Need insight processing cross x

[Jo Anne]

First time harvesting in long time. I need a little clarity on the understanding once the bird is completely clean before you put it in the bag, I have read different folks do that part differently. Some soaking water before bagging some air dry before bagging. I’m confused.

 

[MysteryChicken]

All I do is rinse well, let it drip a bit so there's less water, then I bag my chickens. I typically do Heritage type chickens, not really a fan of Cornish X.
A Rooster I butchered recently.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think you are talking about aging. You need to wait until rigor mortis has passed to cook the bird. Most people wait until rigor has passed to freeze the bird. Some of us age the bird after freezing and it has thawed. It will not age while frozen.

In rigor mortis, the bird gets really stiff. If cooked then it can be inedible. Different birds age differently, age when butchered and storage temperature have an effect. You need to keep the bird cold while aging so bacteria can't grow. Some people do that in the fridge, many use an ice chest with ice or ice water. Rigor has passed when you can wiggle a joint without any stiffness. The flesh should not be stiff.

Some people age the bird in air, some in water. Some bag the bird before aging, some after. I think part of the confusion is that we do this so many different ways. It is not that there is only one right way, there are many different ways that work.

If your question is different, please let me know. I could easily have misunderstood you.

 

[Jo Anne]

Thank you helps a lot

 

[Broilers-R-Us]

Following gutting, our CC go into an iced water tank to cool down. After about an hour in the chill tank they go into a cooler with ice. They are left on ice for 24 hrs then we do a final clean up, dry off, shrink bagged and put in freezer.