Protein Level Advice for Dual Purpose Dinner Cockerels

[Maeschak]

Thanks so much for all of the input everyone- if I remember, I will indeed post the results! I don't think I will be keeping them until 20 weeks which is what I did last time so the results won't be totally indicative but hopefully will give me a good idea if it is worth keeping them on 22% for the duration of their lives.

As a matter of fact, I think it was you Egghead_Jr that wrote a compelling post to try a few at 14 weeks so I am going to try a few then but take the rest at about 18 weeks. That is the plan anyway, we shall see!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

You'll like how tender they are at 14 weeks. Little brine and grill them. Mmmm. Do't get me wrong, I like 5-6 month roasters too but it's about as uneconomical as it gets so don't raise all birds to that age. Try and cull a lot of males at 13-14 week mark for the grill. Tender and economical age for a DP.

I was typing an edit on last post when you posted above. In a nut shell I think 22% protein is optimal.

 

[Maeschak]

Well that is good to know (22% being optimal). And I am looking forward to trying a few on the grill at 14 weeks! Although, I am not excited about butchering in mid December and I am really wondering/worrying about getting into the tiny little body cavities at that age... then again, if I am putting them on the grill I suppose I can split them in half (reverse spatchcock going through the breast as the breast will probably not yield much at that age). Do you split yours and debone for the grill? The only chickens I have ever grilled were deboned, split, salt & peppered, and placed above a pan of water to keep the chicken moist. The BEST chicken I have ever eaten (or at least ties with my rotisserie).

 

[aart]

I grill cockerels at 13-16 weeks...body cavities are not much if any smaller than a CX from my limited experience with CX. If your concerned tho, typical spatchcocking along back bone is a good option.

There's not much meat, period, but it's all tasty.

Key is resting cleaned carcass in fridge for 2-3 days before cooking.
Nice crispy grilled skin....yummmm....and the grilled bones make killer stock.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I can fit my hand into the cavity at that age. It's a bit tight but can be done. Have been working on a brine for years and finally settled on 7 ounces (by weight) of salt per gallon of water. With that concentration they ca be in solution for 24 hours. It's part of the resting period. I'm all about simple so put the cleaned birds in a stock pot with cover in fridge for day or two then add brine for last day, wrap to store or cook that third day. I spilt the young cockerels and grill the halves. Doubt it matters if split when butchering or day of cooking, never really thought about it and split day of cooking. Probably because I try and butcher as fast as I can to get it over with.

 

[Maeschak]

Thanks aart and Egghead_Jr. I cant wait to use grilled bones for stock. I always either smoke or roast bones for stock but never tried grilled before.

And Egghead, I read your 7 oz salt to water ratio on some other thread but haven not yet had the chance to use it- I def will use it for the next set of birds. Thanks so much for all of the good advice!

 

[aart]

I always part them out to grill, freeze, or whatever......and use pressure cooker for stock as it's much faster.
Smaller pkgs in freezer for a single and pieces fit in pot.

 

[Maeschak]

Well, @Egghead_Jr ,

I have been eagerly awaiting to try a few 14 week old cockerels on the grill since I read your post about it quite awhile ago. The feed conversion rate you talked about, along with the tenderness of a young, small cockerel smoking on the grill brought water to my mouth and logic to my brain. Even if there is little meat to be had, you have me convinced to try this delectable treat... and I am also waiting and wanting to see how your 7oz salt/1G of H20/24 hour brine works out before grilling/cooking. (I am also a hobby smoker who loves to try a good basic brine whenever anyone has one and yours seems to be the perfect basic brine).

But I must confess- while it sounded like an awesome idea a few months ago (and still sounds awesome in my head), it is now around 0 degrees with windchill (and 50 mph wind gusts) and I just don't think I have what it takes to do the deed in these temps.

I see some reprieve in the windchill in the next few days- would you not grill them at that age (like 15 weeks)? I am a fan of frying but cannot for the life of me fry anything successfully myself. Perhaps a good rotisserie would be ok at 15 or so weeks?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I bet it would be good rotisserie. It's not like there is a hard dead line where a bird is fine this week and horrible the next. Birds toughen with muscle tone and that's an ongoing slow process. The one time I butchered 14-15 week cockerels they were notably tougher than the 13ish week olds I'm used to and that can be as much to do with too hot a grill as it does with age. The younger the bird the more forgiving they are to cooking method.

Remember the salt for brine is by weight not volume. I really like it. I've gone as low as 6 oz and as high as 10. 6 oz still did the job of moisture retention and 10 oz was far too salty if soaked that long. 7 or 8 were to my taste bud and just makes sense to me to have it soak an entire day as your resting the meat for 3 days anyway so it's not any extra work really. Pull the container out of fridge on day 2 and add the brine for last day of rest. We've a fridge in the garage so I can easily make space to put birds in a large stock pot with lid. Brine recipies I've read and started to use were a ton of salt and only up to 4 hours soak. Kind of wasteful when time is on our side with butchering our own.

 

[Maeschak]

Update:

I just butchered several of the boys and thought I would update this thread on the results of using 22% protein by comparing them to a batch of Delaware boys I had awhile ago that ate lesser protein food.

My initial batch of Delaware cockerels were reared and butchered during warm months. They ate a 19% protein feed during the majority of their lives and had a bunch of 10.5% 3-grain non-gmo scratch added to the feed during the last few weeks before butcher. (I wanted to see if a very low protein feed would give them a little fat.) They had food available 24/7. I also kept them mainly in a hoop coop for the final few weeks since they were pestering the layers and to see if I could 'fatten' them at all. I butchered them at 20 weeks.
The result: The carcasses averaged 3.5lbs with no neck, feet, giblets. (I did not butcher the largest bird as he was my keeper. But he was the largest bird by far). They also had large, robust gizzards with a bit of fat around them. The skin was nice and thick with a bit of fat here and there on the carcass.

The recent Delaware cockerels (only 4 butchered so far) were exactly 21 weeks old at processing and lived most of their lives in the fall/winter months. They ate just about 22% protein or higher for most of their lives with several months getting that same feed fermented. (They did get into the layer's 17% protein though and free ranged daily so they also ate whatever food scraps I left in the garden). They had the 22% food available 24/7. Also, I intentionally butchered the smallest 4 birds.
The result: These carcasses averaged 3.875lb BUT this includes necks where the prior batch had no necks weighed. The gizzards actually seemed a bit small- I am wondering if the fermented feed had a hand in this as the gizzards didn't have to work as hard at grinding up the food. The gizzards had zero fat on them. The skin seemed sort of thin and I could not locate any fat anywhere to speak of. Oddly, these birds had longer bones and bigger frames than the first batch with a lower muscle to frame ratio than the first batch.

Since this isnt an apples to apples comparison it is hard to make any conclusions. (20 week butcher vs 21 week butcher; warm weather rearing vs cold weather rearing; butchering all cockerels vs only butchering smallest cockerels, etc.) It does seem, however, that the cold weather and high protein feed led them to have very little fat, less muscle, and more bone/frame growth than the first batch. For instance, a 3.3lb carcass from the first batch actually looks fairly well rounded for a DP bird and a 4+lb bird from this recent group looks gangly.

Not sure if this helps anyone, but I thought I would put it out there in case it does.