How long to hang birds?

[ready2change]

Hi
Sorry if this has been covered before but I am wondering how long you all 'hang' your birds between slaughter and cooking.
I was told 3-4 hours for a quail and 2-3 days for a chicken. Our first cornish x was rather tough after a couple of days hanging. I have a quail I processed earlier in the fridge and am hoping to cook it tomorrow evening. I will be processing quail, cockerels and a turkey for Christmas dinner so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Until they stop bleeding, if thats what you mean,

 

[ready2change]

I meant between culling and eating. there are a lot of posts varying views on how long to leave them to hang before cooking them to make sure they are tender

 

[Buster52]

48 hours. 80% of the rigor has run its course in 10 hours, but much longer to completely finish. Then there are other things besides rigor during aging, like tissues begin to break down and soften.

 

[maggiemo]

This might be a dumb question, but why, when I have birds processed at a USDA facility they have to chill them down to 30F within two hours after they have been killed? All the birds I have seen done at a USDA facility were chilled and frozen immediately.

 

[SmokinChick]

And then the market thaws them or you do over the course of several days in the fridge.

 

[maggiemo]

So as long as they sit for a few days before or after freezing it takes care of the rigger? OK. Thanks.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Chilling a bird to 30 degrees is NOT FREEZING IT. That is quick cooling to retard bacterial growth. 30 degrees is considered a FRESH BIRD. Water may freeze at 32 degrees but there is a lot more to animal tissue and it must be much colder to freeze solid.

When home processing, after you pluck and draw ( gut) the bird you should immediately submerge it in very cold ice water, preferably with salt in it. About 1/2 cup per gallon. Let it soak for 1 or 2 hours to chill thoroughly. A turkey can go into a cooler with1 or 2 bags of ice +water + salt for 4 or 5 hours.

After they come out of the water, drain thoroughly, place in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for 2, 3, or 4 days. I always age my chickens 4 days and my turkeys 4 or 5. Remember, 'fresh' supermarket chickens can be 10 days or more on the shelf. After that aging period it can be cooked or frozen.

I am a bit curious about your use of the term "hanging". This is a practice done in Europe, specifically in the U.K., where game birds as well as some domestic fowl are "hung" by the feet with feathers and entrails intact until they are deemed aged enough for cooking. It is then that they are plucked and drawn. If this is the practice to which you are referring, I wouldn't recommend it. The end product is what we would call "gamey"!

~S

 

[chicken pickin]

Chilling a bird to 30 degrees is NOT FREEZING IT. That is quick cooling to retard bacterial growth. 30 degrees is considered a FRESH BIRD. Water may freeze at 32 degrees but there is a lot more to animal tissue and it must be much colder to freeze solid.

When home processing, after you pluck and draw ( gut) the bird you should immediately submerge it in very cold ice water, preferably with salt in it. About 1/2 cup per gallon. Let it soak for 1 or 2 hours to chill thoroughly. A turkey can go into a cooler with1 or 2 bags of ice +water + salt for 4 or 5 hours.

After they come out of the water, drain thoroughly, place in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for 2, 3, or 4 days. I always age my chickens 4 days and my turkeys 4 or 5. Remember, 'fresh' supermarket chickens can be 10 days or more on the shelf. After that aging period it can be cooked or frozen.

I am a bit curious about your use of the term "hanging". This is a practice done in Europe, specifically in the U.K., where game birds as well as some domestic fowl are "hung" by the feet with feathers and entrails intact until they are deemed aged enough for cooking. It is then that they are plucked and drawn. If this is the practice to which you are referring, I wouldn't recommend it. The end product is what we would call "gamey"!

~S

You have some good tips. I am processing today for my first time, I am going to age my meat in the fridge after the processing before freezing. My question is, I have freezer bags I bought from murray mcmurray they close with twist ties. Is it ok to put my chickens in the freezer bags after the chil bath to go into the refridgerator and then days later just transfer to the freezer? Or should the chicken be in something different then put in the freezer bags before going into the freeze?. Sorry if this sounds like a silly question I just want to make sure I have all my steps correct.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Sorry, but I would NEVER freeze anything with just a twist tie! You could leave it in there and then put that bag in a freezer zip lock bag. Always try to squeeze all the air out of the bag, also. These steps help extend the freshness in the freezer and prevent freezer burn.

I always put them in a zip-lock bag and then wrap in freezer paper. It's an old habit, but it works so well. The trick is to compress the bird ( meat, sausage, whatever) as you wrap from all sides to squeeze out all the air. Turkeys are a challenge, though. I've found some "brining bags" at the store that I've been using, but I should probably order some of those.

The thing to remember in freezing is this; OXYGEN IS THE ENEMY! Anything you can do to stop the transfer of oxygen molecules will extend the freshness of your meat. Plastic is NOT Impermeable! Air leaks, like from a twist tie or a poorly sealed zip-lock, can ruin meat in a month or so. Aluminum foil is impermeable, but hard to seal around.

Sorry if I come off a little preachy, but I'm old!

I've earned the right to share what I learned the hard way!

~S

P.S. You may want to check out www.sausagemaker.com for other meat cutting/putting up supplies.