The Old Folks Home

[ChickenCanoe]

A little rosemary and thyme is good but for the older birds they have so much natural flavor that salt and pepper are all they need.

It doesn't hurt to confine the birds for the last 2 or 3 weeks and switch to a grain and milk diet.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I just heard the news. St. Louis has the lowest gas prices in the nation. $1.99 a gallon all over town, north, west and south of town.

 

[Peep_Show]

Wow! I saw $2.29 today. Still have half a tank, so didn't stop.

 

[Cynthia12]

This is the best I could come up with, had to make one..hope it looks like a mistletoe.

 

[apteryx]

She definately does not want to be here when it goes down...she is also having issues with eating them

I had friends that had issues eating chickens that they knew... Well at least they did until I told them that was what they had just eaten and proclaimed as sooooo good....

 

[Peep_Show]

Perfect! Thank you, Cynthia!

Have you always been so creative? (Love the egg carton tree)

 

[Alaskan]

Quote:
The problem is that you boiled.... at least that is why it was tough. I have no idea why it was bitter. Did it get bile on it? Did you forget the oil gland?

Anyway, boiling is too hot for an old bird, it makes the meat tough. If you want it to be soup it needs to stay at a very low simmer. Even a little boiling and you get a very tough bird.

How should i cook it?

See my comment above, LOW heat.

Actually, smoking the bird is great, since that is low and slow, then you can put it in the oven to just barely bring it up to safe eating temperature.

We like smoking it, and then putting it into a crock pot with BBQ sauce, it all falls apart, and turns into something like a chopped beef sandwich.

 

[perchie.girl]

How should i cook it?

Low and slow and moist... stewed.... would be best.... the older the bird the tougher but more flavorful the meat. Cook too hot and fast and it will toughen up big time. Mom used to cut a stewing bird up into parts and put all the parts in a pressure cooker and cook it that way.... then when it was done she would make bisquits and drop spoonfulls on top and flipped them tillthey cooked on both sides... She called them dumplings

But here is some of the ways this person does them.

http://www.waldeneffect.org/blog/Traditional_way_to_cook_an_old_chicken/

The low and slow method meand do not let the water boil. Or the meat will form tough fibers.

deb

 

[Aliciahess]

I just heard the news. St. Louis has the lowest gas prices in the nation. $1.99 a gallon all over town, north, west and south of town.

Wow!   I saw $2.29 today.  Still have half a tank, so didn't stop.

Lucky!!! We are about $3.20 here in Washington.
All this tAlk of food has made me hungry again. I just baked a roo...covered in olive oil,pepper,chili powder and cumin. Then he topped off my taco salad. Yum yum..

 

[vehve]

Bama, I think the shotgun might be a bit messy at close range. Once you capture the bird and get it upside down from it's feet it shouldn't fight you too much. I'd go with the lasso around it's feet and cutting the jugular. And yeah, low and slow is the way to go. How about preparing it in a similar way as you would a turkey? Also, for some reason, the head, feet and feathers seem to be what freaks people out the most. Once you could get rid of those, you could ask the better half to join you in gutting it. And tell her, the birds lived a good life, much better than they would have as Bird #777890 and #777891 in production barn J. Not letting the bird go to waste is a way to respect it too, it gets to provide sustenance for your family.