Chemical or soapy-tasting meat?

[MidwestMatthew]

We recently butchered our first-ever batch of meat chickens. Since then, we (or family) have cooked three of the birds, and they have all had a subtle but distinct "chemical" smell and flavor. Chlorine isn't exactly it, but that's the closest way I can think of to describe it.

So now I'm wondering if it's related to feed, processing, or some other factor. And, more importantly, if the meat is safe to eat.

The chickens were Cornish Cross. We fed them the "Producer's Pride" grower feed from Tractor Supply Store and kept them in a chicken tractor (moved every day or two). They were about nine weeks old at butchering.

For the actual butchering, we used a kill-cone and cleanly sliced the carotid arteries. It went well and I didn't note any obvious distress.

After killing and cleaning the birds, we put them in a cooler full of water and ice.

The only thing I can think of is that we filled the cooler with municipal water through a brand-new hose, which my wife and I both forgot to flush thoroughly before filling the cooler.

We did not notice any unusual odors during processing. However, when I opened the cooler about 30 hours later to quarter and package them, I immediately noticed the smell in question, quite strongly. It survived freezing, and is also apparent after cooking. And, as I said, the flavor is also present in the meat.

Has anyone else experienced this? Would you say it was from the feed, the processing, or the cooling water? And although I'm not expecting any scientific replies and won't hold anyone responsible for advice offered, can anybody suggest if the meat is likely safe or likely unsafe? (Especially important right now as my wife is pregnant...)

Thanks in advance for any insights!

 

[pwiker]

I personally have always used well water for cooling and have never experienced this. However, you have 3 ingredients that could possibly have added to the problem. The ice or the water or the cooler. It seems extremely unlikely that this chemical flavor or smell came from the chickens themselves. What are your suspicions? I would not be surprised if the brand new hose created the majority of the problem. I will assume that it was specifically a potable water hose.

 

[MidwestMatthew]

The hose was my prime suspect. It was an ordinary garden hose, nothing "potable" about it. I've used the same type of hose (though never brand-new) to cool rabbits after butchering and never had this problem.

I guess I've been hoping against hope someone would say something like "Oh, yeah, that brand of feed will do that to chickens, but it's harmless," or maybe heat-related stress pre-slaughter or something. But in my gut I've figured all along it was that hose.

Of course, if anyone else has any other information, I'd still be open to hearing it!

 

[Kiki]

I would bet on it being the hose or ice chest itself too.
I highly doubt it is the feed.

 

[Mosey2003]

I would imagine it's from the hose, ice chest, or water. Probably not harmful, I'd imagine. Can you just cook them in some way that really spices them up to cover it? Can you soak them in a brine as they thaw, maybe change it a couple times?

 

[JiminyChristmas]

Where did you get the ice? Commercial ice companies add chlorine to their water to make it freeze faster. That's on top of whatever the city put into it to begin with.

 

[Mrs.SWhite89]

A plastic cooler? A coffin( all metal insulated cooler) won't leach chemical smells or flavors. I would say it was the ice or cooler. Was the cooler set out in the hot sun before hand?

 

[Mosey2003]

People use plastic coolers for this all the time though, I'd still bet it was the water and/or new hose.

 

[JDN]

People use plastic coolers for this all the time though, I'd still bet it was the water and/or new hose.

They use hoses too. And I'd bet a few people use city water. If the cooler was new and the hose was new...That's the obvious answer.

 

[Mosey2003]

Right, a combination of all the new plastic-y smells.