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Ok I've got a good question and need some suggestions. What and how long do you feed your chickens before you butcher them to make them tender? Last year I had some tough birds
Some put in small area and sock the corn and milk to them. IDK if that helps much?
Brining helps some but I doubt will solve a tough bird.
Crock pot till the legs pull away is easiest and you can see the progress.
Now after a few failed attempts with a pressure cooker (go too long and you end up with inedible meat mush mixed with little bones...) 20-25 minutes will turn any old bird tender. I rip the weight off carefully quickly with a towel. Don't want to wait for it to cool down and cook too long, 20-25 minutes is it. If you do wait for the pressure to come down itself anyway you'll still have a whole bird it will not be stirring and boiling just have to be careful removing it cause it'll be about falling apart.
I de-bone after cooking re add the carcass to the broth with a little carrots onion celery, pressure cook for a hr or two, makes a great bone broth. Strain into another container and let it cool down over night in the fridge (probably could use a fat separator or be careful and pour off fat so you can use immediately)
Next day take fat chunk off, add jelly broth to pot, add all the fixings and meat to whatever soup or chicken and biscuits, dumplings whatever your making, best ever!
 
Some put in small area and sock the corn and milk to them. IDK if that helps much?
Brining helps some but I doubt will solve a tough bird.
Crock pot till the legs pull away is easiest and you can see the progress.
Now after a few failed attempts with a pressure cooker (go too long and you end up with inedible meat mush mixed with little bones...) 20-25 minutes will turn any old bird tender. I rip the weight off carefully quickly with a towel. Don't want to wait for it to cool down and cook too long, 20-25 minutes is it. If you do wait for the pressure to come down itself anyway you'll still have a whole bird it will not be stirring and boiling just have to be careful removing it cause it'll be about falling apart.
I de-bone after cooking re add the carcass to the broth with a little carrots onion celery, pressure cook for a hr or two, makes a great bone broth. Strain into another container and let it cool down over night in the fridge (probably could use a fat separator or be careful and pour off fat so you can use immediately)
Next day take fat chunk off, add jelly broth to pot, add all the fixings and meat to whatever soup or chicken and biscuits, dumplings whatever your making, best ever!
Thanks for the info it don't sound bad at all was thinking I would make chicken and dumplings with it
 
They are feral that trust us as we have had them since born ... not an option to rehome
Toss in a pen of turkeys, one at time?!? Now, don't get me wrong. I LOVE my kitties and my dogs. But my livestock feeds my family. And besides, it was very cowardly to go after chicks!
 
Thanks for the info it don't sound bad at all was thinking I would make chicken and dumplings with it
Few yrs ago I figured, and I've been through this before, just boiled a tough old welsummer rooster for a hr in a pot, good enough...not. The breast was OK. Tried a leg, shoe leather...
Boiled the rest another hr next.day for soup at work. Had to be good... No joke, like eating rubber or leather, did nothing to tenderize the meat. Two hrs boiling total.
Crock pot or pressure cooker.
I try to cull young, as soon as they start crowing. My giant's dress at 4lbs and are actually very meaty, but have big bones, way more potential. Naked necks dress the same but much smaller on carcass size, small carcass. (Not the same as the chicken in stores, naked' s look great but not a CornishX ) Both are great on the grill. The pullets I've never tried the giant pullets, had too few of them. Have culled many naked neck pullets 2.5-3 lbs. Oldest DD recently said when I roasted up a pair of 2.5 lb pullets "shouldn't he let them grow more?"
They were tender and yummy. Girl don't have no problem with eating chicken wings the size of my pinky and legs the size of my thumbs :lau
 
not going to happen here.. end of story thank you
So sorry Penny, I didn't mean to offend, please accept my apologies? It's a common brand of off humor in this area, I didn't mean for it be taken seriously. Sick humor if you will. Again, my apologies. Will be more sensitive in the future.
 
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