Tough Birds?

[jarcoo0153]

Tuesday, we butchered 4 of my roosters, and I have not ate mine yet, But the ones my grandpa took he said they were tough. What causes this and is there any way to fix it? They were plenty fat. Is it what I feed them that causes this?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

How did he cook them? We cook ours either low and slow or fast and hot.

Steve

 

[bigredfeather]

You need to let them rest first off. I have let older birds sit in the fridge for 4-5 days, and that helps some. The other part is cooking method. You want to cook them slowly w/ plenty of moisture. I've read some let them cook in a crockpot for up to 12 hours, making sure there is moisture the whole time.

 

[Dogfish]

Did he eat it Tuesday evening? They should age a day or two. How old were the roos? A 2-5 year old roo will be tough unless cooked low & slow.

 

[jarcoo0153]

yes he ate them tuesday evening, the birds were 5 months old. he says that his mother never aged her birds, she would just kill one for supper, and it tasted fine. Keep in mind I am trying to convince a hard headed 83 yr old man. Mine have been in the fridge since tuesday, and we are going to put them in the freezer today!

 

[isabrowneyedsue]

i just finished butchering the last of my roos (thank goodness they were making me crazy) and i let them cool and rest for two days, the roosters were over six months old, and plenty fat too. we got some roosters from our gpa too, he didn't want them because they were tough, i asked how he cooked them, and he did everything right, just didn't let them rest....i'm telling you, that may have been the BEST chicken i have ever eaten in my life. i made yummy chicken stock and canned the rest for the pantry. this was our first year raising our own meat birds, and next year i want to do double YUMMM

 

[johny]

Killed my first three birds in September.
Each one was cooked identically, roasted whole in the oven at the same temperature.

Two day rested bird was chewy and a wee bit wildish tasting.
Three day rested was milder.
Four day rested in the refrigerator was nice and tender and still tasted ever so wildish but that was nice and expected considering the garden scraps and bugs they ate all summer.

So from now, on I won't eat a chicken until it has rested in the refrigerator for at least four days.