Resting Meat...I know its be questioned to death but

[doodledo]

This year we are going to rest the meat in an old freezer we have. It is clean and I will clean it before hand . Questions though

Does the meat just get tossed in or should it be in bags?

then is this correct?

filling the freezer with ice AND water.
stirring them around a few times a day
keeping them in there for two days
after the two days, rinse well, pay dry, seal save And freeze.

is this correct?

thanks!!!!

 

[iwltfum]

I'm sure that would work, but you will have some seriously wet meat. I would chill in ice and water (if that's what you have to chill with) until they are down to about 40 degrees then bag them and keep them at 35-40 degrees either in a draining cooler with ice - no water (ice blocks would be well used in this situation) or put them in the refrigerator until the joints move freely and aren't stiff - I usually chill broilers for 24 hours and they are good to go, older birds might take longer. Then freeze if you want to or keep at 35-40 degrees for up to about a week

Edit to add: you could chill them without bagging them for the 24+ hours but I would not do it in water. You'll have to watch that the skin doesn't get too dry though, because that can be a problem with open air chilling. The skin has a chance of becoming brittle and ripping as you are bagging them if it's too dry.

 

[doodledo]

Oh my. I am really confused now. I thought they had to sit in ice for a few days and I thought I read where you had to add water to the ice, lol. Yikes. So I do have a pop cooler. Should I just bring them home in ice and toss in the cooler For a few days?

how you test the temp of the meat? Same as cooking?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some people age their meat in ice water. Some people prepackage the meat and them age it in ice water. Or in the fridge. Wet aging and dry aging. Some people add salt to the ice water so they brine it while aging it. Some people leave the carcass whole, some part the meat into serving pieces before or after aging. There is no one set way that you have to do this. There are a lot of different ways that work.

As for how long to age, that can vary a little. You need to age it until rigor mortis passes. You test that by wiggling the meat. If a joint is really loose, rigor has passed. If the meat is really limp and not stiff at all, rigor has passed. I don't like to give hard and fast numbers for much of anything because what works for me might not work for you.

 

[doodledo]

Ok, i bring the meat home in ice. I just toss the meat in bags and then into tubs of ice for about a 15 min drive. Can I toss the meat into the pop cooler, still-in its bags for a few days or is it recommended to put them on ice for a few more hours and then into cooler until the joints move freely?
i am having 50 done, most will be cut into parts.
i thank you for your time, I really do appreciate it.

 

[iwltfum]

Oh my. I am really confused now. I thought they had to sit in ice for a few days and I thought I read where you had to add water to the ice, lol. Yikes. So I do have a pop cooler. Should I just bring them home in ice and toss in the cooler For a few days?

how you test the temp of the meat? Same as cooking?

When you are doing the initial chill, you want ice and water together because it will chill them faster. Some people add salt to get the water even colder. You can also use forced cold air circulation to do the initial chill (like in a drink refrigerator from a store -the type with the sliding glass doors). I test my birds for coldness with either a laser temp gun on the inside of the cavity or by feeling the keel bone. If the keel bone is as cold as something you just took out of your refrigerator, it's cold enough to move on to the next step of the process - resting the meat, which should be done either in bags or with ice, but not soaking in liquid unless you are brining for the purpose of cooking the bird within the next 24-48 hours.

There is a reason you aren't supposed to brine a piece of meat for longer than about 48 hours maximum, and that is because it can soak up too much water and become mushy, which makes cooking the meat a nightmare. There is a fine balance between the meat soaking up too much brine vs not enough brine, but that is a wormhole of a discussion that would be better to get the details from a food science book ("On Food and Cooking" is a book that I had to read for culinary and butchery classes). Same goes with soaking any meat in any container of water - salted or unsalted.

It can get confusing, I can completely appreciate that comment. And when push comes to shove, do it however you want, however it's easiest for you, and how ever you can with the tools you have. For centuries meat has been unrefrigerated and left out for longer than thought safe these days, but if you want your family and yourself to enjoy your meal and you have modern day tastes, you've got to follow some tried and true processes to get a high quality food.

 

[iwltfum]

Ok, i bring the meat home in ice. I just toss the meat in bags and then into tubs of ice for about a 15 min drive. Can I toss the meat into the pop cooler, still-in its bags for a few days or is it recommended to put them on ice for a few more hours and then into cooler until the joints move freely?
i am having 50 done, most will be cut into parts.
i thank you for your time, I really do appreciate it.

Your plan sounds like a good one, bring the meat home while doing your best to keep it chilled during the drive, then put it in the pop cooler. I'm assuming this is a commercial display cooler for drinks and such - it should be powerful enough to chill them down to temp and keep them resting in there until the joints move freely. That's what I do. We chill 60-70 at a time in our 3 bay drink cooler. just make sure to have them spread out a bit and not stacked on top of each other in a crowded manner. You want air flow around the birds.

 

[doodledo]

Holy moly. i thought the ice bath or fridge was the resting. So , ice on way home, pop,cooler until joints move freely then ice for a day or two? I know that is how you feel, lol

 

[iwltfum]

Holy moly. i thought the ice bath or fridge was the resting. So , ice on way home, pop,cooler until joints move freely then ice for a day or two? I know that is how you feel, lol

lol I think you're overthinking this.

Here's what I would do in your situation.

1. Bring home the birds
2. Put them in your drink cooler until they have loose joints
3. Put them in your freezer or eat them

You can bag them at any time after bringing them home

 

[doodledo]

Thanks! After reading all the posts on this and seen some responses I started to panic. Like oh no, I am going to poison my family.