How to rest meat in large amounts?

[robbdebbie]

I have been reading how it is best to rest the chicken for 48 hrs in iced salt water before cooking or freezing. Do they do this for you at a processor? If not, and you were going to process for yourself, how would you go about resting let's say 100 chickens?

Debbie

 

[mxpres]

100 chickens at once is quite an undertaking.just be certian you have the room and the means to process that many at once,as far as resting in salt water and ice, the same would apply to 100 as to 10

 

[sred98]

I am not sure what to tell you, since I do my own processing. I would suggest with that many chickens, getting a large stock tank, maybe 2, and putting them in there. Otherwise, use ice chests. You might be able to borrow some from friends. What about resting them in the fridge afterwards? Maybe you should do smaller batches?

Good luck!

Shelly

 

[ScoobyRoo]

I'm going to hijack this thread, sorry Debbie, hope you don't mind.

First

WOW, that is a lot to do at one time. I assume you are going to have help??

This question I want to add,, When you do put them in ice water to rest (we didn't use salt) How do you get them to look like a store bought chicken? Is it rigor mortis that sets in and makes the chicken straight as an arrow or did we do something wrong? It was a p-i-t-a to wrap!!

What are you going to do (wrap) Debbie?

 

[Winsor Woods]

After rigor mortis sets in, it needs to run it's course. Rigor will naturally release after enough time has passed. My understanding of the resting period is to make sure that the rigor has naturally released before you freeze. Once rigor has released, you'll be able to move the joints of the bird very easily. If you're having trouble moving the joints, then you need to rest the bird longer.

Dan

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Quote:
Dan, does the bird still rest in 'ice' water? As long as it is in ice water, it is not going to move, my thought. How long before you can start moving the joints? I cant remember how soon I packaged after the processing, at least 6hrs I think.
Thanks for the response.

 

[Winsor Woods]

Henry'schickens :

Quote:
Dan, does the bird still rest in 'ice' water? As long as it is in ice water, it is not going to move, my thought. How long before you can start moving the joints? I cant remember how soon I packaged after the processing, at least 6hrs I think.
Thanks for the response.

Most people rest at least 24 hours and some up to 48 hours. Rigor sets in quickly, within an hour of death. It doesn't release all at once though. You can age/rest in ice water, but I'd use brine if I let them soak that long in water. Something I've learned from my falconry experiences in that soaking meat in water will draw the nutrients from the meat. We call that "wash meat" in falconry circles. It's a way to keep feeding a raptor while being able to reduce it's weight. (weight control is everything in falconry).

So that said, If you age in water, I'd make sure the skin was on bird and it was brine, not straight water. If you pull the skin off and the meat is exposed directly to the water, you're just pulling all the good stuff out of the meat. Probably not what you want. I would think that if you use ice water to get the temp of the bird down quickly (one or two hours) then you can take the cooled bird and age in a refrigerator or even take a new and clean 33 gallon trash can and put a layer of ice in the bottom, layer a few chickens, layer some more ice, etc. That will keep the bodies cool but not necessarily in contact with water that will create wash meat. Of course the bottom birds will soak in water unless you feel you can punch some drain holes in the bottom of the can. Then you've created a dedicated aging/resting area. Then you can keep them in that can, refresh the ice if necessary, and package and freeze them between 24 and 48 hours later.

Dan​

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

wow Dan the garbage can thing is a great idea - thanks for pitching that in.

robbdebbie - golly thats a lot for one time - are you having all your friends over? have you done this before?? you might want to think about batches rather than all at once. and once you have them all, do you have the freezer space??

we cool ours in an extrabig cooler with ice/water then put them in the extracold, cleaned out beer fridge for a couple of days before cutting them up for the freezer. maybe you could find a used fridge on CL? one of my buddies got one for free and it worked perfectly (he uses to chill milk from his dairy goats).

when i cut mine up they are usually pretty stiff but mostly b/c they are pretty darn cold. but that hasnt been a problem for me when i cut them up.

i i think everyone is wondering how you're gonna do this - i'm thinking your arms are going to be really tired!
;-)

 

[3KillerBs]

Potentially stupid question,

Why does the chicken need to be in any kind of liquid? After the initial cooling, can't it just be stored in the fridge while it rests?

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

i dont think its a stupid question at all.

different people do it different ways. after we get ours down to 40* we put them on trays in the fridge. but many people brine or keep in water. i'd say do what works for you.