To eat or not to eat?

[BrookeP]

So I'll just come right out and ask.. is it frowned upon to eat roosters? I know some people do and I know they are tough and stronger tasting but.... any thoughts on it? Have you eaten roosters? we have a bad rooster and are weighing options.

 

[NatJ]

So I'll just come right out and ask.. is it frowned upon to eat roosters?

That depends on who you ask.

Some people frown upon eating any chicken.
Some people frown upon eating chicken for certain reasons ("But he's just being a rooster! Don't kill him for that!") but not for other reasons ("Sure, you raised those chickens for meat, it's fine to eat them.")

My personal view is that if you are willing to eat chicken at all, it should be fine to eat a male or female chickens of any age. There are plenty of other people who hold this same view (for example, most people posting in the "meat" section of the forums would agree that it's fine to eat a rooster.)

I know some people do and I know they are tough and stronger tasting but.... any thoughts on it? Have you eaten roosters? we have a bad rooster and are weighing options.

I have eaten roosters and hens, old ones and young ones.

As regards being tough, there are ways to deal with that. You can cook the meat in liquid until it is tender. If you can't get it tender by the time it falls off the bones, cut it into short pieces (that makes any meat easy to chew!)

You can make chicken soup or chicken and dumplings or any other recipe that suits your fancy. If you are worried about the flavor of the rooster meat being too strong, make a strongly-flavored dish, maybe something like chili.

To me, chickens of all ages still taste like "chicken," and none of them have ever been strong enough to be a big deal. (Of course other people might be more sensitive than I am.)

I have read of people that make chicken sausage from old chickens: grinding the meat deals with the toughness, and you can season the sausages according to how strongly flavored you think the meat is.

 

[-Chanticleer-]

I ate a rooster first time this year. Tastes the same to me honestly. He went in the pot because he was terrorizing the other birds. Fighting and pulling out chunks of feathers. He was my favorite he was nice to me but ended up as dinner. If you decide to eat him let the meat rest before cooking.

 

[nuthatched]

Let the meat rest past rigor mortise then a slow wet cooking method. Bon appetite.