[madchickenlady]

Hi all, any ideas/favourites for cooking old hens and nine month old cockerel, maybe soup? not sure how viable the old girls will be.
Thanks in advance!

[darkbrowneggs]

There is some info and a good way of cooking them on here plus a bit about feeding etc pre-preparing them  Its about Marans but would apply to any type of bird, or poultry even.  If the hens are upto about 2-2 1/2 years old you might be okay be any older and free range really you will just make some tasty stock and maybe something for the dog to bounce his teeth off.


http://www.darkbrowneggs.info/#/marans-as-meat-birds/4554492879

[HesterF]

We ate a nearly two year old cock recently and he was lovely! I slow cooked him coq au vin but I think he might have been OK anyway. He was certainly like no chicken I have ever eaten before - much denser meat, far gamier, bigger legs, smaller breast - but in a really good way. So your cockerel should be fine whatever you do to him.

Not sure about the girls - I'm guessing they'll be quite a lot older.

[Lesley Silvester]

I used to be able to buy 'boiling hens' a few years ago. Actually, they were six shillings each so it was quite a while ago.    I used to cook them in the pressure cooker and then use the flesh in recipes. The other alternative would be in a slow cooker.