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.
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.