I got two like this from an auction. I also accidentally got a crate of 5 roo's when I thought I was bidding on frizzles. I've tried to get rid of them but to no avail. So what is the aging time for a bird like this a bit older, and huge, any other suggestions to make sure the meat is good? Christal
I've processed older roos before, and you're right the meat can be tougher or chewier than the young ones. I age mine about 4 days in the fridge, the ones I've done for just 2 days were tougher. I've had some luck with soaking them in a brine solution for a day or so before cooking, but it doesn't always seem to help and I don't know why it seems to help some and not others. Using the crock pot is a good bet for tender meat. I have wondered about doing a "pulled chicken" or shredded chicken dish with BBQ sauce (like pulled pork) - that ought to work too but I haven't tried it yet. Hope you get something useful out of this!
Coq au Vin. Surprise, it's made with red wine. Sounds weird, but it was the classic "troubled roo" dish. Braised, fall apart tender sweet................. Isn't it just too bad there's noplace for pretty roosters? I mean, besides a cooking pot.
I love "pulled chicken" in the slow cooker. I just throw the rooster in the pot and simmer it on the lowest setting for 8-12 hours (depending on the rooster's age and size). Once I can grab a bone and it separates from the meat it's done. When it is pulled off you can use it in the broth for chicken noodle soup, or you can take it out and mix it with BBQ sauce for a BBQ sandwich. If the pieces aren't too mushy/soft, then you can make cashew or sweet and sour chicken, popcorn chicken, etc with it. So far I've been too lazy to debone and grind a rooster up to make chicken patties and chicken nuggets. Then the other day I realized that when I over cook a rooster it turns to mush. And when fast food places like, say, McDonalds, makes their chicken nuggets they grind the meat into a paste. So I'm going to take the too-soft meat, mash it up into little balls, dip them in batter/bread crumbs, and put them in the freezer. Once frozen I'm going to fry a batch and bake a batch to see how they turn out. The other benefit to the slow cooker is all of the broth. We've been making Tomato Florentine soup with all of the chicken (and rabbit) stock. Adding the broth takes away that tang in the tomato soup (I can't stand tomato soup because of that tang - I'm picky). You don't really taste the chicken, it just takes away that bite. With cans of Campbells Tomato Soup on sale at our grocery store right now for $0.50 per can, I can make a gallon of soup for a few dollars that will last all week. If you enjoy the soup then instead of wondering what you are going to do with the 10 roosters'/rabbits' worth of broth you made, you start to wonder how you can make it last as long as the meat. For tough roosters I'm also planning on trying bourbon chicken/teriyaki chicken/Korean BBQ chicken. All of those seem to use dark meat (which is a hassle on those birds). I'm hoping the smaller pieces simmered down will be tender enough to work in any of those recipes. I just have to figure out how to make it work.
Old Roo Stew is a favorite around here. I also rest the roo around 3-4 days, and then throw them in the crock pot on low for 8-12 hours and then store the broth and the meat for any of the various recipes I could use cooked chicken for. Nothing better than an old roo for that! The taste is divine.
Thankyou!! There are two upstart roos out there. They are only just over 6 months but they go around as a team stalking the hens. Some of the hens have the good judgement to tell them to get lost, but others don't fare so well. I have been telling those two morons that they are invited to dinner and I am about to name the date.
Pulled chicken = enchiladas at our house. Super easy to make, and left overs reheat very well. She uses the packaged seasoning (found right with the taco shells and taco seasoning packets) add a can of corn, a can of black beans, diced green pepper, and diced onion. Season to taste. Slow cook the chicken 8hrs or so. When its ready and shredded, we'll place 12" tortillas in a baking dish, add the shredded chicken mixture, sprinkle cheese inside and out and toss under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the tortilla and melt the cheese. Pour over your enchilada sauce and your good to go. Add a side of rice or re-fried beans and you've got a great super easy meal. 1 enchilada with a side of rice and or beans is plenty of food. The 12" tortillas are your typical burrito sized wraps so you can put a fair amount of the shredded chicken mixture in it. So we make just enough for each of us and freeze the left over pulled chicken so we have an easy meal for later too. Just pull it out, thaw, place in the tortilla, and repeat the process with the cheese and you've got another super easy meal for those days when you need a fast meal, or don't feel like cooking and making a mess of the kitchen. Another thing we do with pulled chicken concept is white bean chicken chili. That's a real stick to your ribs but VERY healthy meal. You wouldn't think so but the beans make all the difference. Its an 8-12hr crock pot meal and we freeze the left overs. Another fast easy meal for you too. In fact we tend to make 2 crock pots worth when we cook these meals (and we have 6 and 7 quart crock pots too) so we have stuff to put into our freezer. Enjoy
