Let the meat cool down

[amosygal]

I was told you need to let the meat cool down before it's cooked. Is it true? what happens if you don't? how long does it need to cool down for? where should it cool down (fridge, outside, freezer)?
(We grow chickens and ducks, when we have too many males we eat them).
Thanks

 

[itsy]

Here's a recent thread that talks about this. For birds that I'm raising for meat (and processing at a younger age), I will let it sit in the fridge in a large ziplock bag for 24 hours. If it's an older bird, I let it rest for 2-3 days. You can freeze them if you wish, but I'd let them rest for a day first before putting them in the freezer.

The purpose is to make the meat more tender. If you don't let the bird rest, the rigor hasn't passed and the meat is very tough and hard to cut/chew.