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

[Grizzly Bird]

The neighbors dog escaped and got to my dominant rooster before his owner could pull him off. This was my biggest rooster but he was destined for the pot because his temperament was starting to get on my nerves--while it's great for protecting the girls, the aggression toward me was not very welcome and not really breeding material in my opinion. It was about 35 degrees that day and I was at work, so my neighbor put him head down in a bucket for me until I returned from work. When I got home I de-feathered and dressed him out--entrails were not punctured but the blood had coagulated in his lungs and adjacent to his spine. His head was missing and there was some bruising and small amounts of torn/punctured skin on the breast, otherwise he looked pretty good. He was a very large, healthy and hardy bird prior to being killed. I also haven't vaccinated my flock just out of sheer ignorance to what's appropriate in Alaska as they do free range (I started my flock from day olds last spring so transfer from wild birds would be the concern here--though we also hunt and eat the wild birds so vaccinating just didn't occur to me). If he sat this way for about 6 hours, what is considered safe and not safe to eat? Please, comments about loose dogs are better placed in a different forum and I'll address it there. This is a question about harvesting. Thank you!

 

[Tonyroo]

I think it's fine, always do a smell test first. If it smells like it should, rinse well and cook. If it smells rancid throw it out.

 

[NatJ]

I also haven't vaccinated my flock just out of sheer ignorance to what's appropriate in Alaska

That should not have any effect on whether the meat is safe to eat.

The most common chicken vaccines (like Mareks) are for diseases that would not be passed to people anyway.

 

[Molpet]

Used to be common to hang pheasant for a week before plucked and gutted...so they were tender

 

[3KillerBs]

At 35F I would think that a few hours wait wouldn't have allowed much contamination. You're going to cook it thoroughly anyway, right?

I would cut away any areas that the dog's teeth had punctured though.

 

[Grizzly Bird]

At 35F I would think that a few hours wait wouldn't have allowed much contamination. You're going to cook it thoroughly anyway, right?

I would cut away any areas that the dog's teeth had punctured though.

For sure. The meat looks so nice, I would have liked to turn it into something delicate and delicious, but he was a very strong rooster so I was imagining him to be tough. I like to roast birds, but with roosters I read stew-pot is tastiest. I portioned out the meat into breast on the bone, legs/thighs, feet and wings and it's just chilling in the fridge. I also read that letting it sit in the fridge helps the lactic acid dissipate. I stewed up the heart, spine and neck thinking it would be for the pets, not feeling certain how safe it was...so there it is. I'm thinking coc-au-vin?

 

[3KillerBs]

For sure. The meat looks so nice, I would have liked to turn it into something delicate and delicious, but he was a very strong rooster so I was imagining him to be tough. I like to roast birds, but with roosters I read stew-pot is best. I portioned out the meet into breast on the bone, legs/thighs, feet and wings and it's just chilling in the fridge. I also ready that letting it sit in the fridge helps the lactic acid dissipate. I stewed up the heart, spine and neck thinking it would be fore the pets, not feeling certain how safe it was...so there it is. I'm thinking coc-au-vin?

I haven't cooked a rooster, but the recommendations I've read suggest a good, LONG rest in the fridge until 100% sure that the rigor has passed, followed by very gentle, moist heat -- crockpot or similar treatment.

@U_Stormcrow makes a lot of sausage from his older males.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Grizzly, under conditions described, assuming the neighbor's dog is healthy, I'd consider that bird safe to eat. Organs I'd give to my own animals (I'm not fond of organ meat anyways).

Not knowing the age, but guessing closer to a year than 12 weeks, I'm going to say it needs a 3 day rest in the chill chest for rigor to completely pass and the enzymes present to do their work.

Yes, you can grind for sausage, my wife and I are doing that in the next day or so with 6# of meat from two birds around 8 mo old, but that age is also good for stewing or braising. We'll put the parts of a bird in that age range in a crock pot with just enough water to keep it from burning to the bottom - 3 hours high, 3 hours low, turn it off. Tender, shreds easily. Good flavor, stands up nicely to strong spice. We usually take ours either BarBQ or "Tacos/Burritos"-type seasonings. Works great for curries, too!

 

[NatJ]

I'm thinking coc-au-vin?

Yes, that is traditionally made from old, tough chickens.

Just check the recipe-- if someone modified it to cook quickly with a tender young chicken, you'll have to modify it back to long, slow cooking.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It was about 35 degrees that day

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.

small amounts of torn/punctured skin on the breast

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.

we also hunt and eat the wild birds so vaccinating just didn't occur to me

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.

I also read that letting it sit in the fridge helps the lactic acid dissipate.

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 thinking coc-au-vin?

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.