The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[hotrodflash]

ok, keep in mind that I was a vegetarian for more than a decade. I still hardly ever purchase meat, maybe cook meat a few times a year.

I butchered 20 week old roosters last month.

I have a carcass in the freezer. It sat in the frig for a day and then went into the freezer. Now what?

Anyone have a sure fire simple way to cook the danged thing? I am hoping it will taste so good that I will want to do meaties next spring, but.....if I mess this up I possibly won't want to ever eat one of my chickens again. and if you are willing to make a suggestion, ummm....please don't assume I have a clue!

Crockpot with some herbs and spices and use the meat in a soup or casserole. Herbs and spices determine which direction you want to flavor the casserole or soup, I flavor mine with bay leaf, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. It allows me to use the meat in different ways and stretch the meat into several meals.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

ok, keep in mind that I was a vegetarian for more than a decade.  I still hardly ever purchase meat, maybe cook meat a few times a year.

I butchered 20 week old roosters last month.

I have a carcass in the freezer.  It sat in the frig for a day and then went into the freezer.  Now what?  

Anyone have a sure fire simple way to cook the danged thing?  I am hoping it will taste so good that I will want to do meaties next spring, but.....if I mess this up I possibly won't want to ever eat one of my chickens again.  and if you are willing to make a suggestion, ummm....please don't assume I have a clue!

I think the most no-fail way would be to pour cans of cream of mushroom or celery soup over it then let the crock pot cook it. I don't use canned soup any more, but if I did this is how I'd cook one of my cockerels.

A person could add wine or garlic to that. Serve over rice or potato or noodles or biscuits or even steamed broccoli if you must.

It is a good place to start.

With the meaties there would be no risk of failure. Salt the entire bird. Bake the entire bird. Eat the entire bird. Yum!

I rub my meaties with curry spices, fennel seed or tarragon, sea salt that I've mashed with a pestle, then stir that into butter, then rub that all over the quartered bird. It smells so good and everything that drips off goes on the rice ...

 

[ki4got]

Quote:
but what breeds were they? there are a number of breeds that actually HAVE extra toes, and are supposed to. Silkies are the most common of them. also sultan, dorking, faverolles all have 5 toes as well.

here's one of my Dorkings as an example...

 

[Allysha1990]

Well that program was at my high school in Australia, but I now live in Manitoba Canada. I have 7 speckled sussex, 2 dark cornish and 1 black jersey giant. I also have 2 Muscovy cross ducks We are looking to get a few guinea fowl as well

 

[lalaland]

I have never culled one of my hens (yet) but I have learned the crock pot is a sure way to make anything tender. Throw it in with some water or chicken broth, some herbs & veggies for 8 hours & I am guessing the meat will just fall off.

Crockpot with some herbs and spices and use the meat in a soup or casserole. Herbs and spices determine which direction you want to flavor the casserole or soup, I flavor mine with bay leaf, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. It allows me to use the meat in different ways and stretch the meat into several meals.

I think the most no-fail way would be to pour cans of cream of mushroom or celery soup over it then let the crock pot cook it. I don't use canned soup any more, but if I did this is how I'd cook one of my cockerels.

A person could add wine or garlic to that. Serve over rice or potato or noodles or biscuits or even steamed broccoli if you must.

It is a good place to start.

With the meaties there would be no risk of failure. Salt the entire bird. Bake the entire bird. Eat the entire bird. Yum!

I rub my meaties with curry spices, fennel seed or tarragon, sea salt that I've mashed with a pestle, then stir that into butter, then rub that all over the quartered bird. It smells so good and everything that drips off goes on the rice ...

huh - so you are expecting the meat to be tough and stringy? and here I was thinking of those pictures of the roasted chickens that everyone keeps posting.
Leslie, love the curry spice mix mashed with salt - you would mix curry and fennel, mashed into the salt? then mix with butter and rub?

I know Delisha seems to brine her birds alot, wonder if that is for the tough 20 week old roosters?

but if baking it is out, then crockpot might work. there is an old southern recipe called country captain that is basically stewing the bird with curry, raisins, rice....so maybe that in a crockpot.

thanks!

 

[lalaland]

but what breeds were they? there are a number of breeds that actually HAVE extra toes, and are supposed to. Silkies are the most common of them. also sultan, dorking, faverolles all have 5 toes as well.

here's one of my Dorkings as an example...

ki4got, love the dorkling. are they on the smaller side? egg color? got to go look up the breed, its a new one to me.

 

[armorfirelady]

Good morning all. Hope all who have winter storms headed their way are ready for winter

Anyone else notice your chickens are in a different line up in the morning on the roost than they were the night before?

My girls spend extra time making sure they have *their* spot on the roost at night. Even trying to climb under whoever is next to them to get it. Its quite comical. When I went out this morning to break the ice in the water I peeked in and laughed as I realized they were in a different order than they were at 11:30 last night. I wonder if chickens sleep walk in their sleep?

 

[aoxa]

ok, keep in mind that I was a vegetarian for more than a decade. I still hardly ever purchase meat, maybe cook meat a few times a year.

I butchered 20 week old roosters last month.

I have a carcass in the freezer. It sat in the frig for a day and then went into the freezer. Now what?

Anyone have a sure fire simple way to cook the danged thing? I am hoping it will taste so good that I will want to do meaties next spring, but.....if I mess this up I possibly won't want to ever eat one of my chickens again. and if you are willing to make a suggestion, ummm....please don't assume I have a clue!

Slow cook it!!

Others will tell you to brine, and you can do that as well, but make sure it's cooked slowly to become tender. Especially if you are not used to what dual purpose chickens taste like at that age.

Meaties taste so much different. The texture at least. I always age 48 hours rather than 24, but if you brine it it's resting.

 

[aoxa]

huh - so you are expecting the meat to be tough and stringy? and here I was thinking of those pictures of the roasted chickens that everyone keeps posting.
Leslie, love the curry spice mix mashed with salt - you would mix curry and fennel, mashed into the salt? then mix with butter and rub?

I know Delisha seems to brine her birds alot, wonder if that is for the tough 20 week old roosters?

but if baking it is out, then crockpot might work. there is an old southern recipe called country captain that is basically stewing the bird with curry, raisins, rice....so maybe that in a crockpot.

thanks!

Yes please slow cook it.. I don't want you to have a bad experience like I did my first one. I cried. Yep.. I was emotional and thought I ruined a good life. I fed it back to the chickens in the end.

It was tough and stringy. The taste was really good, but I couldn't get past the texture.

 

[lalaland]

Slow cook it!!

Others will tell you to brine, and you can do that as well, but make sure it's cooked slowly to become tender. Especially if you are not used to what dual purpose chickens taste like at that age.

Meaties taste so much different. The texture at least. I always age 48 hours rather than 24, but if you brine it it's resting.

Yes please slow cook it.. I don't want you to have a bad experience like I did my first one. I cried. Yep.. I was emotional and thought I ruined a good life. I fed it back to the chickens in the end.

It was tough and stringy. The taste was really good, but I couldn't get past the texture.

I'm so glad I checked with y'all. I would have baked it. I'll throw it in a crockpot and try for chicken and dumplings so I don't cover the flavor up with curry and everything.

Now, if you don't have meaties, and you have young roosters to butcher, how young do you have to do it to make them worth baking?