The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

Questions questions questions....
Some of those brine recipes say 4-6 hours. Others say 18-24.

What's do y'all say time wise? And how long altogether should a chicken rest after processing before putting in the freezer or cooking?

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
Depending on cost, I would say make more. But then this year I have been brining so many at one time and cooking so many for two days in row. I have 3 cockpots of varying sizes and ages. then my mother gave me a huge electric roaster and I have a medium roasting pan. In all I can get a lot of chicken cooking at one time, especially the smaller roosters that I culled early on. So for me I have brined an entire cooler at one time.

 

[ronott1]

Questions questions questions....
Some of those brine recipes say 4-6 hours. Others say 18-24.

What's do y'all say time wise? And how long altogether should a chicken rest after processing before putting in the freezer or cooking?

Rest them(in the fridge) until they are not stiff any more. It is usually two days but could be three.

Make it easy on yourself and brine them over night. Easy is good which is one of the things I try to get people to use when hatching chicken eggs. The hard things do not get you that much more--It is the law of diminishing returns.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

There is no perfect number or formula for brining times. When you brine something, you're using the salt to carry water into the meat, and that's pretty much all it does. The longer you leave it, the more water will soak in, until you reach a saturation point. The thicker the meat, the longer that takes. Overnight is plenty for a chicken or a turkey, and you can't over-do it (within reason).

If I were brining chickens to freeze, I wouldn't use anything but plain salt and water. That way each bird is a blank slate coming out of the freezer. The ratio I use is one cup of salt per gallon of water.

So here's the other awesome thing about brining birds - when you cook them, a lot of that water comes back out. If you stuff the body with some onion, celery, and carrot, and cook it in a crock pot all day, you end up with moist tender chicken and about a quart of concentrated chicken stock in the pot. Keep the stock, and it makes the best soup you've ever had.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thanks all!

I was kind-of worried about the meat being way too salty if I let it brine for very long. Is that actually an issue?

@ronott1 I agree, simple is better.

@SallyinIndiana I love the idea of all those roasters and crock pots cooking! Must smell marvelous

@hoosiercheetah I didn't realize that about the water. And I kept the feet too, so later I'll add the carcases and make a bone broth.


Now...what is the consensus. These birds were about 23 week old. Crock pot or roast in oven?

 

[armorfirelady]

Rest them(in the fridge) until they are not stiff any more. It is usually two days but could be three.

Make it easy on yourself and brine them over night. Easy is good which is one of the things I try to get people to use when hatching chicken eggs. The hard things do not get you that much more--It is the law of diminishing returns.

Do you let them rest in the fridge before you put them in the the brine? Or can you put them in the brine as they rest?

Now...what is the consensus. These birds were about 23 week old. Crock pot or roast in oven?

I just did my roo in a milk bath for a couple days then tossed him in the oven for a few hours. I use a temperature probe to make sure the internal temps get high enough to make sure he was fully cooked

 

[ronott1]

Thanks all!

I was kind-of worried about the meat being way too salty if I let it brine for very long. Is that actually an issue?

@ronott1 I agree, simple is better.

@SallyinIndiana I love the idea of all those roasters and crock pots cooking! Must smell marvelous

@hoosiercheetah I didn't realize that about the water. And I kept the feet too, so later I'll add the carcases and make a bone broth.


Now...what is the consensus. These birds were about 23 week old. Crock pot or roast in oven?

Roasting or braising.

Try this:

 

[RedRidge]

Thanks all!

I was kind-of worried about the meat being way too salty if I let it brine for very long.  Is that actually an issue?

@ronott1
I agree, simple is better. 

@SallyinIndiana
I love the idea of all those roasters and crock pots cooking!  Must smell marvelous

@hoosiercheetah
I didn't realize that about the water.  And I kept the feet too, so later I'll add the carcases and make a bone broth.


Now...what is the consensus.  These birds were about 23 week old.  Crock pot or roast in oven?

I have roasted without a problem/toughness up to 10 months.

 

[hoosiercheetah]

I was kind-of worried about the meat being way too salty if I let it brine for very long. Is that actually an issue?




Now...what is the consensus. These birds were about 23 week old. Crock pot or roast in oven?

The only time I've ever had a brined bird come out too salty is when I messed up the salt ratio in the brine. As long as you have no more than 1 cup of salt per gallon of water, and make sure the salt is totally dissolved, it will reach it's own equilibrium.

Do you let them rest in the fridge before you put them in the the brine? Or can you put them in the brine as they rest?
I just did my roo in a milk bath for a couple days then tossed him in the oven for a few hours. I use a temperature probe to make sure the internal temps get high enough to make sure he was fully cooked

I would let the bird rest first, then brine it. The resting time allows enzymes in the meat to start to break down muscle fibers, which makes the meat more tender. When I butcher deer, I let the quarters hang a full week before I break them down any further.
Everywhere I've read about aging and brining meat talks about them as two separate processes. I don't know for sure that the brine would interfere with the enzyme aging process - but conventional wisdom is that you should age first, then brine.

 

[lalaland]

Yikes! Coyotes all around the coop and run last night. They made it inside the first gate but not inside the interior run. Of course, the chickens were locked up in the coop and I doubt a coyote would enter the coop, but....I am going to have to be extra vigilant about gates. Thinking if they come back in the daytime, I'm not sure I can keep them out with the snow making it easier to clear the fencing around the run....