processed first chicken!not good tho.

[chooniecat]

Hi-posted few weeks ago about wanting to process the older chx and did the 5 1/2 yo mixed bantam ? roo. had my son watch the suggested custer family farm chicken processing video on youtube and he felt comfortable trying it(he has no real experience in processing anything other than observing) he did admirably but the old roos flesh looked disgusting. it took my son 45 minutes to get thru everything and I still question what type of knife to use because he claimed his knives were sharp but he had to saw a lot. got the processing done and I put the nasty looking thing in a cooking bag for 1 1/2 hours and it turned dark brown and the flesh was RUBBERY. bad experience so hope my 6 mo cockerel is easier to process and edible. the cooked roo is getting tossed into the woods tomorrow. hope I don't back out on meat birds. i am very discouraged.

 

[Judy]

Did you rest him in the fridge for at least a few hours? Many would rest him for 1 or 2 days before cooking or freezing. You have to get past the rigor mortis. As old as he was, I would probably also have brined him.

We processed the last of our extra roos at over 20 weeks and they have been fine, but were both rested and brined. (They were heavy breeds, Australorp, RIR, etc.)

Don't give up! You didn't start with the most ideal bird, and you have learned some things. It gets easier with even a little practice -- and faster, too.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Oh, I'm sorry for the trouble you had, consider it practice for the next ones you do. Tell your son that 45 minutes isn't bad for his first time, and he'll just keep getting better with every bird he does. Was he cutting through bone or ligament? It takes practice to find the right places to cut between the bones, otherwise you will be sawing through bone. And yes, the bird must rest for a day or two before cooking, and the older the bird, the slower & moister the cooking method should be. I have processed roos up to 6 months old and they all have been tender & tasty when prepared that way. A 5.5 year old bird may have been edible in the soup pot or slow cooker, I don't know, that seems old for a chicken.

Don't give up! Don't let your ambitious son give up either! The first bird is the most difficult to do, whatever it's age or condition, it should only get easier from now on!

 

[damselfish]

Do not worry, we also ate the very first roo we processed on the same day, because we were so excited to try it. It was like rubberbands & it was even a young roo.

Let it rest a while, put it in the fridge or freeze for later use and it will be fine.

 

[lorieMN]

at 5.5 years old I am surprised he could cut the skin AT ALL..way way way to old..and I dont care how you cook that it will never be edible...I do my layer roos at 12-16 weeks old..I just butchered some 1 year old roos for the dogs and it was a workout doing them...finally just skinned as best I could and chopped up and gave to the dogs..yes raw..I do our meat birds at 8-10 weeks..

 

[danielbrown]

I processed a roo that was almost a year old.
I let him rest then brined him before cooking. I stewed him nice and slow until he was tender. Picked the meat off the bones and made dumplings. very good, not rubbery at all. I wish i had more roos to process.

 

[Judy]

Oh, my, I misread it as 5.5 months, not years. I don't know that I would have tried that, either!

Definitely don't give up! Just get them a bit younger....

 

[chooniecat]

thanks guys-I DO plan on trying again because I have 7 old layers(4-6 years old) to eliminate to move the new layers in. as soon as THAT is done I will get some meat babies and plan on doing them at 7 wks. or so. when you suggest brine can I use table salt??? I KNOW I should have used a pot but don't have one yet so used the cooking bag after having convinced myself that I could do it(hard headed) so am going to thrift store this week to get large pot. may just bury the old layers and ask the chicken god for forgiveness because I hated to waste this roo but guess I'm not THAT hungry. will let ya'll know how cockerel turns out next week.

 

[Judy]

Oh, don't bury them, they will make WONDERFUL broth. You might even discard the meat after simmering for a long time, like 2-3 hours, with a few basics thrown in, like celery, carrots, an onion, maybe a little garlic, whatever you like. Some then cut the meat up small and across the grain; I'd probably give it to the dogs from hens that age, and freeze that lovely broth in 1 cup chunks. If nothing else, cook rice or veggies in the broth instead of water.

I buy boxes of kosher salt for brining because I have read not to use iodized salt. I guess it is possible to get too much iodine using iodized salt, though of course you may be able to buy table salt that is not iodized.

Relax, there is a learning curve; I'd probably have buried the rubbery roo, too -- well, no, I have dogs who will eat anything!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

The June/July 2006 issue of Backyard Poultry magazine had a great article titled "Tradition-Rich Chicken Soup". It says that older chickens make the best soup, a dish few of us have tasted in these days when most meat chickens are bred to be butchered very young. I hope the author, Gina Bisco, doesn't mind me quoting this paragraph of hers:

"...I think the best meat quality results from aging for at least 24 hours before cooking, so I usually age the hen in the fridge for a day after butchering. For stovetop stewing, the hen is then either jointed or left whole, and put in a pot narrow enough that the right amount of water will cover. The right amount of water for stewing an old hen is from 3/4 to one cup per pound, but an old rooster should be stewed in more water than that. The water should be brought to a simmer, about 180 degrees F (below boiling) and keep it going at that temperature until the meat is very tender. Usually it takes at least three hours of simmering to tenderize even a relatively small old hen; large hens perhaps four hours and a very big very old rooster might even take five or more hours. A 4-pound hen should make a quart or so of rich strong broth, while still keeping plenty of flavor in the meat, while an old rooster will yield perhaps twice the broth per pound as the hen. Once the meat is completely tender and removed from the bones, remember to protect the meat from too high heat when returned to the broth. If noodles are boiled in the broth, don't add the meat until they are done and the temperature has been lowered."

Happy hunting in your thrift stores for a soup pot, sounds like it would be worth a try to turn your old layers into sumptuous soup.