how old is too old to butcher?

[emys]

As stated earlier, they are never too old.

See this thread and others on here for processing and cooking tips. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=481062&p=4

(Some people are really against skinning - they say it takes all the flavor out - but they want roast chicken. If the birds are fatty enough without the skin and all you want to bother with is stew meat, then go ahead and skin. They are definitely good for more than stew meat if you process correctly.)

 

[emys]

Here is another good one. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=285788

 

[rickdigschicks]

I would think soaking them in a mild brine solution for a few hours
then roasting them would work out well.

 

[Oregon Blues]

The crock pot is one of the great inventions.

 

[crosbygroup]

Quote:

I bet chickens don't think so

 

[JoyLou]

Okay....so I have 10 Plymouth Barred Rock hens. One is being a wonderful surrogate to 19 chicks ordered via mail after we knew the eggs she'd been laying on weren't viable. The hens are 2 yrs. 4 mo. old. Are they too old to butcher?

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Here's another great article on butchering and cooking older birds:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ats-from-historic-chicken-breeds#post_3473262

 

[tom e]

Honestly for some cooking techniques, an older bird is preferable. So I would say that it's never too late. There is much more flavor in tough meat, though you need to cook low and slow to extract that toughness, which is also the very same proteins that make for REALLY good stock- the kind that jellys up in the fridge. For dishes like coq au vin, it's the very best thing. The reason we don't see tougher older birds in the store anymore is because most people have forgotten how to cook these dishes.

 

[triplepurpose]

It's never too late. You can eat any breed of any gender of any age. You just have to learn how to cook different meats properly! My fellow Americans, everything need not be grilled...

 

[Ibicella]

I have about 7 EE roos, they are about 6 or 7 months now, they are only good for stew meat? Should I even bother plucking them or just take the skin off? I have too many roosters!!!

Personally I pluck them and slow cook them for 8-10 hours, and then save the meat for any quick chicken dishes which require cooked meat. Soup, stew, dumplings, pot pies, salad, casseroles, coq au vin...you name it!

You will have the most incredible chicken broth in the world too, so be sure to save that!

I might be weird, but I do love a good old stewing chicken. So much flavor! It's incomparable. I'd rather have a 4 year old dual purpose hen or rooster over an 8 week cornish cross any day.