New Cooking Tips from an Old Bird

[Sally PB]

I'm going to type up one of my brine recipes, eventually.

Did you ever post this?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Not yet - I need to brine something again, then actually write it down. Most recently I've either used a dry rub or slathered in Better than Bullion, vaccuum packed, and thrown it in the sous vide!

 

[Sally PB]

the sous vide

What kind do you have? I don't need something else in the kitchen, but a really useful something else is always a consideration.

 

[R Wind]

I have had a need to dispatch old birds I couldn't process that day. I had read about hanging intact birds to age them.
https://honest-food.net/on-hanging-pheasants-2/
I put the drained of blood when dispatched bird in cold refrigerator, in a bag.... And thought about it 5 days later. It was out of rigor so I scaled, threw in the plucker and gutted . Worked out great and tender. I have done it several other times and up to 7 days. I have rested a plucked and gutted turkey for 10 days with great results.

Did you mean you dispatched and drained but didn't eviscerate the birds until after resting a few days later? I don't know what "scaled" means.

We are about to cull some 6 and 7 month old roosters from our first hatchings of our hens' eggs last Spring. (13 roosters, only 7 hens. Mixed breed, I suppose, golden laced Wyandotte and Rhodes Island Red so why did we end up with some black hens? A moot question. Just call them backyard chickens.)

I am wondering if I can take them off the roost at night when they are more catchable, go ahead to slaughter and drain...

Then store the carcasses in ice overnight ( and it's 37F overnight here)...

And then eviscerate and pluck in the morning.

Can I delay eviscerating overnight? Or will rigor mortis kick in and make evisceration impossible? Will leaving innards inside overnight say, 12 -16 hrs, contaminate the carcass?

Followed by resting in ice 48 hrs, then shrink wrapping for freezing. Or shrink wrapping before resting in ice? Then freezing 48 hrs later?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Grandma that raised me taught me to brine a bird in a bucket or pot. We had a newer gas oven but the old fired stove still was there.
Used a bit of what gave you spunk! We did her medicinal bottle just a shot. We had peppercorns and white onion with salt.

 

[kattabelly]

Did you mean you dispatched and drained but didn't eviscerate the birds until after resting a few days later? I don't know what "scaled" means.

I think it's a typo for "scalded" (before wet plucking)

We are about to cull some 6 and 7 month old roosters from our first hatchings of our hens' eggs last Spring. (13 roosters, only 7 hens. Mixed breed, I suppose, golden laced Wyandotte and Rhodes Island Red so why did we end up with some black hens? A moot question. Just call them backyard chickens.)

I am wondering if I can take them off the roost at night when they are more catchable, go ahead to slaughter and drain...

Then store the carcasses in ice overnight ( and it's 37F overnight here)...

And then eviscerate and pluck in the morning.

Can I delay eviscerating overnight? Or will rigor mortis kick in and make evisceration impossible? Will leaving innards inside overnight say, 12 -16 hrs, contaminate the carcass?

Followed by resting in ice 48 hrs, then shrink wrapping for freezing. Or shrink wrapping before resting in ice? Then freezing 48 hrs later?

I've personally never had any issues killing & bleeding, then hanging an unprocessed bird outside in winter temperatures (say 32-41F with occasional highs closer to 50) for up to a week or so, until I get round to dealing with it. I'd be slightly more cautious with birds with a full crop and guts but that shouldn't be a problem if you're pulling them off the roost early in the morning.

Rigor has generally passed if I'm processing that way but it shouldn't make any difference when gutting. Rigor affects the muscles and the cavity you're removing the viscera from is a skeletal structure. It might be more difficult to pluck some spots if they're really stiff.

Chicken is more risky due to (iirc?) which bacteria they tend to carry but game birds can be hung for a few weeks if you don't let them get too warm, and longer if you like them a bit ripe.

 

[Molpet]

Can I delay eviscerating overnight? Or will rigor mortis kick in and make evisceration impossible? Will leaving innards inside overnight say, 12 -16 hrs, contaminate the carcass?

Rigor makes evisceration difficult. I have not had any issues leaving innards inside until rigor mortis passes. So long as it's in a refrigerator or cold area.

From what I read, unplucked birds that were eviscerated were more likely to get contaminated from the germs on the feathers.

Did you mean you dispatched and drained but didn't eviscerate the birds until after resting a few days later? I don't know what "scaled" means.

Correct. They still have feathers and innards.

Scaled should have been Scalded . I dunk the birds in 150f water with a little soap until the long wing feathers pull easily.