to bone out the meat before curing (didn't even know enough to chill the bird after cleaning!!) Mine still came out tender and juicy and somehow we didn't all get food poisoning!!) LOL

Only other thing that I can think of is maybe they had too much activity??? Running around a lot will make the meat tough. Although, being cornish rocks, they don't tend to be very hyperactive anyway.

 

[luvbeagles]

We did not sure the chicken. After killing, I put it in ice water for a few hours before I cooked it.
So, next time, I should put them in the fridge for a few days? Should I put them in water too?

 

[pdpatch]

After animals die, rigormortise sets in, it reaches it peak in about 4 to 6 hours, and after 24 hrs it's mostly gone. These times can very. so 48 hrs rest before cooking or freezing is used by some just to make sure.

The main idea behind the ice water it to keep the bird down below 38 degrees, when poultry is below this tempeture the growth of bateria slows down greatly. You can also place in a refriderator to keep the tempeture down.


As an additional step some people make brine water to soak the birds in. This adds some flavoring to the birds, Originaly in the old days, before freezers ere common, it was used as a preservitive method. But if you use table salt it is not good method for preservering meat . You would need to use canning salt in your brine for much of any preservation. Brining does allow the salt water to penetrate deeper into the meat when the bird is cooked. Brine can also be injected directly into the birds.

Soaking in water whether it's brine or ice water. The reasoning for this is to allow water to get down into the meat between the actual muscle fibers. When you are cooking it is thought that this allows a more even cooking of the meat. It is also has been suggested that when you freeze the meat after soaking, the ice crystals will penatrate the muscles tissues to help tenderize it.



What we do:
We have on of those small square apartment freezers, that stopped working, so I took the freezing parts out. We fill between half and 3/4 full of water then place 1 gallon milk jugs with frozen water in it. Once we get done with the butchering all birds go in it for 48 hrs minum, we keep checking the temp so it's below 38 degrees. ( some feel that you must change the water several times, we don't because it's below 38 degree)

Once the 48 hrs has pasted we bring into the kitchen and wash off the birds, and remove any pin feathers left. If they are going to be frozen whole, we put in a bag and then the freezer. Or we finish cutting up the bird and either smoke or freeze.

For the meat we will be smoking we rub seasoning salt in to the meat and try to let it site in the refridgerator for at least 4 hours.

So far this has worked whether it's a young birds or 1 year old free ranged rooster. So far the only problem we have had it the wife thinks she has to cook them for 7 hours in a roster and she does not.

 

[journey11]

Quote:
Good info in pdpatch's post too...

What we do is have a big tub full of ice water to put the birds in after evisceration and a quick rinse. I don't brine, because mine always come out so tender anyway and I don't want the extra sodium in 'em. Chill in this water for about an hour. Meat should reach at least 40 degrees. From there, I put them in a gallon plastic bag and refridgerate for about 2 days. Then take them out, rinse again, pat dry and then do one of two things.... Whole birds for roasting, I will wrap with plastic wrap, then wrap again with freezer paper. Cut up meat I prefer to vacuum seal. They'll keep up to a year like this in deep freeze at -10 degrees.

Best butchering tutorial I've found yet on the web... They are doing turkeys, but it's basically the same..check it out:

http://www.freetimesw.com/blueoakranch/pasturedpoultry/turkeyprocessing.htm

 

[rbar]

With Cornish Xs, there is only one question to ask yourself to see if they are over eating: Is food within their reach?!

A friend of mine puts food out twice a day (pasture chickens, they get bugs too...), I think all they can eat in an hour or so...takes a bit longer to grow out, but not NEARLY the health problems...

RBar



Quote:
I've not been withholding food yet because I have several ages mixed. How do I know if they overeat and what happens?
Jamie

 

[SethJ]

I let some of mine go for 3 months on 22%,..they could barely walk!!!

I'd have to say 6-8 weeks MAX for a good tender bird.

Some of mine were a lil tough,...

it was a trial I wanted to do to see how big theyd get,....we had a few 12lb birds. I started losing a few too when they got that big,...heat killed them i think,....or they smothered under their own weight.....not sure,

 

[Rte.66_chicks]

This year is my first experience with meaties. I harvested the firet at 8 weeks, but haven't eaten it yet. One died the next week, but I processed it anyway to use for animal food. I'll can the meat and make stock from the bones after school is out for the summer. The last of my three was processed Saturday afternoon, and I froze it yesterday. It was 10 weeks old, and seemed quite a bit tougher than those from the store when I cut it up. It was also 8.3 lb.

When I raise them in the future, they will be harvested at 6-8 weeks. Some may be sooner; at 4 weeks they look like they would be really good.

 

[SethJ]

Rte.66_chicks :

This year is my first experience with meaties. I harvested the firet at 8 weeks, but haven't eaten it yet. One died the next week, but I processed it anyway to use for animal food. I'll can the meat and make stock from the bones after school is out for the summer. The last of my three was processed Saturday afternoon, and I froze it yesterday. It was 10 weeks old, and seemed quite a bit tougher than those from the store when I cut it up. It was also 8.3 lb.

When I raise them in the future, they will be harvested at 6-8 weeks. Some may be sooner; at 4 weeks they look like they would be really good.

Whoa Whoa Whoa whoa,.....back the train up.


CAn the meat?!?!?? is that possible??? you mean like mason jar can?​

 

[galanie]

Quote:
Whoa Whoa Whoa whoa,.....back the train up.


CAn the meat?!?!?? is that possible??? you mean like mason jar can?

Yes, it is possible. People have done it for years. You have to use a pressure cooker though, no "water bath" method will work for this unless you have a death wish.