- Thread starter
- #21
OrtumAntiqua
Chirping
- Jul 29, 2022
- 9
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Hi. I misspoke slightly. I should have said "air chilling" vs "water bath chilling." I used my dad's colloquialism in describing the process... After they are butchered they are hung in a cold room to chill down vs being left to soak in cold water. There are a handful of farms and processors adopting this method. The idea is that instead of water logging the meat in a water bath, diluting all the subtle chicken flavors you rinse them yes but then hang them dry at 33F to chill them down. Instead of diluting the flavors and getting soggy you actually concentrate the flavors and dry to skin to make it easier to crisp up later.
Some of the best broth we make here on the farm is from culling years old laying hens. We don't go out of our way to eat a roasted chicken that is that old or anything but generally i don't mind the flavor of an older chicken. You definitely have to treat it right. My 80 yo parents refer to the older chickens as "stewing chickens" when culled past a couple years. Generally good for broth, soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken pot pie etc... They don't taste bad either, very rich earthy flavors. Probably not for those who only like white meat. All to taste...
I tried to keep my freedom rangers for 120 days last year but they reached my max butchering weight around 80 days. luckily i saw it coming and had started fattening them early. This year with the Bresse which are smaller and slower growing, I'm hoping to get to 95 or 100 days to develop depth of flavor.
So happy you have joined our flock.
