Resting a Shrink Wrapped bird?

[RoosterGeek]

Any chance this would work? I'm doing my first freezer camp this weekend and got shrink bags in. I was wondering if you could go ahead and shrink bag the birds up and let them rest in the frig with the bags on.


Or would it be better to let them rest and then bag them up?

 

[chickendude]

I would let them rest out of the bag. Unless the bag is not sealed then put them in the bag over night.

 

[bigredfeather]

As long as they are completely chilled before bagging, I don't see why you couldn't let them rest in the shrink bags. I am intersted to know why callemin has suggested otherwise.

 

[RoosterGeek]

Quote:
Any ideas for chilling? My wife and I have had trouble finding something big enough to chill 26 birds that isn't crazy expensive. I heard that the Rubbermaid Tuff line of trashcans is food safe. We were thinking that or a massive ice cooler.

 

[chickendude]

Quote:
I would leave the bag unsealed so you can have some air flow to help tenderize the meat. Kind of like when a hunter hangs their deer for a few days. It allows some bacteria in to aid in the tenderizing process. This is what I have been taught. Weather it is better or not, not really sure. but it works for us.

 

[chickendude]

Quote:
Any ideas for chilling? My wife and I have had trouble finding something big enough to chill 26 birds that isn't crazy expensive. I heard that the Rubbermaid Tuff line of trashcans is food safe. We were thinking that or a massive ice cooler.

When the weather is to warm for me to hang and age a deer I quarter the deer and place the quarters in a large igloo cooler with ice, any clean large container will work just fine as long as you keep the meat at a safe cool temperature.
26 birds, I wish I had to worry about chilling them. Enjoy the fresh meat.

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
I would leave the bag unsealed so you can have some air flow to help tenderize the meat. Kind of like when a hunter hangs their deer for a few days. It allows some bacteria in to aid in the tenderizing process. This is what I have been taught. Weather it is better or not, not really sure. but it works for us.

I know what you mean about the bacteria helping to tenderize the meat, as I always let my deer hang, but I have always assumed the bacteria was already there and just needed some time to work. Not saying you're wrong, just saying what I thought was the case. Hmmmmmmmm......... Now I am really curious. Time to ask Google!

 

[ShadyHoller]

I don't believe you need air circulation for the muscle fibers to break down during resting. I have processed birds, bagged them, and frozen them without resting them.

Later, I thawed them out, and either ate them immediately, or allowed them to rest in the fridge before cooking. The ones that sat in the fridge for a couple of days after thawing had a much better texture than the ones we ate the day we thawed them.

To me, that suggests that the bag doesn't interfere with the meat conditioning. I'm definitely no scientist here, so I'm not claiming to know the absolute truth on how it all works, but it seems to me there should be no problem with bagging them early and then allowing the meat to rest.

As for cooling: we use 120 quart coolers. River trips, barbecue parties, processing poultry and deer... our coolers get a lot of use! I personally would have no problem using a brand-new plastic garbage can, washed with dishsoap.

 

[bigredfeather]

Okay. Despite what both of us thought, bacteria is not what is responsible for the tenderization of meat, it is actually naturally occuring enzymes in the meat.

Here is a paragraph from the article I found
"Aging of meat can be carried out by storing pieces of the meat in a refrigerated space for a time sufficient to permit natural enzymes to complete a tenderizing process. Enzymes in the meat continue to function postmortem to catalyze the hydrolysis of collagen and other proteins. The enzymes break down connective tissue so that the meat becomes tender and flavorful. After aging, the texture of the meat is more acceptable to the consuming public."

I learnt something today.

So the answer to the OP question that I conclude is that it's okay to store them in shrink bags during the resting period.

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
Any ideas for chilling? My wife and I have had trouble finding something big enough to chill 26 birds that isn't crazy expensive. I heard that the Rubbermaid Tuff line of trashcans is food safe. We were thinking that or a massive ice cooler.

I use a plastic food grade barrel (they're typically blue). My neighbor get molasis and glucose in them to feed his lifestock. He has scads of them, so they are easy to come by for me and work great. I can get 50-60 dressed birds in one of them with plenty of room for ice/water. I have seen them for sale on Craigslist for a few buck a piece. May want to check there.

ETA: I just did a search for "plastic barrels" on Craigslist for Nashville and got quite a few hits. All where less than $10.