meat handling- help!

[TeamChaos]

We had eight surplus roos butchered today and this is our first time through so I'm new to everything- my husband had planned on cutting them up the way he wanted them frozen before he left for work, but called me later to let me know he didn't get around to it. The birds were still packed in ice and very cold, so I'm not worried about that part but all I did was rinse each bird inside and out and put it in a 2 gal. freezer bag in the 'fridge. I noticed some of the birds still had long stringy feathers attached to them (I didn't clean these, we paid some neighbors $1 a bird to do the whole thing). Will the meat be okay sitting in the fridge and then handled again before being frozen? Thanks for any advice!

 

[misspennyloise]

Good Morning, I see nothing wrong with what happened to the chickens. I think it is a good idea to "rest/relax" the meat before you place it in a freezer. After my birds are processed I rinse them and re-clean the body and then place it in the refrigerator. So in my opinion, you have nothing to worry about...as long as the chickens weren't warm and then cooled and warmed and then cooled. Hope this makes sense to you. Also a clean work environment and hands are always safest. Enjoy after thoroughly cooking the chickens

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

most people do just that; let them relax in frig for 2 or 3 days before freezing.

 

[jaku]

That's perfectly fine. If I have time, I age mine for 24 hours in salted ice water, bag them, then age again another 24 hours in the fridge before freezing.

 

[TeamChaos]

*whew* because, once again, we did not get them cut up and in the freezer today- so that makes two days in the 'fridge. I was going to be heartbroken if all that meat was wasted. Thanks so much!

 

[eKo_birdies]

store bought chicken sits around in a refrigerator for longer than 2 days..... a lot longer..

 

[jaku]

Probably a lot longer than two days before it even gets to the store!

 

[eKo_birdies]

yes... very true!

 

[carrlr]

Congrats on your first butcher. Sounds like you did great. At least you know the "history" of these birds unlike store bought. No idea how those are handled before or after they're butchered.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

yep they should be just fine. we let ours set 2 - 4 days. just make sure your fridge is VERY cold. we age ours in the beer fridge on the coldest setting.

great work!

ps dont worry about the feathers.. just pull them off.