You were right; tough like Rubber

[dancingbear]

Quote:
well, after about 8-hours in the slow cooker, she is finally 'tender' - I think we will wait 1-more hour before chicken-dumplins with fresh braised turnips/greens from the garden.

8 to 12 hours, or even longer is not unusual for an older bird to get tender in a slow cooker, especially if it's on low as it should be. That's why they are called slow cookers. I often put mine in before I go to bed at night.

At only 5 hours, I would expect it to be rubbery, particularly if the birds had not even been aged properly to get past rigor.

As you just found out, though, if you are patient, you'll get some of the best tasting and tenderest chicken you've ever had.

There are a lot of threads about cooking older birds, if you haven't read them, they'd be a big help, since you have some older birds to clear out.

If you have read them, you might want to read them again, now that you're a little more familiar with the possibilities of an older bird. Most people, (myself included) tend to just skim over info read online, rather than really reading it to get all the info. Often when you go back and read again, you'll see all kinds of stuff you missed the first time.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

I asked my DH and DS what they want, when I cull older hens next week, Chicken Sausage patties or Chicken and Dumplings(I pressure cook mine). Both looked at me in anguish. Don't make us choose, make both. So I figure 2:1 Ratio. 2 Sausage:1 Dumplings. Anyone tried Duck and Dumplings, that may come next on the menu.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
Stop that, you're making me drool!

I haven't tried duck and dumplings, but now I want to!

 

[PriceFamilyFarms]

Quote:
chicken sausage recipe coming maybe?

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

I got some sausage recipes from www.sufficientself.com under recipe section -sausages. But I came up with

8# ground chicken
1Tbsp Black pepper
1 tsp. Chipotle pepper
2 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp each of Thyme, Cumen
2 tsp dry Parsley
1 Large Onion, ground
6 Cloves of Garlic, ground
Eggs

I clean the meat of the bones and grind the chicken with the onion and Garlic. I mix everything together and add enough eggs to hold everthing together. Sometimes I add potato ground with the meat or some oatmeal. I Skin my hens so there is no fat or skin in the grind. I use a hamburger press to make patties, freese them on cooky trays. Bag them in Freezer Ziplock bags and have quick meals ready. I'm not to particular about getting all the meat of the bones cause I make soup broth with the bones and eat it or freeze it for later.

Duck sausage is similar but less seasoning and I do add potato to the grind. This is the one that my DH just loves ause it doesn't bother his stomach.
Turkey sausage I add carrot to the grind and instead of all the peppers Thyme and cumin I use Tarragon, Rosemary and Parley.

I have used up left over duck and roast turkey by making it into sausage. The duck is usually cooked in orange/Pinapple juice so I season accordingly. I don't raise turkeys, not enough room, so I buy throughout the year. Oh, each sausage looks different because of the seasonings, so I can tell at a glace which it is I'm looking at if I forget to label the packages, or the label has come off.

Right now I am out of all sausage so......it's time to cull older birds, that is why we hatch practically year round, right. It is for me.

The guys love these and they can grab one out of the freezer and cook it up themselves for a quick lunch.

Make sure you use some oil though when cooking because these are basically fat free. They make good hash, Spagetti and sausage sauce, etc.

bnentrup, don't mean to steal your thread but maybe you can use the idea's for when you cull your older hens.

 

[Mrs. Green Thumbs]

Has any one tried a sous-vide type of cooking method? I'm going to make my own cooking chamber out of an old ice chest and was planning on making chicken breast's tonight. The whole idea is to cook meat thoroughly while also keeping it tender,juicy, and yummy by submerging the meat (or veggies) in hot water (a particular temp depending on the meat) for a prolonged period of time. Im making chicken breast's tonight should take almost 2 hours to fully cook.

 

[dancingbear]

Buttercup, did I read that right, you make some sausages from already cooked meat? If that's right, could you please share your recipes for that, I'd love to try t.

 

[bnentrup]

Quote:
Dancingbear....to parallel your question -- I recently saw on Food Tech (Food network tv program I believe) where they took cooked/burnt bratwurst that most would throw out and make into gourmet sausage served at their restaurant.

I know the once cooked chicken sausage will require some type of fat added to keep from drying out. Maybe use some of that fun yellow chicken fat! That would be frugal.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

Burnt Sausage remake, Yuk. No thanks.

dancing bear, yes. when we get tired of eating turkey I grind up the meat and make it into sausage just like the raw chicken sausage that I make. I add 2 carrots to clean the meat from the grinder and to add moisture to the sausage and to identify it as turkey sausage. Use the chicken recipe, that is what I did.

I cooked Mighty Duck ( I did a web search for that recipe) and I think I overcooked it, it was TUFF, so I cut it off the bone and ground it with a medium red potato to add moisture and a handful of oatmeal to add more moisture. I use the chicken recipe and just vary seasonings to whatever mood I'm in at the time. Raw egg holds everything together. But if you are using cooked meat and adding egg you need to still cook the sausage. Sausage is easy. But you need a meat grinder with a coarse blade. The time consuming part is cutting the meat off the bone, the legs. It's actually easier if the meat is already cooked.

That is what Roast Beef Hash is really just more potato and less seasoning, you all have probably had that.

Sausage is just another way to cook tuff meat and it doen't have to have a lot of fat in it.

 

[Buttercup Chillin]

bnentrup
Do you have a pressure canner? Pressure Canning the older birds is another way of tenderizing them. I don't do them that way, but Mom LOVED her canned chicken. She always used older hens and cooked them down and then took the meat off the bones and canned it. Ball canning book still has the way of it in their book, I believe. She liked the canned chicken for hot salads and for hot chicken sandwiches with gravy, it is good. She couldn't stand the canned chicken you can buy off the shelves. Just doesn't have any flavor, I can still hear her complain about the metal cans of chicken.

Even after she didn't raise chickens anymore, I remember as a teenager coming home and we had to go get 24 hens she had found so she could cook up and can those birds. The man killed them for her and I loaded them in the trunk and home we went to process them. The guy probably thought she was nuts, buying his old hens. But can them she did and then made homemade egg noodles which I still remember. I have never been able to make noodles. Where did she find the time and energy, course she was younger than I am now.

Off track there, but you could also pressure can them. I know some have said on here they just water bath them. That really isn't safe everywhere or anywhere. For instance when we lived in Michigan, I might give it a chance, but now I am in Texas and there is no way I would try that here, different climate affects canning differently. I might chance it, but then I have been canning for over 50 years, so I have a better chance of knowing if a can of food is spoiled than some. And a can of spoiled meat can kill you, so if you are going to can meat, pressure can to be safe.

One more Idea for older hens. Any more out there?? I'm game for trying something different.

Oh, buttermilk, something about soaking chicken in buttermilk to soften it. Anybody know about that way?