Killing, Plucking, Eviscerating, & Cutting Up Your Chicken - Graphic!

[SilkieSensation]

Corsish cross broilers are going to be more tender than any other breed. But I have found that if I slow cook (either in a crockpot or on low on the stove) with enough liquid to mostly cover the bird (keep turning any sections sticking out down into the pot every couple hours) they will get so tender they literally fall off the bone. It works for freshly killed birds as well as frozen. But...it takes HOURS to cook thoroughly to be tender. Occasionally there will still be a chewy strand across the outside of a thin section of breast depending on the breed & age of the bird.

 

[Audio51]

Annalog - Thank you for your experience. We are lucky to have a local chicken butcher so I take a bunch over when I am ready to thin the flock. I have not been able to bring myself to do the task myself.
My question is a bit off topic, but when I bake or slow roast these chickens they are rubbery/chewy. Do you experience that with when you cook your chickens? I bring them home on ice and they go in the FoodSaver bags and freezer immediately. I am just trying to figure out what is causing the chewy chicken.

Thank you,
Crackle

How old are the birds you are referring to at processing time? The older they are the tougher they will be.

 

[Blooie]

Also when you bring the birds home on ice have they been just freshly butchered or have they been allowed to rest in the refrigerator for two or three days before you bag and freeze them?

 

[Crackle]

They can be a mix of young and old. My husband purchased a meat bird to raise through the summer and have butchered in the fall to fill our freezer. We also take some of our older birds, 2-3 year old, at the same time. Unfortunately, you can't keep them separate at the butcher to know which is older.

 

[Crackle]

Blooie, I usually bring them home on ice and bag and freeze them right away. It sounds like I should let them rest a few days in the refrigerator before freezing them. I will try doing this when I get a few more butchered.

Thank you.

 

[Blooie]

Blooie, I usually bring them home on ice and bag and freeze them right away. It sounds like I should let them rest a few days in the refrigerator before freezing them. I will try doing this when I get a few more butchered.

Thank you.

You are very welcome. Resting them for a few days seems to "loosen' them up a bit.

 

[bobhoke]

Excellent.

 

[nj2wv]

I processed 8 hens today. The son of my friend from church came to help me. We skinned them. Unfortunately two had an egg. I had 15 in the cull pen and was only getting one egg a day. They are two years old. It took us two hours. Kind of long but it was very cold today. Gutting kept our hands warm. I will let them rest until Sunday or Monday before I freeze them.

 

[LightningTFarm]

I have ducks, and the first time I had to cull some drakes I tried dry hand plucking the first one. It wasn't too bad but I couldn't get all the tiny feathers off the back and near the feet. I finally gave up and just skinned it. If I had a propane burner I would use hot water with some wax to get the little feathers off, but I don't have the right set up. The last few I culled I skinned them and gutted them, then cut off the breasts to freeze after a few days' rest. Then I cut off whatever other meat I could get off the carcass and the legs. I am saving that meat to use to make duck sausage.

 

[winc564]

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