tough

[BroodyBettysMom]

So I culled my first rooster last night, put him in the fridge overnight and all day today. Cooked him up and it is so tough you can not eat it! What could be the reason?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I let roosters rest in the fridge or on ice for 4 days or so.
24 hours is supposed to be enough for cornishX but not enough for heritage breeds.

A bird older than 8 weeks needs to be cooked slowly on low heat. Perhaps 220 for 5 hours or so till the meat separates from the bone.

You can't use normal modern chicken recipes/cooking directions for them.

 

[BroodyBettysMom]

Wow! That long! Well, I will let the next rest a bit longer. I also won't fry it! The breast was tough, but not too bad. The leg quarters, yeah.... Hard rubber and couldn't bite it! The dogs loved my mess up though!

 

[wyoDreamer]

You can kinda tell when they have rested enough by trying to move the leg. As the rigor mortis wears off, the joint will loosen some and you will be able to move the leg. The rigor mortis is what is causing the chicken to be tough.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Uh question we culled our rooster and put him directly in the freezer did i mess up already?

 

[stryker]

I had some older roosters and all I did was add a cup of chicken broth to the pieces in the slow cooker as described above and by supper we had some chicken that fell off the bone. Talk about moist.

 

[stryker]

I dont think that you messed up by putting it in the freezer as it will still be tough either way.

 

[varidgerunner]

We do not raise Cornish X. Our birds are often four to six months old when butchered. If we are going to kill one and eat it, it sets in the fridge for a week before cooking. Maybe even ten days. If we are freezing they set for about four days, and then we will put them back in the fridge for a couple or three days to thaw out. Aged in this way they can be fried. Don't defrost in the microwave. Make sure your fridge stays good and cold. Just letting the rigor mortis pass is not long enough, you need to break down fibers with enzymes and slow bacterial growth. It seems to go against the whole notion of raising your own fresh food to have to let it almost spoil in order to eat it, but that is just the way it is. The only alternative is to raise chickens that reach butchering size while they are still babies, but the flavor quality is no comparison to a good heritage bird that has been aged to perfection.

 

[varidgerunner]

If you put it straight in the freezer, just let it age when you get it out. If it is in our kitchen fridge that gets opened a lot, it doesn't take as long, but in the dedicated meat fridge in the basement it takes longer. We have gone two weeks, but you run the risk of losing it. Right before "eww, gross, throw it out" is where the best meat comes from. You have to smell it, it won't take long to figure out when it's gone far enough, and you will know for sure when it goes too far.

 

[Lamancha]

I think a lot of the "toughness" problem is in our heads too. We have been taught by the grocery stores that chicken is supposed to be mushy, bland, soft meat. Go shoot a grouse, chukar, pheasant, etc. That is what REAL chicken should be like. Yummy to that slightly tougher, slightly stringy, WAY better flavored heritage breed.