rest before piecing out?

[meli229]

I'm hoping someone can answer this in the next few hours, as I will be embarking on processing our 4 spent hens....

I know you need to let the meat rest, but does it need to stay whole to do that? To save fridge & then freezer space, I'll be piecing the hens out to add sections to soup. Can I cut up once they are clean or should I wait a few days?

thanks!!!

Husband went crabbing today, leaving me to do this all alone for the first time! Wish me luck!

 

[redneck4life27]

After I get done the processing I let them rest in the fridge for 3 days then I quarter them up. Wings legs thighs Skinless breast and chicken tenders. Then i take all the carcasses and put them in my pressure cooker and use the rest for canned chicken and stock. I never quartered a bird on the first day I always let them rest.

 

[jdywntr]

I've done both. I didn't notice a difference. Usually I get lazy (my hubby hasn't helped yet) and I get tired of plucking so I skin them instead. Then just part up the skinned carcass.

 

[Salt and Light]

Mine are parted out when I butcher. They then rest in a cooler for a couple days and after that, it's into vacuum bags then the freezer.

 

[Time-Out]

I let mine rest for a couple of days before processing. Was that wrong? I did it that way based on the image of pheasants hanging.
They were still in rigor mortis, though. They were slaughtered Sunday evening and processed last night. It was our first time. We skinned one and saved the breast and legs, the other was gutted and saved whole. I hope we didn't do anything wrong; it'd be such a waste!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I let mine rest for a couple of days before processing. Was that wrong? I did it that way based on the image of pheasants hanging.
They were still in rigor mortis, though. They were slaughtered Sunday evening and processed last night. It was our first time. We skinned one and saved the breast and legs, the other was gutted and saved whole. I hope we didn't do anything wrong; it'd be such a waste!

Hopefully you gutted them all the first day. There is nothing wrong with letting any animal rest (hang) with skin or feathers on but you absolutely gut them or the gases in intestines and other offal that generate as they break down will enter the meat and ruin the flavor. Fish will be put right on ice and gutted later partially frozen and that works due to the intestines not warming up.

 

[Time-Out]

No, I gutted them last night

Does that mean they're no good? They were hanging in the (uninsulated, cold) garage. It hasn't gone above freezing. Should I throw the meat out?
The guts looked fine and didn't really smell that bad (contrary to what I'd been told to expect. They don't seem to gut pheasants before hanging.
http://honest-food.net/2012/10/20/on-hanging-pheasants-2/