Year old cockrel; worth eating?

[Anime2lover]

Ive got a year old cockrel that has bitten me one two many times. Ive got at least 2 young cockrels in my brooder so I have his replacement lined up. Is he worth plucking and eating? Or would his meat be too tough?

Yes it is. Ours go into my mom's home made chicken soup! Yummmm!!!!!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

If he is aged and cooked correctly he can be delicious. We all have our own recipes. If I were using a crockpot (and I do) when I butchered him I'd suggest letting him age for three days or so in the refrigerator or in an ice chest until rigor mortis has passed. I'd part him into serving pieces either at butcher or after aging, doesn't matter. Then put him in a large crock pot with your choice of any or all of these: A bay leaf, a dozen peppercorns, a rough cut carrot and or celery, maybe an onion and/or garlic. Your choice of herbs such as basil, oregano, parsley, or thyme. Cover with water. I don't know how big he is, you might want to cook half and freeze half for later.

Cook him on low. Six hours is probably enough but I tend to go 8. Remove the serving pieces with a slotted spoon and reserve the rest. The meat should not have cooked off the bone but be a bit gentle. It may be a bit more delicate than you expect.

At this point you have choices. You could dump the liquid and everything else still in the crock pot, you are done with it. I don't do that.

You can debone the chicken and put the bones back in the crock pot and cook it on low overnight with everything you reserved. As long as you don't use sauces or such that would contaminate the broth, you can wait until after the meal and put the bones back in the crock pot. Cook that on low overnight. Then sometime the next day (morning, afternoon, or evening) strain the liquid and de-fat it. It makes excellent broth. My procedure is to put it through a strainer to remove the chunks, remove the fat, then strain it through cheesecloth to polish it.

I've left out a few things since it is your first rooster and I want to make it as simple as I can. Other people will have totally different ways to cook him. If someone tells you that you can't eat an rooster all that tells me is that they don't know how to age and cook him.

Let us know what you decided to do and how it turned out. It's always good to get feedback.

Is it worth it to pluck him or should I just skin him instead? Its gonna be a while before I do this because I would rather do a few roos at once then just the one. Plus I wont eat anything that has a name so hes gonna sit in my freezer for a while before I eat him. Ill just label the bag "boiling bird". I always save the carcass and make broth with it and pressure can it for later use. And I always let the birds rest for about 3 days before putting them in the freezer. Right now at least 2 out of the 5 birds that hatched are roos and I only have room for 1.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is it worth it to pluck him or should I just skin him instead?

I'm the wrong one to ask. I skin them because that's the way my wife wants them, skinless. What she wants is what she gets. She has some medical reasons for that.

If you skin him expect a lot of connective tissue holding the skin to the meat and skeleton. It takes hand strength to skin and I use a sharp knife to cut that connective tissue.

Some people really like the skin but to me that's a personal preference issue.

I always save the carcass and make broth with it and pressure can it for later use. And I always let the birds rest for about 3 days before putting them in the freezer.

You clearly know what you are doing there.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I'm the wrong one to ask. I skin them because that's the way my wife wants them, skinless. What she wants is what she gets. She has some medical reasons for that.

If you skin him expect a lot of connective tissue holding the skin to the meat and skeleton. It takes hand strength to skin and I use a sharp knife to cut that connective tissue.

Some people really like the skin but to me that's a personal preference issue.


You clearly know what you are doing there.

I like the skin personally but only if I'm going to be frying the bird. My fiancee doesnt quite have the pull down method down to give the drumsticks an attractive look. I slaughter the birds and then he takes over processing and brings me in the bird all clean for me to put in the freezer. I'm just wondering since its an old bird and I wont be frying it if it might be a waste of time for him to pluck. We slaughter so few its not cost effective for us to buy a plucker so we do everything by hand. Plus the yellow jackets are a big problem here. I bought a gazebo with mosquito netting on the cheap for us to process in this time around but its such a pain.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I personally pluck them. Think that a lot of the flavor is in the fat that is under the skin. If you are keeping him a while, you can fatten him up a little in a small pen/cage. I cook them in the crock pot, with rice and mushroom soup, especially if they are pretty lean like a lot of roosters can be. Start @ 10 am, done by 6pm on low. An older bird is good pressure cooked and boned, just use the meat like canned chicken, or pressure can it with your broth. YUM! It takes an older bird to not turn to mush in the pressure cooker. I also like to keep the fat, put the liquid from cooking in the refrigerator and skim off the fat from the top the next morning. It is easy, the liquid will be a firm jelly. Keep the fat and use it to fry your potatoes, YUM!
This little guy was younger than yours, about 14 weeks and 2.5 lbs. 6 hours is plenty for younger ones like him.

He looks delicious! I cant have rice right now because I'm doing keto but I'm sure I'll think of something.

 

[cassie]

Ive got a year old cockrel that has bitten me one two many times. Ive got at least 2 young cockrels in my brooder so I have his replacement lined up. Is he worth plucking and eating? Or would his meat be too tough?

Yes he is worth eating. Put him in the crockpot with some onions, garlic, some peppercorns, and a bay leaf or two. You can make him into chicken salad if nothing else. Coq au vin is traditionally made out of older chickens. Go on the internet and google chicken soup recipes. You would be surprised at what you can find.

I am no fan of skinning chickens. If you get a good scald the feathers come right off. When you can flick the skin off the leg with your fingernail the scald is about right.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

in answer to your other question, if making a stew or a stock, keep the skin - that's a lot of connective tissue, great for gelatin which you will perceive as unctiousness/body in the final product. Lip smacking goodness.

if you are grinding it for sausage or burgers, get rid of it.

A long stew before shredding? Your call, depends a lot on what you are stewing it in - can result in lots of fat pooling on your bar b q sauce if you pour on a jar, but useful if you do only a dry rub. In curries, I'd leave it out, it tends to get tough and leathery - same if you tried to brine and smoke it.

 

[Parront]

Yea dieting sucks. I might just shred him up in the crockpot with some cream cheese and taco seasoning. It also depends on what I'm in the mood for since I dont cook them for a while. Its hard for us to transition from process to plate. I made fried chicken 3 days after one time and my fiancee just said he wasnt hungry. I felt a little weird eating it but I got over it.

I like them with enchilada sauce!

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Yes he is worth eating. Put him in the crockpot with some onions, garlic, some peppercorns, and a bay leaf or two. You can make him into chicken salad if nothing else. Coq au vin is traditionally made out of older chickens. Go on the internet and google chicken soup recipes. You would be surprised at what you can find.

I am no fan of skinning chickens. If you get a good scald the feathers come right off. When you can flick the skin off the leg with your fingernail the scald is about right.

I didnt think about coq au vin! Ive never tried to make it but I guess this is the perfect excuse to try. Ive always wanted to try it but it can be difficult.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

All chickens are worth eating.

Instant pot, then Chicken tacos or lettuce wraps. Yum!

I disagree. Id never eat a chicken that was sick or died of an unknown cause. Id also never eat my favorite bird. My fav though (profile pic) died very suddenly one day. Shes buried in my backyard with a homemade headstone. As for this roo though...well he took a bite out of me first. Now...my turn.