Year old cockrel; worth eating?

[Ninjasquirrel]

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?

 

[sourland]

Slow cooked for chicken stew or chicken and dumplings he would be fine.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Slow cooked for chicken stew or chicken and dumplings he would be fine.

I was thinking Id put him in the crockpot with a little water and cook him on low for a good 4 or 5 hours. I dont really have a recipe picked out for him yet

 

[abpatchy]

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?

Sure! they need to cook longer than storebought chickens to be tender. But they taste much better! I love chicken and dumplings from my roosters.

 

[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!!!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

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.

 

[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.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

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?

Makes fantastic sausage. Makes good burgers, too - put the seasoning right into the meat when you grind it.

Makes incredible stock.

Makes a good stew. Or a curry. Or a pulled chicken bar-b-q. or enchiladas.

Does NOT make a good roast chicken, fried cutlets, rollotini, or skewers/kebabs.

Basically, long, low, wet method (preferably strongly spiced - the flavor can hold up to that) cooking = good.

Fast, hot, dry method = bad.

This is a good time to consider mildly acidic marinades during your wet aging process, too - yogurt based, buttermilk based, and citrus (if not TOO acidic) all work great. Yogurt pH 4.3-4.4 Buttermilk pH 4.4-4.8. Good choices for long marinades.

Orange Juice pH around 3.5, too low! Bitter Orange juice (used in Mojo) 2.5 WAY too low. Lemon Juice pH 2-3 again, way too low. All of these should be thinned with water or similar to reduce the acidity. Around 2:1 of OJ to water, around 1:1 for bitter orange or lemon juice. Target is somewhere around pH 4.5.

 

[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.

 

[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.