The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: madchickenlady on November 22, 2014, 10:01:33 am
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Hi all, :wave:
I have two cockerels and a number of drakes, all about eight months old, to dispatch for the freezer. I have done this (cockerels only) once before but the birds were really tough! I dispatched, plucked and drew them on the same day and then left them in the fridge for a couple of days before cooking one and freezing the other, was this the correct thing to do or does anyone have alternative suggestions? Hope you can help - one 'tough old bird' in the house is enough me thinks! :roflanim:
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try killing and hanging for 5 days before gutting.
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Casserole in a slow cooker rather than roast.
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Some breeds are just not good eating Madchickenlady. The local breed here, the Black Gasconne, is particularly bad. But after 26 weeks they toughen anyway. They are also best given limited movement to avoid over-toughening the legs.
So slow casserole is definitely the best option for what you have. I don't like hanging birds myself. The procedure you followed before is the same we use.
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Must depend on the breed, I think. I've got a bunch of the same age and they're OK to eat - even the cockerel who was 18 months old was better than anticipated but he was slow cooked rather than roasted.