The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: egglady on July 18, 2010, 09:23:18 pm
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had our first chicken for tea tonight after dispatching it earlier today and i was wondering who eats the same day they kill and who waits - and those who wait, how long for?
is flavour affected?
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I give them 48-72 hours in the fridge then into the freezer. Flavour was the same, tenderness of the meat is what we found improved.
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thank Dj - that was what i'd wondered. the flavour was way better than we've had previously, but we all found that the meat wasnt quite so tender - a bit chewy i think i'd describe it. i'm wondering what you mean about the into the freezer part - do you freeze and then defrost and cook? or am i being thick?
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why freeze. they will be a bit more chewy there muscles have been used. try diffrent cooking styles. i would not hang chucks in this weather.
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I had mine in the oven as soon as i cleaned etc. They seemed to be great tasting, I will try the fridge part next time and see if its better. God you learn it all here.
Craig
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i made paprika chicken with some of the leftovers today and it was much softer meat; chicken and butternut squash curry tomorrow then chicken soup the next day. 4 meals from a bird originally bought as a day old for about a quid...... cant think of much else more satisfying in life!
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how many weeks was it and what did it weigh? is there a use before date on 1 day olds? you have to use them at 10 weeks? how long will they actualy live for?
Craig
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we got them at the beginning of April - so about 15 weeks approximately. didnt weigh him but he filled the oven completely - as big as a turkey. he was fed growers and some kibbled maize and allowed to free range as soon as he was big enough.
i dont know how long they live for, but i'd imagine the same as any other chicken/cockerel - unless anyone tells me otherwise?
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I've yet to eat any of my own chickens, I did envisage that idea when I bought into the idea of getting chooks, but the ones we have are a little 'close' now. :)
Sorry for being naive here, I know there are breeds specifically for meat and they are bigger I am not interested in them in this question, but more specifically if you were buying, say, a black rock (in general) as a meat bird would it be best to get a male or female? I know the male is bigger? Is it unheard of to eat young female birds? Are males and females equal size at that young age?
What do you look for in a chook you are raising for eating?
Ta
Baz
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why freeze. they will be a bit more chewy there muscles have been used.
I had some hubbard 6 week growers, they were out freeranging. Dispatching 1 at a time when required. But I found them quite tough and freezing them helped improve the tenderness. Having said that, I usually get day old cob/ross and they freerange in the warmer months but they can be a little tough. But in the winter months when in a large shed with outside access, the meat was much tenderer.
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Do they get tougher as they get older? My cockerels are16 weeks now but don't seem very fat to me. They're liight Sussex fed growers. If i leave them much longer will it affect flavor etc?
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I only have a just over a years experience of meat birds. So I'm no expert on any of it. In my experience, across the 3 breeds I've done. Cobb/ross, hubbard, sasso... I've found the hubbards and sasso rather tough at 16 weeks old. I start dispatching at 6 weeks, sometimes younger. I dispatch whoever looks wobbly on their legs.
We've tried to fattened up other non table birds, those boys we've hatched and don't want to keep. Dispatch them at aged 6 months. And in my opinion it's not worth it, tough as heck.
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a friend of ours says you should always hang a meat bird for 24-48 hours before you eat as it allows the meat to become more tender. cant say at this stage as we've only eaten the one so far. will try this with the next one and let folks know the difference in taste. hubbards certainly are meaty though!
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hi
we hung our for 3 days, but it was cool at the time.
the first one queen eliz cooked was a bit tough, after that she cooked the others at a lower temp but for longer.
not sure what temps or how long i will ask her later (cant get her away from the thrown at the min) and let you know.
it was very tasty
kn
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you do need to remember that your home reared free range slow grown is vastly diffrent to that of a factory bird. so it will taste and feel diffrent. same as veal tastes diffrent from beef.
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ok folks, here's th update. we (well hubby) dispatched chook no 2 on thursday and it's been in the fridge till yesterday. I cooked it in a really slow oven (120) for about 4 hours and i have to tell you it was TOTALLY different in taste to version no 1! same meatiness but so, so much more tender. definately will be sticking to this method from now on.
hope this helps others......
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Hi
When I derspatched our Ross Cobbs, I left them hanging after plucking in a shed for 3 or 4 days, like I do with pheasants and then to the freezer. Cooked them as normal at about 180c and they were moist and tender.
Cheers
Simon
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we will have our first meat birds to dispatch in about 9 weeks - have got a mixture of hubbards and poulet rangers (a type of Sasso). Having never done this before, just want to check a few things....i had already been told that if we kill them on say a Tuesday, to let them hang until the Saturday which would tenderise the meat and improve it. Slightly confused, as some people seem to literally mean hang them, like Simon in his shed in the previous post, and some people talk about putting them in a fridge - do you really hang them in a fridge, or just lay them in there on a plate etc? Also, presuming you all pluck them before hanging or putting in a fridge as read feathers meant to be easier to pluck when the bird is still warm? Finally, when do you dress them/remove innards etc? when you kill them, or after they have hung? We have 14 chicks, plus a LS chick (that we are fairly sure is a cockeral) which will be 24 weeks at the point the others are 10 weeks, so planning to do most of them at the same time, as i am due a baby in 13 weeks, so would like most of them out of the way by then! Might keep a few back to grow even bigger as i gather the Sasso boy's can reach circa 14lb, and even 9lbish if left until about 12 weeks? But if they have to be literally hung in a fridge, we won't have space to do many at one time!! And probably one final daft question, but if the birds are left hanging in a shed or garage or wherever, what means that the meat is still safe to eat? what about flies or anything else? I'm one of those people who until now has obeyed all best before dates and keep my ketchups in the fridge, and the idea of hanging chickens in a warmer environment for 4 days just seems asking for food poisoning! Can someone please educate me!! thanks L
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dispatched, plucked and innards out all at the same time.
left on plate in fridge for 3 days (nowhere to hang and felt a bit funny about it any other way)
cooked and ate
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Hi - I have kept poultry for 30 years, and my parents before me. So I do what we always did.
Kill bird. I prefer what my father did ie break neck and do not bleed (but I am a whimp and get someone else to do it) After breaking neck hold bird by feet and at arms lenght till fluttering has stopped
Hang up by feet and rough pluck immediately. Wing feathers first (hardest to get out) then tail feathers then others
Leave hanging up till cool, but watch for any flies, then straight into fridge (no need to hang them then just put on shelf) or somewhere cool and fly proof (kill after autumn and flies are not a problem) I you havent space in fridge and flies are around cover with an old pillowcase. Be careful flies seem able to get in pretty well any little gap
Gut them anything up to 4 or 5 days later if in fridge, maybe a day if outside and weather a bit warmish. Finish taking out any missed feathers and stubs You can use pliers or trap each stub or pin against the egde of a knife blade to make pulling out easier.
If there are long hairs on the carcass singe them off with a taper (hardward stores sell them)
Wash caviety well wipe dry and its ready for oven or freezer
I have Marans and eat them at any age once big enough. If it is a laying hen upto a couple of years old I poach gently in stock with veg. You can then eat the bird hot or cold
If it is a cock up to about 2 or so I marinade in redwine with herbs and a bit of lemon and wine vinegar then Coq au Vin
Younger birds are left whole for roasting or the breasts and legs removed and frozen seperately and the carcass made into stock straight away. This save space in the freezer.
By the way Marans are wonderful dual purpose birds, and were originally imported as meat birds because of their gourmet flavour and white flesh - it was only afterwards that people decided the eggs were nice as well!!
all the best
Sue
:)