When to freeze your chicken?

[Newchickenguy]

Ok, after you butcher your chicken and let it chill in ice water, do you freeze it right away or wait for a day or so. I have herd that if you freeze it right awary, when you go to eat it, say a month later the chicken will still have rigamortis. I also herd that freezing the chicken right away is just fine.

So which is it? Has anyone had experience with this?

 

[countrygoddess]

Rigor sets in right away and you wind up with a club-shaped carcass. LOL I tried refrigerating for 24 hours and for 48 hours. 48 gave the best results. Rigor fades enough by then that you can push the bird into a nice, tight bundle like the ones you see at the market. I use shrink-wrap bags and then plop them in the freezer. The meat is nice and tender when thawed and cooked.

 

[goldfinches]

I don't have room to let mine set in the fridge for any amount of time, so I freeze them as soon as they come down to temp. I thaw them for at least 3 days in the fridge, though, and it does a great job of tenderizing them.

 

[countrygoddess]

I don't have room to let mine set in the fridge for any amount of time, so I freeze them as soon as they come down to temp. I thaw them for at least 3 days in the fridge, though, and it does a great job of tenderizing them.

Space was definitely an issue for us, too. We processed 4 birds a day for 4 days, so at any one time, we had 4-8 "clubs" in the fridge. Anticipating needing the space in the fridge, we used up leftovers and I precooked meals to put in the freezer to prepare. I didn't do any shopping for items needing refrigerating. Before those birds went in there, my fridge looked emptier than it ever has! =D

 

[redsoxs]

I think either way is fine - give them time in the fridge before freezing or after thawing. I noticed a big difference in tenderness from those that were freshly dressed and frozen and then thawed and cooked - much tougher if not allowed time. I try and do it beforehand. That way I don't have to think 3 days in advance if want to have chicken and take it out of the freezer. The only pain in the beforehand method for me is that, when I process chicken I want to be DONE when I'm done. But then I have to go back in three days to vacuum seal them...oh well. Small price to pay for tender, tasty meat!