Safe to eat a rooster not dressed out immediately after being killed?

[Grizzly Bird]

They hang game birds longer than that in warmer temperatures (in the 40's Fahrenheit) longer than that. I don't see any concerns taking that long to clean him from that aspect as long as the internals were not torn up.


The concern here would be how clean was the dog's mouth. Carnivore bites can be dangerous as they can have bacteria from consumed meat. I'd probably want to trim away any punctured meat to be very safe. Not sure how that dog was fed but if he is roaming he's probably catching and eating living things.


What would you vaccinate him for? I have no idea what vaccination would make any difference in whether you could safely eat him. I'd consider him as safe as those wild birds. Plenty of us eat free range birds without a thought about that.


As others mentioned you need to age him until rigor mortis has passed. You've portioned him out so you can't use the joints. You are looking for when the meat is really loose and jiggly, not stiff at all.


I'm not sure how old he actually was but Coq-au-Vin is a way the French developed to make a gourmet meal out of an old rooster, several years old. The marinading in wine and slow cooking are part of that so look for a traditional recipe, not something meant for the bird you buy at the store. You can use a lot of cooking methods to make him tender, mostly involving slow at low temperatures and with moisture. The only exception to that I'm aware of is a pressure cooker. That's moist but not slow. Soup, stew, and in a crock pot can work.

As they go through puberty then boys develop texture and flavor, those hormones make a lot of difference. The cooking methods address the texture issue. Some people don't like that "gamey" flavor, some of us do. Cooking it with herbs and spices or red wine can help disguise that flavor. But you eat your wild birds, that flavor may not bother you.

Great suggestions. His leg is still attached at the thigh and the joint is moving nicely now on day 3. My roo was 9 months old.

 

[cassie]

As late as the early 1950's poultry was sold defeathered but with the innards, feet and head intact. You drew (gutted) them when you got home. Do you remember that Norman Rockwell painting with the old lady buying a chicken in the butcher's shop? The one where the chicken was on the scale and the old lady was pushing up on the scale while the butcher was pushing down with his thumb? If you look you will see that the chicken still had its innards.

 

[Grizzly Bird]

RIP King Yellow Legs. You protected the ladies well and died in battle against impossible odds. Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions on recipes to see that this noble and ornery King of the Hutch to a dignified memorial at my table. Here's my feisty Icelandic guy at 6 months.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

A good life, a good end, and a good use are all we can do. To the noble King Yellow Legs. Here! Here!

 

[pintail_drake2004]

I personally have hung pheasants up for a few days before I process, and waterfowl too with no ill effect. A few hours at 35* won't be an issue.