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.
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.