My home grown fryers are way to tough, ideas?

[chickenrunnin]

This is probably a silly post but I am wondering why the fryers we have grown from babies and now are in the freezer are so tough. Every single one that we have cooked have been so hard to eat. The store bought chicken is not that way. I am cooking the same exact way. What could I be doing wrong while raising them?

 

[wildorchid053]

how old are they? were they allowed to run around alot and develop big muscles? i think store bought chickens are confined and don't get to move much.

 

[FrenchHen]

The crock pot is your friend.

How old were they at slaughter?

 

[MandyH]

We gave some people 26 roos the other day that we didn't need and they brought us a dressed bird back. Well, I brined it like I've read on here to do, then cooked it. Well, even my husband couldn't eat it. He said it was too chewy. I don't like chicken anyway and was scared to try it, but I did. It had a great flavor, but not a great texture.

 

[ijon1]

Home grown chickens have more texture than store bought chickens.

 

[Chef]

Freshly slaughtered chicken needs to rest in a fridge for up to 48 hours before eating and freezing. I leave mine in overnight and by dinner it is fine.


Chef

 

[journey11]

Several things to consider:

*Correct age at slaughter.
*Protein level of their feed.
*Confined or allowed to run and play (I keep mine in a range pen so they get the benefit of pasture without running themselves tough and stringy).
*Calmer and gentler handling/less anxiety for the bird during butchering.
*Did you let the meat rest a couple of days in the fridge before freezing?
*Consider brining, which is what they do to store-bought birds--but if all other things are done properly, I find this to be optional.

 

[saddina]

Store chickens are injected with brine ("up to 10% saline solution" on the label is the clue), did you rest them 24-48 hours or brine them?

What cooking method we talking? dry heat (baking, grilling, frying) can make the meat drier/tougher when chewing.

Not at all a silly post, we want you to enjoy the chickens you raised.