Raising our 1st set of CX meaties

[kuntrygirl]

I can cook one of my 9# birds, and make 3 days of meals for my family. One of roasted chicken, one chicken pot pie or other casserole, and one chicken soup. My hard earned meat is well used, and feeds my family for more than one day. If I piece out and freeze, I never seem to be able to stretch it as far. We love fried chicken, and it always seems to end an entire bird at one meal, even if we bone out and strip the breast into tenders.

Did I hear you say pot pie?????? ! POT PIE IS MY FAVORITE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can fry a broiler?

 

[kuntrygirl]

ETA: Speaking of stock, I just found a good way to freeze stock. I read where one lady freezes her stock in ice trays and takes out what she needs. I do that for lemon juice but I never thought of it for stock. I have some shrimp stock I want to use in something this weekend. I may cook it with grits or some jasmine rice. I"ll have to research more recipes to give me some kind of creative thing to do with my chicken stock. Perhaps a good soup.

LOVE IT! I need another freezer just for stock and rendered fat, did you know rendered chicken fat (The big yellow globby body fat) makes THE BEST pie crust, and can be used as a substitute for commercial shortening in ANY recipe?

ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!!!??????????? I didn't know that. WOW!!! Thanks for that tip. I had already designated this weekend to cooking, so it looks like I"ll be researching and cooking all this weekend.

 

[kuntrygirl]

That does sound like a better way to do it. But I"m sure when I get to broiler #35, I will want to get er done and stick that baby in a freezer bag, throw it in the freezer and call it a day.


ETA: Speaking of stock, I just found a good way to freeze stock. I read where one lady freezes her stock in ice trays and takes out what she needs. I do that for lemon juice but I never thought of it for stock. I have some shrimp stock I want to use in something this weekend. I may cook it with grits or some jasmine rice. I"ll have to research more recipes to give me some kind of creative thing to do with my chicken stock. Perhaps a good soup.

That's what I did this last time.  Poured most of it over the meat I was canning, canned more into jars and then froze the fat I had skimmed off the top of the chilled stock, and left over stock at the bottom of the pan that had all the heavy spices in it, into trays and then emptied them into a zip loc bag so that I can take a couple out at a time and season things with them.  I made the BEST       POTATO      SOUP    EVERRRRRRR!  the other day with those stock/fat cubes!  I kid you not.  My 79 yr old mother, who is a cook par excellent, said the same thing...said she never had tasted potato soup that good.  It was so buttery and creamy, with just the right flavor and seasoning that I didn't put any kind of dairy or cream into it to make it creamy.  It was like a dream. 

All I can say is I love potato soup!

Note to self - Try Potata soup recipe.

 

[SlipsWife]

I ordered my last batch from a hatchery out west and they just were genetically smaller than the ones I got from TSC....they grew slower and had a different body style~short and short bodied..more cornish than rock. I wasn't real happy with how they finished out but they were very healthy and vigorous. The monster mongo CX I helped someone butcher this summer were from TSC and I've never seen bigger birds in my life...they were free ranged and fed FF organic feeds, healthy as horses and just as big.

If I get any CX in the spring it will be from TSC.

Do you know what hatchery your TSC orders from? Our orders from Privett (well, at least they did last year) and I'm thinking I might pick up a few to try this year and would like to avoid yet another full hatchery order (I have 1 in already and 3 more coming in the next few weeks...). Plus, I always have to buy chicks when we go in during chicks days...lol

 

[jenifry]

Did I hear you say pot pie?????? !

POT PIE IS MY FAVORITE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can fry a broiler?

You can piece them out just like a fryer... depending on the age of the bird, they fry just the same! My husband loves the meatier pieces, oven fried with a parmasean and bread crumb crust.

 

[jenifry]

ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!!!??????????? I didn't know that. WOW!!! Thanks for that tip. I had already designated this weekend to cooking, so it looks like I"ll be researching and cooking all this weekend.

I don't render fat in a frying pan, I do it in the crock pot or roaster (Depending on how many birds I butchered). It takes longer, but it doesn't get any of the color that it gains from frying. I put all the fat from the viscera in the crock pot on low, and let it cook over night, then strain it with cheese cloth the next morning while it is still hot. I put it in freezer containers and use it in place of commercial shortening in cookies, pie crust, biscuits, bread dough etc...

I try to be as economical as I can.... and you would be surprised how much oil you cook off of the fat... shortening is expensive. Not many recipes out there call for chicken fat, but I swear it works as a substitute once its cooled. Whip it with a mixer and measure, or warm it in a sauce pan... Wallaa! Shortening or oil that is all natural and NOT hydrogenated.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Did I hear you say pot pie?????? ! POT PIE IS MY FAVORITE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


You can fry a broiler?

You can piece them out just like a fryer... depending on the age of the bird, they fry just the same! My husband loves the meatier pieces, oven fried with a parmasean and bread crumb crust.

So my broilers that I will process in 3 weeks (will be 8 weeks) will be ok to fry? Oh and I Love oven fried chicken. A friend of mine FINALLY tried oven fried chicken. He said there was no way you could fry chicken in the oven. Well last night he told me oven fried chicken is delicious.

I'll have to try that Parmesan and bread crumb crust.

 

[MamaKitty913]

My names Chris, I'm a chicken addict.
Started with 2 free pullets for a few eggs a week.
Needed more eggs, found out some laid colored eggs-that was the turning point of my addiction. I Needed a blue layer! Then I became the chicken lady-rescues were given to me, more building was done, more land allotted for the girls lol I found a breeder of Ameraucana-blue eggs! Got some chicks.
Had a bully hen that was literally tormenting the flock.
So, we culled her. My husband is the rabbit man wasn't all about the chickies like I was but him being a natural DIY-er so a plucker and cleaning station was easy peasy. Then we ate her...it was all over at that point. I had brought my hubby over to the dark side with one chicken dinner...home raised chicken.

I got a text from the hubby early last week. (yup, a text!)
"25 CX will be here Friday-make it so #1"

Oh Crap! Wait waaaaaa?
Hahahaha like an addict asks questions!
I set up my brooders, started a batch of fermented chick feed and read. And read. And read. Then I called grandma and picked her brain (she was the only one to embrace me AND my addiction O.O
Everyone else gives me the goat eye when I must vent about the chickens) lol.

So 27 CX chicks arrived Friday. 25 ordered, 27 sent. Two were Packing peanuts and the smallest runtiest cute lil guys. Sadly the two packing peanuts did not make it

shipping being bounced around, stress from move? I dunno. No physical signs, clear eyes/beak/vents. Failure to thrive maybe. It was sad for me but I see 1st hand now confirmation of my studies on raising meaties.
The other 25 are thriving on day 3 with us. Doing great, eating like I have never seen a bird eat and drinking near a gallon a day.
So far, pretty easy to maintain.
1x per day water change & bedding scooped out and replaced and a vent check done on chicks (horror stories of pasty butt)
2x per day they are fed fermented feed of chick starter 20% with ACV and offered a scoop of dry crumble on side for the 3 chicks that seem to be snubbing the FF feed.
At 2 weeks they will go out to their pen/coop outside and go on a 12/12 feed schedule with 8 hours daily to free range.

This thread is sorta for me to keep info in the same place

Here are the Nuggets!

"Everyone else gives me the goat eye when I must vent about the chickens) lol" and a slight glazing is noted on my DH face, lolz! But hey when I begin naming them with names like Kapernick, Gore, Rodgers, he just might pay attention then! (football players names will capture his attention hehehehe!)

 

[Beekissed]

Do you know what hatchery your TSC orders from? Our orders from Privett (well, at least they did last year) and I'm thinking I might pick up a few to try this year and would like to avoid yet another full hatchery order (I have 1 in already and 3 more coming in the next few weeks...). Plus, I always have to buy chicks when we go in during chicks days...lol

My local TSC swears up and down they don't know the name of their hatchery of source because they source several and they never know which chicks will be coming from where. I've had two different TSC in two different sides of the state tell me the same thing..they just don't know! The TSC at the other side of the state seem to source bigger, faster growing CX than the ones that can be had locally.

It's some kind of WV state secret where they get their CX around here....

 

[SlipsWife]

It's some kind of WV state secret where they get their CX around here....

Hahahaha That's hysterical!