We Did Not Rest The Birds for Days - And They Were Wonderful

[france]

We had a local guy come and process all 42 cornish x for us. I talked to him about how to deal with the birds when he was done. This is a 3rd generation butcher who has been processing chickens since he was 8. Once they were plucked and placed in large garbage cans of water he said leave them in the water for at least 5 hours. Keep adding cold water. He said it has to be cold water not just ice, you can add ice to the water if you need to. After 5+ hours you can freeze or cook.

Starting at about 5 hours friends were coming by to get their chickens and by the time we got to it, ours had been in a cold water bath for 8 hours. We vacuum sealed and put them in the freezer. We have had 4 now for dinner in the past couple of weeks. Most tender moist chicken I have ever had. Friends who had theirs say the same and are asking when we are doing this again.

Anyhow I wanted to share. You do not have to let a bird sit in the fridge for a couple of days. You can eat one the night you process it as long as you let it soak in the cold water like that. I kept dumping off water and adding more cold water every hour. The birds were very clean by the time I was done.

I did ask him about resting the chicken in the fridge for a few days and he said he has seen people do that and sometimes the birds go bad so he does not recommend it. As he pointed out this is how he was taught from his grandfather and had always done things this way.

 

[LiLRedCV]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[jcatblum]

Plastic or metal cans of water? I am thinking plastic storage totes w lids would work well. They would be easier to reach the birds & add more cool water.

What temp do you think the water is? Refrigerator cold - 40 degrees?

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
To me, that statement is a little scary. A freshly processed bird should keep in the fridge for at least 10 days. I say 10 days because I accidentally let one in the fridge that long once. I opened the bag and it had no unusual smell, so we ate it and it tasted fine.

 

[KenK]

Not everybody's refrigerator is the same temperature. I sure wouldn't want to leave a bird in a refrigerator that long unless it was just barely above freezing. Maybe not then.

 

[bigredfeather]

Quote:
How long do you think grocery store birds have been laying around?

 

[KenK]

Don't know, I do know I'm not going to keep a fresh chicken in my refrigerator for 10 days.
If I buy chicken at the store I cook it no later than the next day or freeze it.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
x2 (except, I don't buy it from the store anymore)



Honestly I don't do what a lot of people talk about here, not sure if it is right or not, I was just never really told until I read this stuff. Usually I either throw it in the freezer immediately after butchering and pull it out another day or I cook it up right after butchering, but, I don't raise Cornish X and I don't butcher huge amounts at a time. I usually butcher a bird, prepare/freeze/cook it, then go onto the next, and so on. I do 'em one at a time.

Works out great for me though.

 

[Erica]

If the meat is chilled before rigor mortis sets in (typically about 20 mins after death) then the muscles don't stiffen up. Resting is purely about waiting for rigor mortis to pass.

Commercial chickens are processed so quickly the muscles don't have time to stiffen before chilling. This is one reason why they're so tender.

Your butcher must have done a speedy job.

 

[happydog]

I accidently left one in the fridge "resting" for 3 weeks. I thought for sure it would be spoiled but in fact it smelled, looked, and felt perfectly fine. In fact it seemed fresher than supermarket chickens. No tacky or slimey feel, no off odors, it was as fresh and clean as the day it was butchered.

It really made me wonder how fresh supermarket chicken really is.