Strong Tasting Chicken? I found out why!

[brandywine]

Quote:
I never heard that? How come?

I always remove the esophagus and trachea when dressing an animal anyway, so it never came up. But now you have me curious about why it is important.

 

[skeeter]

i dont know where people get their ideas,we just ate a rooster that was going on 2 years and he was tender and delicious,and he free ranged,I just got tired of getting spurred by the ^#%$#,My mom said they didnt consider a bird old untill they were over 3 years,I dont butcher untill they are five or six months old,depending on how much meat they have on them

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Testes are solid, they don't really seep. They secret a fluid, but they aren't filled with fluid. They're very easy to remove intact. In an older roo they can be quite large, it would be hard to miss them, and you wouldn't be likely to accidentally leave them in. They come out when you yank out the rest of the innards. The only part I know of that can cause flavor problems (other than the intestines, if they're ruptured-heavy "ick factor" there) is the gall bladder. If that ruptures, the bile in the gallbladder will make the meat it touches bitter. But you can trim that off. It won't ruin the whole bird, as long as you removed the contaminated area(s).

I've gotten store-bought birds that had bits of lung, the testes, (the tiny testes of 6 week old birds are often still present in supermarket birds) trachea, and a few other bits left behind. I removed them before cooking, (if I saw them, I've roasted a few whole birds that still had all or part of the lungs left in, as well as the testes) and it didn't affect the taste.

Feed lot cattle are not bulls. They are castrated young for meat, so that they gain weight faster.

 

[Scoop]

farrier! :

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Let me know how well this works. I have a neighbor with free roosters, I need to find out their age......I am guessing about 8 months.

Well, the rooster was culled yesterday. He was a RIR, 1 year old. He was a toughy all right. DH had to help with the first step. I didn't have enough strength for it even with a sharp knife! He weighs 4.5 pounds and I am so looking forward to putting this in the pressure cooker. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm planning this chicken for Sunday dinner.

 

[wvcruffler]

braise the meat in stock and wine for about 1 hour, then add aromatics and serve with a starch, mmmmm

 

[vfem]

Quote:
Oh I saw this was part of classic french cooking... they already ate the older none preductive roosters after age 24 months. Apparently LONG amounts of cooking, and even double simmering the birds turns the excessive gamey tissues into a wonderful base for gravies and stews. Going with rewine in a pot with the bird after its been braised is so YUM! I do this with those cheap leg quarters from the store. It realy makes the sauce with the chicken awesome!

 

[dave3877]

Quote:
I never heard that? How come?

I always remove the esophagus and trachea when dressing an animal anyway, so it never came up. But now you have me curious about why it is important.

i would think its because f cosmetics. looks gross i.m.p.o.

 

[Opa]

Any portion of the bird that is normally considered offal will deteriorate much faster than flesh. This can lend to it having a "strong" flavor.

 

[brandywine]

Okay, so esophagus = upper digestive tract = offal = rots. Got it.

But trachea is O-Tay?

Not that there's any reason to leave one in, mind.

I feed both esophagus and trachea (and heads and feet and lungs and giblets) to the dogs.

But not intestines or gall.

 

[TexasVet]

I wonder if breed also have something to do with it? I had a couple of mean little banty roos that I put in the stew pot and slow simmered for about 6 hours. The longer I cooked them, the tougher they got. When I finally gave up, the dog wouldn't even it them. And the meat was very dark, almost black, and smelly gamey.

I too read in Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens that the testosterone that kicks in about the time they start to crow makes the meat dark, stringly, and gamey. So now I'm sure to butcher the roos as soon as the crowing starts.

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com