Meat bird issue - what about rigor?

[Sojourner2]

I butchered several of my Cornish rock chickens this week. Not my first rodeo but first time I did more than one at a time. They were in rigor rather quickly - should I have allowed them to come out of it before freezing or is it ok to freeze them in that condition?

 

[offgridhermit]

I butchered several of my Cornish rock chickens this week. Not my first rodeo but first time I did more than one at a time. They were in rigor rather quickly - should I have allowed them to come out of it before freezing or is it ok to freeze them in that condition?

I was told to let them rest in the frig for 3 days for rigor to pass before cooking or freezing.

 

[sgtdawg]

I heard that they needed to be frozen for thirty days to kill any disease is this true?

 

[rc4u]

ssecond post is good and i have never heard anything so out a here...freeze for 30 days to kill bacteria?? but i live in ND and farms and food comes frome the feild every day...but i guess if someone said that you gotta ask eh...so its not a dumb question ...

 

[wyoDreamer]

You can let it rest in the fridge when you take it out to cook also. That is what my mom did. Just plan a couple of days in advance, so it can thaw and then rest. My mom would check for rigor by grabbing the leg and try to bend the joint. When the joint moves, it is ready to roast. Make a mental note of how long it takes to rest when you do the first one, and it will make the rest of them a little easier to plan for. We got a couple of old hens from my aunt when she would butcher in the fall. They were OK as roasters, but man were they good as chicken adn dumplins

 

[ChaoSS]

I heard that they needed to be frozen for thirty days to kill any disease is this true?

Freezing won't kill everything but proper cooking will.

Home grown chickens are less likely to have any diseases than factory farmed chickens, and sometimes store bought chicken is never frozen.