Is this appropriate?

[lazy gardener]

There is an Eskimo delicacy where they take whole birds (small critters) and, IIRC bury them in an animal skin, let them spend a season to "age". They are then dug up and eaten raw. Yummy. I'll see if I can find the video.
https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...ew&id=52&vid=22412cc534439de14869c2bdf2b51e66

 

[lazy gardener]

Sorry, aart. Thought it was you.

 

[Maeschak]

I experimented with resting and cooking a few cockerels - 1 I rested only half a day, 1 I rested a bit over 24 hours, 1 I rested 3 days, and 1 went 5 days before cooking.

The biggest difference was the 3 day rested bird. After 3 days the bird seemed to get a bit more tender but not enough to warrant the extra time and fridge space.

 

[aart]

Sorry, aart. Thought it was you.

NP.

I experimented with resting and cooking a few cockerels - 1 I rested only half a day, 1 I rested a bit over 24 hours, 1 I rested 3 days, and 1 went 5 days before cooking.

The biggest difference was the 3 day rested bird. After 3 days the bird seemed to get a bit more tender but not enough to warrant the extra time and fridge space.

Excellent to know...had wanted to do this but never did.

I butcher(part out) fresh turkeys from a buddy each year.
First time I had a heck of time cutting it up after 2-3 days in fridge.
Next year I waited 4-5 days and it was like night and day, all those tendons loosened up nicely.

 

[AudieWarren]

This whole resting thing throws me for a loop... Fishermen don't do it. Does the poultry industry "rest" their birds before sending them to market for people to buy?

Some report cooking the same day and still getting a reasonable product... maybe before rigor sets in? But sometimes we can feel the rigor setting in a bit by the time we remove from the cone to the table for finishing... and my daughter has to kinda work their legs a little to loosen things up.

What happens if you freeze immediately after processing? Do you still then rest the meat for a few days after defrosting?

Are cows and pigs rested before preparation as well?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience!

We let our deer rest in a cooler almost a week Before processing. Otherwise it'll be so tough. I've ate chicken the day of and a few days later. I prefer rested meat. It gives the muscles a chance to soften back up.

 

[AudieWarren]

I experimented with resting and cooking a few cockerels - 1 I rested only half a day, 1 I rested a bit over 24 hours, 1 I rested 3 days, and 1 went 5 days before cooking.

The biggest difference was the 3 day rested bird. After 3 days the bird seemed to get a bit more tender but not enough to warrant the extra time and fridge space.

This is the exact reasony husband and I are planning to build an outdoor kitchen with a walk in cooler. Between chicken and deer, I'd like to have my own place to hang and process without talking up prime real estate in the house.

 

[JDN]

From a hunting aspect I've shot numerous quail, pheasant, and turkeys.
Have eaten a lot of those the same day most were breasted and fried never noticed a tough bird. Smoked most of the turkeys within a day.

From a deer aspect if it's about 30 to 40 degrees I'll let them hang for up to 5 days with the hide on. There is still some enzyme and bacterial action that helps breakdown some tissues in the meat. But not enough to make it rot.

There is some really high dollar steaks called aged beef that may go 90 days or more aged and it's never frozen they are supposed to be tender and delicious. But when you see them when pulled out of the aging process looks terrible. Kind like a country cured ham.

So I'm guessing most of the resting phase has to do with enzymes that are still breaking down tissues and rigor leaving for a more tender bird.

I've done likewise. I also know that back in the day, protocol was to hang pheasants, ducks, etc...

I had the opportunity to share an airplane seat with a gentleman that worked for a commercial broiler operation. He told me that more than the diet, more than the housing they're raised in, more than anything else that is ascribed to make a better tablefare chicken, that the cooling and aging process is what makes the chicken taste better, over and above what you're used to. He said that most commercially sold chicken is water cooled, not unlike what we do in the back yard with the ice cooler. He said that the best chicken is air cooled, allowed to cool over two or three days after processing. It takes time, and therefore money, but makes a better chicken.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

He said that the best chicken is air cooled, allowed to cool over two or three days after processing

Last year or so when we got educated and decided humane was important to us... we discovered air cooled chicken, which was really appealing to the brain after seeing the bloody, chlorine, poo river of the industry.

Since we process only a couple birds at a time, I have never used an ice chest to rest all the carcasses in for those days. So we instead do "air chill" the birds. We have experimented with leaving the bag open or closing it. Left open, it creates dry spots. We recently started using a vacuum sealer... any opinions on whether it should be sealed while resting or if it needs any gas exchange? Or if sealing inhibits the rest?

Thank you guys sooo much for the input! This really helpful.

Anybody brine DURING their rest period?

Those chickens that got froze before their rest was complete, as indicated by the chicken noodle soup that had no chicken cuz it was too tough last week... I will try grinding those. We use ground chicken for plenty of stuff, and seems like having it cut to those small crumbles *may* alleviate our fumble.

Great info sharing!

 

[Dr.GarryTTucker]

This is super interesting. So you mean air dry as in walk in cooler or refrigerator? I’m very interested in eggsighted4life’s questions!

 

[Maeschak]

Last year or so when we got educated and decided humane was important to us... we discovered air cooled chicken, which was really appealing to the brain after seeing the bloody, chlorine, poo river of the industry.

Since we process only a couple birds at a time, I have never used an ice chest to rest all the carcasses in for those days. So we instead do "air chill" the birds. We have experimented with leaving the bag open or closing it. Left open, it creates dry spots. We recently started using a vacuum sealer... any opinions on whether it should be sealed while resting or if it needs any gas exchange? Or if sealing inhibits the rest?

Thank you guys sooo much for the input! This really helpful.

Anybody brine DURING their rest period?

Those chickens that got froze before their rest was complete, as indicated by the chicken noodle soup that had no chicken cuz it was too tough last week... I will try grinding those. We use ground chicken for plenty of stuff, and seems like having it cut to those small crumbles *may* alleviate our fumble.

Great info sharing!

I wouldn't recommend chilling in a sealed bag- if you don't get all of the moisture off of the bird before sealing, it seems to hasten spoilage greatly. (At least for me.) I like to put my birds into a bowl with a damp towel over them or a bag laid on top (not enveloping the birds). I still have to move them around once or twice a day so that the fridge doesn't dry out the exposed skin too much.

Usually, though, I just brine and rest at the same time. After chilling the birds in a cooler (I spatchcock them and then wrap the bird around a frozen two-liter bottle) for a few hours and then I put them in a 5 gallon bucket in the fridge with some salt water. I let them sit in that brine for 3 days and then cook. Just remember to use a very light brine- one that can soak for 3 days.

As far as air chilling like the French do (I think they are the ones...) the chilling chambers are basically well controlled for temperature, air circulation, and HUMIDITY. Getting the air circulation and humidity correct are the hardest parts. It must not be so humid as to promote bacterial growth and not so dry that the bird turns to leather. I believe it is very similar if not the same as 'dry aging' beef. If you had a dedicated fridge you could probably air chill your birds by sitting them up on stands (like when people do beer can chicken) and then spritzing your birds/fridge interior with water every so often... but it might be hard to keep the temperature down.