Is home-raised chicken meat REALLY that good?

[SandraMort]

I'm confused (what's new?).

If free ranging makes the meat tough, why are freedom rangers supposed to be ranged? Or are they the exception, and if so, why?

 

[blue90292]

the rangers are processed by around 81 days. the birds this hobby farm person processed were probably dual purpose and much much older, 6 mo to a year which makes the meat tougher.

 

[SandraMort]

WHEW, I got worried there for a minute!!! So my poussin sized power rangers will be super tender?

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[Acre of Blessings]

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So glad to hear this due to the fact myself and a couple friends are about to order 100 Cornish Cross birds from Mt. Healthy and they are sending 50 free ones witht he order. $115 for 150 birds isn't that bad.

What age did you process the cornish at and what was the average weight of the dressed bird?

And what is the best age for a standard bird to be processed at?

 

[dancingbear]

When a bird is processed young enough, they won't be tough from free-ranging. I let mine range because I think it makes for a healthier bird, therefor better for me when I eat it. My free-range eggs have those pretty, deep orange yolks, like they're supposed to have.

Older birds, the more they run around, the tougher they will be, but I don't think you that's really a problem with most broiler breeds. They usually just sort of amble, (or waddle, depending on the breed) rather than run everywhere, like some breeds.

 

[graykristen]

We process all of our Cornish Crosses at 8 weeks. The average dressed weight is 6 pounds. We have had 8 and 9 pounders too. It's almost cruel to wait much longer to process them as some of them (the males) get so big their legs and hearts can't keep up and they'll die. During the last 2 weeks they just take off and grow so much. We have gotten nothing but rave reviews from our customers. Last night when we tasted that chicken, we couldn't believe how good it was. Feels like all of our hard work has finally paid off.

 

[Beekissed]

Any other pointers on how to get the most tasty and juiciest bird? I like the idea of happy chickens, and that somehow that will "transfer" to what they provide for us, in both the meat and eggs. Can chickens be happy in a pen, or even kept inside?

I will tell you what made a big difference in the tenderness of my dual purpose birds. After butchering, do not put immediately in the freezer. Chill the birds in the fridge or on ice for a couple of days to "relax" the meat fibers. It made a tremendous difference in the tenderness of the meat for us. I've tried it the other way and even the young birds were a little tougher.

As for the "running around", an older bird will be a bit tougher, whether they are kept in a run or freeranged. I don't think the level of activity matters much when they are that old. Although just a tad bit more chewy, they still taste superlative if processed in this manner. When I grilled my roosters, I had an older hen on the same grill and I was the only one who knew it, noone else could pick out the older bird by taste or texture alone.​

 

[kstaven]

Yes it is really that good if you take the time to apply advice like that given here.

BTW: If you find some one around you that makes cheese and can get the whey that is left over even dual purpose birds at 4 months + will be far more tender.

 

[TexasJoe]

Homegrown is definitely better. She was probably butchering old chickens, or simply wasn't raising a breed that is known for it's delicious meat. Plus, diet can be an issue, since it was probably eating layer feed, since I'm assuming she was mostly raising the birds for eggs. Plus, the meat should be properly aged to soften the meat, as well as butchering the chicken in a way as to not stress it out (causing it to tense up).

 

[willheveland]

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I like it most in the middle of winter when it is snowing and blowing,when you come in from the outside and all you can smell is roasted chicken. Will