How to eat a chicken.

[Tamdog]

Don't spend a lot of time with you rooster before butchering. When we first did our own, it wasn't quite as messy as we expected. My dad had a full apron, face shield, boots, etc., but it wasn't needed. I can't bring myself to do the deed, but once it's done I can scald, pluck and gut the chicken.

Fresh home-grown rooster, if it's just any old barnyard chicken will not be as pleasant as you may expect. You may find that it is a much skinnier and tougher bird than you are used to buying at the store (in fact, that's almost a guarantee).

If however you are serious about raising your own chicken for meat, you could get some fast growing meat birds like Cornish X or Freedom Rangers. These will be ready to butcher much sooner (7-12 weeks), than other breeds of chicken (esp. those that specialize in laying eggs).

Not to say of course that you can't/shouldn't eat your own non-meat roosters, I do. But it is a hassle and I don't enjoy it as much as store bought chicken or home-raised meat birds.

Hum, so I guess if you eat them that young you could very easily grow your own and eat them quickly. I would suppose it would be about like eating the fish I catch. I don't give much thought to that because I have done it all my life.

 

[Tamdog]

With satisfaction saltines.

LOL, With satisfaction saltines. .. and a sweet ice tea... Do you have sweet ice tea in North West Ohio?

 

[Folly's place]

The grocery store birds are Cornishx, grown just for meat. Most are processed by six to eight weeks of age, max, and are what most of us grew up eating. Mushy and tasteless compared to 'real chicken'! There's a reason so much seasoning goes into most chicken recipes, just to add flavor.
Home grown Cornishx birds will taste better than store bought, and the slower growing, healthier birds will have a lot more flavor and texture. It's different, but better, IMO.
By the time a bird is five months old or older, the crock pot may be the best method, and older birds go into soup or coq au vin, which was designed for old hens.
Mary

 

[LizzzyJo]

LOL, With satisfaction saltines. .. and a sweet ice tea... Do you have sweet ice tea in North West Ohio?

Well I’m from Kentucky originally so we do in my house!

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Hum, so I guess if you eat them that young you could very easily grow your own and eat them quickly. I would suppose it would be about like eating the fish I catch. I don't give much thought to that because I have done it all my life.

Yes, and with non-meat birds you have to wait till they're 16-20 weeks old to get a decent amount of meat off of them. More time for attachment you know. (Well, personally I don't have a problem with butchering cockerels that were destined for that, but I guess it could be for others).

I know there are differing opinions on taste and texture. With my cockerel, it tasted like store-bought chicken, but the texture was vastly different. It was interesting, but I wouldn't call it better.

 

[PDXJULES]

I've told the 6 year old in our house that:
1) chickens don't live long, we just get to try to give 'em a good life while we can, and 2) if any of the birds is mean to the others it's WINNER WINNER, Chicken Dinner. Tryin to prepare her - and myself - for the inevitable. She seemed satisfied with that.

 

[NatJ]

BTW: Is there an AGE that is too old to eat?

Old or young, large or small, they are always edible.

As they get older, they get less tender and more tough. Somewhere between about 5 months and a year, they are as tough as they'll ever get. At that stage, a crock pot or pressure cooker is very helpful. Or you can chop the meat into small pieces (chop before or after cooking: doens't matter which.) A meat grinder could work, too.

As for how young to butcher them: I've butchered bantam cockerels that were only 4-5 weeks old. I got a chicken nugget off each side of the breast, and the leg/thigh pieces looked more like chicken wings. They were certainly small, but so are quails and pigeons, and people eat those.

 

[3KillerBs]

.but do you have tricks for "disassociating" when you actually kill one and eat it?

Once they're undressed they look like any other chicken -- except that the ones that aren't Cornish X will not be so meaty in the breast.

If you cut them up and don't label the bags when you put them in the freezer you might not even realize that it's not grocery store chicken when you pull them out to cook. Or, since the cooking requirements will be different you might label them something neutral like "Stew Chicken" or "Crockpot Chicken".

Fresh home-grown rooster, if it's just any old barnyard chicken will not be as pleasant as you may expect. You may find that it is a much skinnier and tougher bird than you are used to buying at the store (in fact, that's almost a guarantee).

My "red boys" (the packing peanuts that came with my small order from Ideal), were butchered just when they'd started to crow and spar. They made absolutely DELICIOUS chicken and dumplings -- better than you could get from a grocery store Cornish Cross. Likewise the retired laying hens.

 

[RUNuts]

If you eat game, it is similar. More delicious and toothsome. Always edible. Be sure to rest the meat. I understand it better now and the rubber chicken didn't sit well with anyone.

We got chickens and I explained to everyone, kids and chicks, that the chickens are to be enjoyed while living and at dinner. Ground rules laid down. I ordered a bunch of Barred Rocks and no one could tell them apart come butcher day. A few were kept as layers.

Since I do enjoy wild duck, the grocery store birds are unappetizing due to the bland flavor and mushy meat. Chickens are here to stay.

 

[Tamdog]

Once they're undressed they look like any other chicken -- except that the ones that aren't Cornish X will not be so meaty in the breast.

If you cut them up and don't label the bags when you put them in the freezer you might not even realize that it's not grocery store chicken when you pull them out to cook. Or, since the cooking requirements will be different you might label them something neutral like "Stew Chicken" or "Crockpot Chicken".



My "red boys" (the packing peanuts that came with my small order from Ideal), were butchered just when they'd started to crow and spar. They made absolutely DELICIOUS chicken and dumplings -- better than you could get from a grocery store Cornish Cross. Likewise the retired laying hens.

But here is what I was expecting. I use to buy any ole cheap chicken from the grocery store. Then one day I tried the expensive free range organic chickens. In truth, I saw a very big difference. The cheap chicken was spongy and soggy did not have any flavor and you had to eat a lot to feel full. The organic was firm had a great chicken butter type flavor and it did not take as much to feel satisfied. SO- I thought that If I raised and killed my own birds that they would be as good or better than the farm raised organic chicken I have been buying.