Overscalded birds....?

[MaineChickens]

I processed 4 cornish x's yesterday. I was apparently off my game. I overscalded all but one bird. One I went ahead and skinned, but the other two are still intact.

I guess what I need to know is can I still keep these guys for roasters? The skin didn't tear, it just has that waxy look and I can not remove that yellow cuticle. One of the birds in question fills a 13 x 9 pan all by himself, so I hate to cut him into parts- I can feed a small army with him!

Anyone here had this happen and roasted it later? Was there a difference after the fact?

 

[silkiechicken]

I would just age and cook as usual. Just don't store it as long as you would otherwise.

One thing that I find that helps when scalding birds is to dip in a thermometer and make sure the temp falls around 140F for younger birds (like your cornish x) and up to 160 for real old birds destined for soup.

You mention yellow cuticle? I usually find it rubs off if the temps used to scald are just over 140.

One good way to test water temp is to dip in a foot for 30 seconds. If you can pull off the sock really easily, it is good to go. If the foot stiffens, or you pull off "meat" with the sock, it's too hot, and if you just get a warm leg, it's too cold. We use feet for soups so if you lose a foot, it's no biggie.

 

[MaineChickens]

OK, thanks. So freezing it for a month or so will be fine then whole you are guessing?

I could probably rub the cuticle off, but I think in the process I would be at a high risk of tearing the skin. It just looks ....odd.

I am grilling the parts from the one I skinned for dinner with some summer squash, zuchini, onion, and couscous... Yum. The chicken is in the brine now.