Meat is tough

[sueb7375]

We processed our first five Cornish xrocks yesterday and I roasted one. The meat was a bit tough. Is there a proper wait time before actually cooking a bird? I thought you could process the bird and eat it right away. I want the meat to be tender and juicy. I will say, when my husband presented me with the bird to roast I was really impressed. I weighed it and it was 8.2 lbs. Looked clean, just like store bought! Anyone have any advice? By the way the other four are in my refrig. I'm waiting a day or two before I seal them and freeze them and maybe try to roast another one.
Thanks!

 

[thegawd]

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[Nupe]

The key is be quick. You want to get the bird cooking before rigor sets in. When you kill the bird, you want to get as much blood out of it as possible right away. That's why people like to slit the throat rather than to break the neck or take the head off. It allows the heart to pump out more blood. If the bird goes stiff, you have to keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days until it relaxes again.

Because I process several birds in one day, I don't plan on eating one right away. I just dump the gutted bird into an cooler full of iced brine. By the time I'm finished, most of the birds have already gone stiff. I bring them in, rinse off the brine, bag them and set them in the fridge for 3 days. Then I cut them up and freeze.

We have a craigslist refrigerator that we installed an industrial temp controller on just for resting chickens and brewing lagers.

 

[rick54]

Sueb, thank you for sharing your experience. I had questioned this whole rigor issue, but now I'm thinking there may be some truth to it and its association to toughness.

thegawd, I will follow your advice should I want to do a roast chicken for Sunday dinner in the future. Three days in the fridge after butchering to tenderize it.

In reading what Nupe suggested, I would have the following question. If you cut-up the bird, package it and freeze it, wouldn't the rigor subside during the months of being in the freezer? What about when you remove it from the freezer and let it thaw before cooking, would this period also allow for the rigor to subside?

Now for the million dollar question! Since I plan on butchering in the early morning, and cooking (boiling) it immediately afterwards in order to can the chicken in broth, wouldn't this rigor issue then become a non issue? We plan on canning all our birds rather than taking up freezer space with whole birds.

 

[Nupe]

Sueb, thank you for sharing your experience. I had questioned this whole rigor issue, but now I'm thinking there may be some truth to it and its association to toughness.

thegawd, I will follow your advice should I want to do a roast chicken for Sunday dinner in the future. Three days in the fridge after butchering to tenderize it.

In reading what Nupe suggested, I would have the following question. If you cut-up the bird, package it and freeze it, wouldn't the rigor subside during the months of being in the freezer? What about when you remove it from the freezer and let it thaw before cooking, would this period also allow for the rigor to subside?

Now for the million dollar question! Since I plan on butchering in the early morning, and cooking (boiling) it immediately afterwards in order to can the chicken in broth, wouldn't this rigor issue then become a non issue? We plan on canning all our birds rather than taking up freezer space with whole birds.

I'm no expert by no means. I haven't been processing my own chicken for very long. I've simply been following the advice I've read here. After the 3 day rest I cut my birds up to freeze since I'm only cooking for 2. My meat is excellent so why change it up? My grandmother and some other old fogies I've talked to suggests that chicken doesn't need a rest period before going to the freezer. But times change and the resting seems to be the more popular practice among the BYC butchers.

As far as the million dollar question, I can offer a little experience. The first 2 chickens my husband and I processed together were scalded too hot and the skin and some meat was torn up pretty good in the plucker. I set those aside and about 3 hours later when we were all finished killing and cleaning, I put those two birds in a pot for "dog soup." I simmer them for about 24 hours until the bones crumble. Then I smoosh it up, bones and all, into a gravy to pour over the dog's kibble. The meat on these chickens as I was pulling it all apart seemed quite tender

 

[rick54]

Nupe, thank you for your quick reply. You mentioned about the scalding water being too hot and the skin and meat was torn up. Usually this happens when only one bird is put into the plucker. Try two or three at a time. If you were to can your chicken, this wouldn't be a problem as you'd remove the skin before canning anyway. There are benefits in canning chicken. First, the taste is great and the chicken is versatile to work with in recipes. Secondly, you can store it longer than a chicken in the freezer without the worry of freezer burn. Lastly, you don't use up all your room in the freezer.

In regards to your "dog soup", I can tell you that my sister-in-law raises German Shepards, and has been doing so for the last 40 years. She feeds her dogs raw uncooked chicken, bones and all. Now you might wonder if this is safe. I can tell you that feeding a dog uncooked chicken is the safest way. Only the bones from cooked chicken splinter. Raw UNcooked chicken bones DO NOT splinter!

 

[Nupe]

We scald and pluck 2 at a time, it was defiantly the scalding temp. We used a turkey fryer and switched from the hang on thermometer to an IR temp gun. That worked better. Also, I cut up my chicken into leg quarters for grilling/broiling, wings for hot wings when I get the urge to burn my face off, boneless breast for a little bit of everything and the carcass and giblets for soup. I could probably can some breast meat, but I wouldn't want to give up my skin.

I know about feeding raw food. The hubby and I used to do it, too. We have 3 rescues and 2 mastiffs we got from the same breeder. The first mastiff was perfect in every way. The second was from the first litter of a new sire that the breeder bred too soon only to find out the new male she added to her bloodline had an aggression streak. We didn't find out until she was a part of the family so getting rid of her wasn't an option. She has no aggression towards us, but rather she fixates on the other dogs if we don't control it. Long story short, one of her triggers is raw food. We used to get raw bones from butchers and save deer bones from hunting season. I used to feed them manager special meats, chicken bones and all, and raw cow liver blended up and poured over their kibble. We called it stinky stew. (It stank twice.) Now, if I don't cook it, she gets the grumbles towards the other dogs while I'm preparing them or while the other dogs are finishing their meals. She knows she's wrong in doing it but just seems hardwired to it. She will start to growl and shiver at the same time, knowing she'll get yelled at. We tried separating them but the confusion only made her more aggressive. We finally decided we just couldn't do it anymore. Now I cook their extras. They get scrambled eggs in the morning and soup in the evening. The eggs give them probiotics and their kibble is high quality. They're quite healthy.