How to prepare an old rooster for the crock pot?

[Harrelltn93]

I butchered my 3 yrbold rooster last Sunday and he has been sitting in the freezer. I’m looking to cook him in the crock pot with some veggies but I’ve seen people say to marinate in red wine for a day in the fridge before cooking? Anywho I’m just looking for some advise on what to do before putting him in the pot. I know a low and slow heat is important but not sure about the prior preparations, thanks!

 

[OhZark Biddies]

How to prepare an old rooster for the crock pot?

Break it to him gently, remind him he's lived a long life...

I think there are generally two keys, let the carcass age in the fridge a bit, and then boil/simmer sloooooooowly.

A couple of reference links:

https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/07/cook-old-chicken.html
http://wholenaturallife.com/how-to-cook-stewing-hens/

 

[EggWalrus]

They are really good in a slow smoker. But don't try grilling him, he'll be tougher than shoe leather. There's a big difference between smoking and grilling meat.

Another good way is to put him in a crock put with some salt and pepper, couple cloves of garlic, a big onion and a cut up stalk of celery. Put about a cup of white wine in with him too. Let him cook all day, then let him cool and debone him, put the meat back in the broth and either you can add a cup or two of rice or cut up some Tortillas into strips to make quick dumplings. Simmer about 20 mins and enjoy. Chicken & rice, or Chicken & dumplings. Both should be good.

 

[True Patriot]

If slow cooking, same as you would stew anything else. Personally I think it has more to do with breed than age. If you have cooked any wild game, that would be a good reference. Commercial meat chicken is specifically bred for table appealing qualities. Regardless of the cooking method used, remember this will be different.

 

[Mosey2003]

What I would do is look up a recipe for poultry brine and thaw him in it in the fridge for a few days. Then I would piece him out, put him in a covered casserole with some herbs, onion, lemon and a little stock or wine, and cook in the oven at 200-250 degrees until done, at least a few hours. My Crockpot cooks too hot for this job, even on Low. Your mileage may vary there.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My crock pot recipe for an old rooster is basically using him for broth but by picking the meat you have cooked chicken that is great for tacos, casseroles, soup, or just sandwiches. You need a crock pot that cooks low, that's a shame about yours Mosey. The size of the crock pot and which pieces you have an make a difference in details. I don't know if you saved the entire carcass or cut him into serving pieces and dumped the back, neck, and other parts.

Put a bay leaf, about a dozen peppercorns, rough chopped onion, carrot and celery, a couple of garlic cloves, and some herbs in the crock pot. I usually use generous amounts of basil and oregano but also may include thyme, parsley, or chives. Whatever suits you. I don't use salt or pepper but you certainly can. Add the chicken (or half the chicken) and cover with water. Cook overnight on low. 12 hours is enough, 18 hours is not too much.

I strain the liquid through a wire mesh strainer to remove the chunks, then de-fat the liquid and strain it through cheesecloth to get the best tasting broth you will ever have. With my crock pot I usually wind up with about 6 pints of broth per cooking.

Now pick through those chunks and separate the meat from the debris. If you started with only serving pieces you'll just have a few bones and veggies to deal with. The meat may still be in fairly large chunks, it may have cooked off the bone. If you include the back, neck, or other parts you may have a lot of small bones in there, be careful. A lot of meat will have cooked off the bone so you can spend some time picking it.

I save the debris (other than bones) and use that as bait in my live trap. It's a great bait for skunks, possum, and raccoons. I try to not waste too much.

I don't age mine at all when they are used for broth. I freeze them the day they are butchered and put them in the crock pit still frozen. For other recipes aging the before freezing or thawing them in the fridge and then aging them a couple of days might help a lot.

There are lots of different ways you can enjoy an old rooster we haven't mentioned yet. If cooked right you can get a great meal or two. Some might require marinating, some don't. Since you mentioned marinating I'll go through this.

There are different things you can do to prepare an older bird (or any bird) for cooking. First is aging. This is where you allow a bird to set for a certain time to allow rigor mortis to set up and then pass. You need to keep it cool, in the fridge or an ice chest, so bacteria does not grow. This can make a big difference in the quality of the meat.

Then there is brining, normally done when aging them. If you age them in salt water the salt flavors the meat some and causes it to hold more moisture. A lot of the chicken you buy at the store is brined.

Then you have marinating. This is done before you cook it. You use some kind of acid, wine or vinegar are popular, with flavorings to soak the meat. Th acid breaks down the fiber and does a lot to tenderize it. You don't want to overdo marinating, if it stays in that acid too long it can turn mushy. So follow the marinating recipe.

I disagree with @True Patriot I think age has everything to do with it and breed practically nothing. The chicken you buy at the store is generally a Cornish Cross broiler. Those have been bred to produce a large chicken that can be butchered at 6 to 8 weeks, so young that if can be grilled or fried. If you butchered a dual purpose chick at that age you could cook it the same way, there just would not be any meat on the bones. If you could keep a Cornish X broiler male alive and butcher it at an older age it would be as tough as any similar aged dual purpose male. To me age is the most important factor in how to cook one. After they hit puberty the males are going to have more flavor, often described as a gamy flavor, because of the hormones. I like that flavor, some don't.

 

[Mosey2003]

Yeah, I think if I cut up the chicken my Crock Pot would do okay, but just chucking a whole roaster in, the top gets dried out and overcooked fast. I have one of the big oval types. I could probably test it and figure out how to use it well, but the oven works fine.

 

[Harrelltn93]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone I’ve decided to marinate in a nice red wine in the fridge for a day or so. I will let everyone know how it turns out for me hoping that this turns out to be an ok meal lol

 

[Old McRonald]

I use a basic brine for everything I'm going to smoke. I always use it on poultry no matter how I'm going to cook it, deep fry, grill, smoke etc. to leep it moist. 4 cups water, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 kosher salt for 4-8 hours should do it.