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.
hoping that this turns out to be an ok meal lol
