My Cornish coss are a little bit on the chewy side.

[Thunderboltt]

This is my first attempt at raising these birds and we butchered at 9 weeks. We kept them pinned up for the first 6 weeks of life then let them free range for 3 weeks before butcher. The idea was to let them pic that natural flavors from picking grass, bugs etc. They do taste much better then a store bought chicken but they are a little more chewy. I was wondering is this because I let them get to 9 weeks or was it because we let them free range, or could it be something else.

 

[Gofygure]

The fact that they aren't injected with saline probably accounts for the chewiness. A little texture is natural! At nine weeks, a CX should be about as tender as a chicken gets. They wouldn't start to really toughen up for another month, at least.

The thing I learned with home-raised chicken is that you can't really compare it to grocery store chicken. The animal that was raised right and processed naturally with no added fluids or chemicals should be the baseline for 'tastes like chicken,' but unfortunately most of us were exposed to the store version way before we tried the real stuff.

 

[the_great_snag]

How long did you rest them before freezing them or cooking them? They need to age for 2 or 3 days in the fridge or they will also be a bit chewier.

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

How long did you rest them before freezing them or cooking them? They need to age for 2 or 3 days in the fridge or they will also be a bit chewier.

Agree, the muscles need to relax before cooking them.

 

[the1honeycomb]

HELP!!!!!!! I processed my birds 3 days ago. I put them in the Brine, 48 hours and cooked one up tonight! HELP!!!! it is the toughest tasting bird I ever cooked!!!!!! this is the third try if I can't fix this i won't be having birds anymore!!!!!
Anything is helpful

 

[myhubbycallsmechickeemama]

When you cooked your bird was it soft and flexible when you touched it? Was it a CX or another type of bird, how old was it?

 

[Island Roo]

Quote:
I'm so glad I found this before we process our birds.

Does the bird feel different after a couple of days in the fridge - should I wait till it feels "tender" before freezing?

Also - our feed supplier recommends using "grower" feed for 6-8 weeks and then a couple of weeks on "finisher" feed. Would that make a difference in texture / tenderness?

 

[xC0000005]

You'll definitely feel a difference when they are ready. The ones I bagged and tagged today are firm to the touch. The ones that have rested have that "squishy" feeling that tender meat has. I gave mine three days in the fridge and then ate one and froze the others. Yours might only need a day or two. I can't say for sure.

 

[Island Roo]

Thanks xC...

I found my own answer on the feed question. Grower vs finisher has more to do with growth rate and fat.
This explains what I needed to know
http://www.homesteadorganics.ca/meat-chickens.aspx

 

[Thunderboltt]

they were CX 5 pounds in 9 weeks but i think it was the fact that we ate on right after kill. I left them in ther fredge as suggested and it was great. Full of flavor and tender. Thanks for the help