Rooster just died, husband an hour from home. Should I try to process?

[ShadyHoller]

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I've got to politely disagree with that. I don't know anyone who can taste a difference between stressed animals and animals that were happy when they met their end. The simple act of picking a rooster up and holding him over the chopping block is going to stress him before the hatchet falls. If you've ever eaten venison that was taken during archery season (meaning the animal bled out before dying) it will taste no different than venison taken during gun season, where the animal presumably died very quickly. Likewise, when my dog makes a difficult retrieve on a wounded (presumably stressed) pheasant, it tastes no different than one that was dead by the time it hit the ground.

In regard to the hygiene question: I think the meat would be fine. If you have your doubts, bring the internal temperature of the meat up to 180 degrees. It's customary to hang pheasants for a few days.

In conclusion: sorry to hear about the death of your rooster. Even if you were ultimately planning on eating him, it's never a welcome surprise when these things don't happen according to plan. If it were my bird, I just wouldn't want him to go to waste, out of principle.

 

[mulewagon]

My mom says you can refrigerate a processed chicken for 24 hours in brine (heavily salted water) and that will draw the blood out. Then you rinse it real well before cooking.

That's what they did in the days when they just let the chicken body run around until it fell over.

 

[PeepsInc]

I bet I've cooked & served 1000 pheasant,& chucker that were carried back in a dogs mouth. On occasion I'm sure the dogs make a puncture mark. I haven't killed anybody yet with my cooking.

 

[rufus]

I would lop his head off and let him bleed out. Meanwhile, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When your husband gets home, tell him his dinner is out in the yard and he should get to plucking. Now it is up to him to decide if he wants to pitch the rooster into the trash or buy you dinner.

Rufus

 

[Hound]

Quote:
I've got to politely disagree with that. I don't know anyone who can taste a difference between stressed animals and animals that were happy when they met their end. The simple act of picking a rooster up and holding him over the chopping block is going to stress him before the hatchet falls. If you've ever eaten venison that was taken during archery season (meaning the animal bled out before dying) it will taste no different than venison taken during gun season, where the animal presumably died very quickly. Likewise, when my dog makes a difficult retrieve on a wounded (presumably stressed) pheasant, it tastes no different than one that was dead by the time it hit the ground.

In regard to the hygiene question: I think the meat would be fine. If you have your doubts, bring the internal temperature of the meat up to 180 degrees. It's customary to hang pheasants for a few days.

In conclusion: sorry to hear about the death of your rooster. Even if you were ultimately planning on eating him, it's never a welcome surprise when these things don't happen according to plan. If it were my bird, I just wouldn't want him to go to waste, out of principle.

Disagree all you like, experience tells me otherwise

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
I've got to politely disagree with that. I don't know anyone who can taste a difference between stressed animals and animals that were happy when they met their end. The simple act of picking a rooster up and holding him over the chopping block is going to stress him before the hatchet falls. If you've ever eaten venison that was taken during archery season (meaning the animal bled out before dying) it will taste no different than venison taken during gun season, where the animal presumably died very quickly. Likewise, when my dog makes a difficult retrieve on a wounded (presumably stressed) pheasant, it tastes no different than one that was dead by the time it hit the ground.

In regard to the hygiene question: I think the meat would be fine. If you have your doubts, bring the internal temperature of the meat up to 180 degrees. It's customary to hang pheasants for a few days.

In conclusion: sorry to hear about the death of your rooster. Even if you were ultimately planning on eating him, it's never a welcome surprise when these things don't happen according to plan. If it were my bird, I just wouldn't want him to go to waste, out of principle.

Sorry I agree with this as well. Wont give a tough taste or anything like that. Never happened to anyone who was hunting phesants and rabbits, no difference there.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Well the chicken was inedible anyway. Apparently there was more damage than I thought. When the head came off there was almost no blood but when I made the cut there was blood pooled up inside the bird and it looked like something had exploded in the chest cavity. The poor thing was so calm and made no fuss about me handling him but somehow I missed all this damage. I am hoping that there was a spinal injury and it had no feeling because otherwise.......Anywho my hubby took a look at the innards and said with the damage done to the organs ( many were damaged) he did not feel the meat was edible. When I started skinning the poor thing the meat was a dark red and almost purple. It did not look like the other birds I had helped on at all. I feel awful. I guess wing clipping will be done tomorrow so they cannot fly over into the dog enclosure. I just never thought any of them would want to.

 

[RAREROO]

Sorry it was a waste. Clip the wings and give your dogs a good stern talkin to too. There can be some pretty bad consequences for chicken killing dogs around here.

 

[Hound]

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The chicken flew into the dogs' yard. Predators do tend to kill prey.

 

[peterlund]

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But I hope the bird gets cooked and fed to the dogs... Sad to waste it. I would just tell them that it is cat meat!