Would an older( 8-9 month ) DP rooster be good for smoking?

[Azriel]

I asked this on the meat section, but was told I might have better luck getting an answer here. I'm thinking of getting myself a smoker for Christmas if this would work well for older DP birds. I normally roast my older birds, but, if this would work for older birds without them being tough, it would be a nice change, plus they could be great gifts for friends and family.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I would suspect that a 9 month old chicken would be pretty chewy, So I would slow roast the bird until tender and then move it to the smoker to get that good smoke flavor.

The reverse could be done., Smoke and then slow roast, but in my opinion, yo lose some of that smoke flavor with the roasting after smoking.

 

[duckinnut]

You want to smoke a 9 month old bird? How are you going to get it lit?

Kidding aside, Regular roasting will give you a tough bird. Slow warm smoke will loosen it up a little. Smoke/ roast way I would smoke for an hour in cool smoke then slow roast in an oven at about 250-275 degrees.Once the smoke penetrates it will stay. Personally I would inject it with a vinegar based marinade to help break down the muscle tissue. Inject at least 24 hours before.

 

[Azriel]

Thanks for the input, guess I'll have to try both ways and see which I like better.

 

[fastbird]

Smoking is the way I use up almost all of the roosters I have butchered, They are excellent smoked. I hot smoke until internal meat temp is 175, using 200-225 smokehouse temps.
Brineing is easy, 3/4 cup salt,3/4 cup brown sugar and any spices you want in any reasonable ammount, per gallon of water. I brine if fridge for 2-3 days and the morning of smoking, I drain and let them sit in fresh cold water for 3-4 hours, drain and towel dry, and them smoke for about 8 hours. I use cherry, hazelbrush and white oak whiskey barrels for the smoke on a propane driven hotbox smoke generator.( an homade steel box with holes in it to smolder the wood in).
Skin gets tough but the meat is tender and moist. My favorite way to use up older skinny birds.

 

[Azriel]

fastbird, thanks for the info, I was hoping that smoking would be a good way to fix older birds.

 

[BettyR]

There is a cooking technique that I learned watching Alton Brown that is wonderful for getting a tough piece of meat tender then smoking it.

Put the rooster in a foil wrapped pan with some seasonings and a little broth. Make sure it is sealed very well so the steam will not escape. Then put it in a slow oven...between 275 degrees and 300 and let it bake for 4 or 5 hours. When it is as tender as you wish remove it from the oven and put it in the frig overnight.(This is a very important step to firm up the collagen in the meat) Then the next day put it on the smoker at a very low temperature. All you want to do is smoke it and heat it up you don't want to cook it any more....I burn two bowls of wood chips in my smoker at the lowest possible temperature I can get the smoker to stay lit at.