to rest or not to rest, that is the question

[nannuk]

Hello, good people. I/We are in our first year of raising meat chickens. Our first processing was only for one bird as we were a little nervous our first time around. I read that the bird should rest for 2 to 3 days before cooking or freezing. We did that. That bird was super tough and it was roasted. The 2nd & 3rd birds were done the same way.....same toughness. Rigor set it for all 3 birds but were loose before cooking.

Here's my latest: 6 birds done at once, 4 mutt chickens and 2 guinea, hung to drain, eviscerated and placed in an ice bath. It was a hot Florida day (over 90 degrees) and the birds were processed in the shade.

The entire process took about 4 hours. Yes, it took forever!

These birds went to rigor momentarily but were super loose when placed in the refrigerator. Still loose 3 days later. I don't understand why the first 3 birds were stiff & tough yet these birds were loose virtually all the way through. Any thoughts? The only difference in processing from the first 3 birds was the ice bath.

By the way,this site is invaluable!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[HEChicken]

I don't rest my birds. I do them one at a time, as we need the meat. The day I want chicken for dinner, I grab a bird, put it i the cone, skin, eviscerate and pop it in the crockpot on the low setting for 8 hours. The whole thing takes about 45 minutes which includes the time to clean up the kitchen after it is in the crockpot. By dinner time I have tender meat falling off the bones (even for birds over a year old) to turn into enchiladas or casseroles. Easy peasy.

 

[nannuk]

Thanks for responding so quickly,HEChicken. What I was really curious about is if anyone has ever experienced non-rigor because I can't seem to understand all the hoopla about resting the bird first.
These last 6 birds hung for at least an hour or so before plucking, and then stayed on the table while the others were plucked.....then each one went through evisceration. I also misspoke about the method of cooking for our first 3 birds. 2 went into the soup pot immediately, one rested for 3 days and then was marinated and roasted. All 3 were tough, stringy & chewy.
I'll do it but I'm not a huge fan of crock pot cooking so slow cooking a bird for 8 hours won't be a method I use very often. I do agree with you that that method is great for burritos, enchiladas & casseroles. I prefer some structure along with tenderness in the meat.

Anyway, does anyone see anything that would explain why these birds didn't go to rigor? I would love to repeat it. Have a great day!

 

[Bluegill]

Have you cooked any of the last batch? If so were they tough and stringy?

 

[nannuk]

Yes, Bluegill, but only the backs, necks & innards to make broth. Very tender gizzards, neck meat & whatever came off the backs. I did this with the first 2 soup pot birds also. This is why I can't understand the difference in texture in this batch of birds and why they didn't go to rigor. Maybe it's just the luck of the draw, but boy, would I like to know what I did right.