Killed our first rooster- he wasn't very good...how come?

[moenmitz]

One of our 15 wk White Giants was attacked by the others and pecked badly, so we decided to cull him. We killed him Tuesday night, ate him last night. He aged in the fridge about 18 hours- not the full 24 I had seen recommended, but I thought it was probably close enough. Not alot of meat on him, obviously, and I maybe should have just fried him. For lack of time, I threw him in the oven and roasted, like I typically do with the free- range chickens I have purchased from a farmer. He was kind of greasy and a bit tough...and I am puzzled as to why. Also, the dark meat was really, really, really dark...much darker than I have seen on the other chickens (the others are also dual purpose roosters that were free ranged- unsure as to their type or age though) and it was visually unappealing for me anyway. Is this something typical of the White Giants maybe?

BTW, method of slaughter was a hatchet to the head-he had been hurt for a few hours I think before we found him though, due to the extreme loss of blood-he was very weak and could not hold his head up or stand even- we wondered if perhaps his being in pain for so long might have affected the meat?

 

[Mrs MIA]

It is possible. :aww Sorry about your roo...

We have found that aging the meat in a saltwater brine helps tenderize the meat some, too. About 1 cup of salt dissolved in a gallon of water or more... doesn't take much. We usually wind up doing ours for 48 hours. Baking tends to dry them out, too... free range is probably better as a stew or crockpot.

 

[moenmitz]

I will age them longer next time...and maybe try the brine too. He wasn't dry, just tough. The others I have always roasted, and they were all free range and have always been Soooooo good that I enver expected there might be an exception. He wasn't terrible...just not the delicious chicken I have come to expect...

 

[silkiechicken]

Perhaps the free range birds you ate previously were a meat type chicken, so despite being free range, really preferred the company of the feeder than their free range. A darker more "flavorful" meat does occur with chickens that are 15 weeks old, vs the 6-8 weeks old of even a free range meat type bird.

Brining and more aging would probably help it taste more like chickens you're used to, as many think "fresh" chicken is "weird".

 

[Mrs MIA]

It is likely that the pain did it, then... bummer...

 

[moenmitz]

Quote:
You missed that part of my post.... they were dual purpose roosters, not "meat chickens" They had mostly dark meat and rather small breasts....but were always very flavorful and of a much different texture than store bought chickens