I have 5-7 roosters that need culled! They are RIR, BO, and RIR x BO. All decent size. I would like them to use for grilling, baking and some soups. What is the best age to cull them at for what I want to use them for? Also I was told to use grower/finisher feed for them the last 2-4 weeks of their life because it will make them meat tenderer....any truth to that?
You can process them at any age, but the older ones will be bst for soups stew etc. I have done extra cockerals at 12 weeks, and while stil small they are great for grilling, I have rasted 6 month old one and they were fine. As for the grower finisher, I wouldn't know. Usually tender has to do with age and marinting/brining.
There is no one "perfect age". It depends on what breed, (usually that just means whether it's a broiler such as Cornish-Rock X or color Rangers, or some other, slower growing type) and how you intend to prepare it. For frying, grilling, or some other fast-cooking method, you want very young birds. Roasters can be older. For cooking very slowly, such as in a crock pot, they can be as old as the hills, they'll get tender eventually. Any meat will get tender in a pressure cooker, too. With birds other than the specified broiler hybrids, there's a trade-off between tenderness and how much meat there is. By the time they get much size, they're getting to be on the tough side, though the breast and thigh meat is usually still tender. You can fillet the breasts and thighs for frying, and crock pot or pressure cook the rest. the rest. There are a gazillion threads on this subject, do some reading, you'll see plenty of methods and suggestions.
