Just ATE my first raised chicken....and

[pookiegoldman]

IT WAS GREAT! Wow... That obnoxious 2AM crowing black cochin finally got it, and he tasted soooo good. I wasn't planning on eating him, but hey, things happen. I had too many roosters that NOBODY would take. I figured that if I was going to give them away for someone else to eat, I should just eat them myself. I'm so glad that I did. I ended up browning him with a few onions and spices, then basically stewing him, adding water when necessary until he was tender, then rendering the last bit of water down into a nice gravy. YUM-O. After the first bite, I realized that it was much easier than I thought, and I'm going to need to find a hatchery still shipping so I can some meat birds!!

 

[debilorrah]

You are now on your way to being more self sufficient. Congrats. And ignore the boo-boo's that will likely enter this thread. Was it juicy? I haven't processed any birds because they are not meat birds, and Ken can't live with it.

 

[annaraven]

I fully intend for the girls to go into the pot in a few years when they stop laying.

Glad to hear your first experience was a yummy one!

 

[pookiegoldman]

Thanks! It was very juicy indeed. It took a little longer get to the point that it was tender (about 2 hours), but the flavor was unbelievable. That's what chicken was supposed to taste like. Without all the hormones, "enhanced solutions" and who knows what else...

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Great!

 

[Matt A NC]

You have now ruined yourself. You will never be able to enjoy store bought chicken the same as before. Now that you have tasted real chicken you will see how bland that store chicken is. That is why there are so many premixed spices for chicken. You have to ADD flavor to store chicken.

Matt

 

[Junkmanme]

My dog was "apparently" quite pleased with the last chicken that HE ATE.

(He didn't get any "dog-food" later that evening.)

Ha-Ha !
-Junkmanme-

 

[Liamm_1]

Quote:
Nice! you're right where I want to be in about 2-3 weeks

 

[pookiegoldman]

Quote:
Yes, I think you're right. It's the same way with the grass-fed farm cows that we buy. We've been out of fresh beef for a couple of months now and I DESPISE the store-bought beef now. I'm about to experience the "real" turkey taste Sunday when I cook my first raised tom, too!

 

[ChickyChickyBaby]

You will seriously never eat another store bought piece of chicken again.

I was worried about raising and butchering meat birds. Wondered if it would be worth it, if I would be able to tell a difference.
I definitely could!!! One night I cooked the last package of store bought chicken that was in the freezer -BBQ'd! . I made sure to take one piece and only boil it to actually taste the chicken. Next night, I used our own pasture raised meat bird. Did same thing. BBQ'd supper, and boiled one piece. WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE in the meat. Better flavor, more tender, retained juices better! The BBQ'd pieces were also wayyyyyy better than store bought. Since they were meat birds, and not very old, the meat was more tender than I expected. I thought it would end up tough. Not so. Was best chicken.Ever.

Now I will not eat store bought chicken, nor will I eat chicken at a restaurant. Only our own meat chickens.

ETA::: BTW...We have not butchered anything but our meat birds. I have no clue how any other chicken varieties are.