Tough Chicken

[TX2KS]

We butchered our chickens, they were 32 weeks old, right before Thanksgiving. Since then we have eaten one roaster which turned out delicious and tonight had fried chicken and it was touch and most of the bird was not edible.
I am wondering if we did something wrong after butchering them. We left all the birds in a cold water bath overnight, it was really cold the day we butchered so leaving them outside in cold water did not seem like a bad thing. The next morning we cut up and vacuum packed most of the hens and kept the roosters and a few larger hens for roasters. I left them in the refrigerator for 24 hours longer before putting them in the freezer.
What would have made the cut up chicken so tough?
Should we have left it in the refrigerator longer after thawing it out?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[annageckos]

I've never raised chickens for meat, so this is what I've read others say. You should age the birds for a few days to let rigor pass.
At 32 weeks old your birds need to be cooked slow and moist or pressure cook. Frying and grilling are out, or you will end up with rubber chickens. If you want to fry you'd want to butcher at a younger age.

 

[ThenNotSoChickenMaster]

****This is how I raise and process my chickens for meat, I am by no means an expert, so please correct me if I'm wrong*******

There are a lot of factors that affect the chicken's tenderness and taste. When a chicken free-ranges, they are running, scratching, dust bathing, and doing other chicken stuff. This makes their meat tough and hard to chew since they do a lot of "exercise".

When a chicken is in a small enclosed space, they can't run much, they just lay there and well, get fat. There meat is more tender, its nice and easier to eat.

Breed can also play a part. Some breeds are pretty much bred to have tender meat (and some just taste better in my opinion). Take Cornish X for example, they grow really fat and have nice tender meat. You can't expect an leghorn to have the same kind of meat too.

This is from experience, rooster meat is tougher than the hens. They have tougher, chewier meat than hens. That's why I prefer to eat hens.

Age can also affect the meat. Usually, the older the hen, the tougher the meat. We usually make stew out of old hens.

When butchering, make it quick and easy. If the bird is yapping and stressing out, the meat will be affected. That's why when it comes to killing your chickens, make it as stress-free as possible.

You have to let the meat rest. You can't kill it and eat it in the same day.
Leave it in the refrigerator for at least a couple of days (I keep it in the refrigerator for 2 days). From there, you can either choose the eat it, or put it in the freezer.

Hopefully that helps!

 

[happyfrenchman]

32 weeks of age is probably your main problem. A chicken can get mighty tough in that much time. Meat birds should be slaughtered much earlier. 12 weeks backyard.... 7 weeks commercial. Roosters especially will get very tough in that much time.

 

[Molpet]

I processed at 16-26wks and they're roasters... 12 wks for fryers

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

You're doing everything right so far, but as others have said age is your issue. Active birds will have more tooth feel than lethargic ones, but that's not your real driver. I might be a week or so off on the below as I'm doing it from memory but here are classes of poultry based upon age:
6 weeks - 10 Weeks - Broiler. Tender when cooked just about any way.
10 weeks - 14 weeks - Fryer. a little tough on the grill but still really good fried
14 weeks - 6 months - Roaster. Cook low and slow
6 months - and beyond - Stewer. Best flavor, tough as nails needs to be boiled, braised or pressure cooked to get tender.

As was mentioned above different breeds to play into it, but nearly as much as age.

 

[TX2KS]

Thanks for all the good information. I think we will be cooking all our remaining chickens in the crock pot or pressure cooker. From now on we will definitely be harvesting our chickens sooner.

 

[rjohns39]

Thanks for all the good information. I think we will be cooking all our remaining chickens in the crock pot or pressure cooker. From now on we will definitely be harvesting our chickens sooner.

If you like braised give it a try as well, just cook until tender. And if you have a meat grinder, you can always make ground chicken...

ETA: Their bones and feet make a great stock.

 

[lazy gardener]

My understanding is it takes 3 days for the rigor to pass. Even with the 3 day wait, last year, I had one bird that was tough as nails, while the others were not. I have no idea what was up with that boy, but we couldn't eat him. I think I buzzed him through the blender, and gave him to the dog and chickens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In my opinion your problem is age and how you cooked them. You did not mention which sex they were either. After they hit puberty sex makes a difference. Males get flavor and texture faster than females.

I freeze mine the same day I butcher them, no aging, but I let them thaw plenty and they sit in the fridge a day after they thaw before I cook them. Some people age in ice water before they freeze them, some age in a salt water brine. Another trick is to marinate them after they thaw. Marinades are usually acidic and that helps break down the tissue. I don’t do that but it helps. Lots of tricks.

At 32 weeks you cannot fry or grill. You’ve seen why. A crock pot or pressure cooker will give you nice meat, but I suggest you try something different for one of them. I rinse my thawed chicken off and put it in a baking dish with a good tight fitting lid. Don’t shake the water off after the rinse. Cut it into serving pieces. Coat it with your favorite herbs, I use basil and oregano but there are plenty out there that work great. Then cook it in the over at 250 degrees for three hours for a 32 week old pullet and maybe 3-1/2 hours for a cockerel. If you want to age it in a brine or marinade it before you cook it, that would be a good thing but I don’t. Use a slotted spoon when you take it out, the meat may just fall off the bone. The liquid in the bottom is a fabulous chicken broth.

There are other nice recipes out there, Coq au Vin and Chicken ’n Dumplings immediately come to mind. There are plenty of ways you can cook an older chicken and get a fabulous meal but yes, you can mess them up too.