Young rooster with tuff meat

[bigz1983]

Ok I had a extra cockerel around 13 weeks old that butchered about 2 months ago and sent to freezer camp. He was a ISA Brown/Barred rock cross.

My wife unthawed him and put him on the grill 2 days ago. The meat was tuff.
So midway through eating it I put it in the crockpot. It was in the crockpot for 8 hours.

I then cut the meat off the bone and put it in soup and it was still tuff.

He was only 13 weeks old why was he tuff?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Could be two things or a combination of the two. Rigor Mortis may have got you. If you cook them before Rigor Mortis sets up you will be OK but if you don't they can be tough. Aging them takes care of that.

There is a lot written about what age you can cook them different ways. Many people are OK grilling a 13 week old cockerel, to some people they might be a little tough grilled. Some of that is what you are used to, we all have different preferences. The other part of that is that different cockerels mature at different rates. It's not just age, maturity plays a part. By grilling it first you locked in the toughness, too late for the crock pot.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Roosters toughen up pretty impressively. the bird you get at the store, wrapped in plastic is delicious, but it is generally between 6 and 7 weeks old. I think once chicken puberty sets in, they toughen up. I remember finding that out myself..... (the chewy way). We put it in chicken with rice, but it was so tough...... even the dog was looking at me....

 

[bigz1983]

Ok thanks for the info.
That was my first time raising a dual purpose(non commercial hybrid meat)chicken and eating it.

I thought being young would make it be tender like a young store bought commercial hybrid meat chicken.

The dual purpose chickens carcasses look a lot different.

Next time we will skip the grilling part and go straight to the crockpot.

 

[happyfrenchman]

Yes... the first one I tried, it looked like a dead crow after I plucked it. Now, I just split the breast and take the meat, take the thighs and legs and skin them because they are going into the crock pot. Also if I know I am going to cull one I will do it as soon as I know because as you found, they toughen up beyond even the crock pot..... I think Coq au Vin is basically boiling a rooster in red wine

 

[bigz1983]

Yes... the first one I tried, it looked like a dead crow after I plucked it. Now, I just split the breast and take the meat, take the thighs and legs and skin them because they are going into the crock pot. Also if I know I am going to cull one I will do it as soon as I know because as you found, they toughen up beyond even the crock pot..... I think Coq au Vin is basically boiling a rooster in red wine

So if the rooster is butchered before sexual maturity or like a really, really young age like 8 weeks old they will be real tender like a store bought commercial hybrid meat chicken?

 

[Ridgerunner]

By 8 weeks they can be very tender but there might not be enough meat there, that might be part of the cooking problem. There is just so little meat it may cook really fast and overcook. Most people are OK grilling or frying a 12 week old. Some people are OK grilling or frying a 14 or even 16 week old but these probably age and brine them plus have experience cooking them.

 

[happyfrenchman]

I don't know... I think those frankenbirds are very fast growers.... I am sure they would be better the sooner the better. Some others on here will surely know better.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

Any chicken that's not a Cornish cross is going to have some toughness to the meat. Roosters will be the most tough and get worse with age.

 

[bigz1983]

Thanks for the info