Backyard Poultry Forum

Great info...thank you. I am sure there is a thread somewhere but, can any one tell me what to do so the meat is tender. I roasted one of our roo's last night that was approx 6months old. The meat was elastic....blah. I baked him for an hour as he did not look as though he had alot of meat on him.

Also.....what is the best feed/foods to give to fatten them up fast before the chop?

I was told years and years ago, to use vinegar. I think it was along the lines of - use a parge sauce pan, and put a couple of inches of water in the bottom and add a tablespoon of vinegar to that. So you sort of steam the meat, rather than roast it.
I actually never roast in oil or fat. I always roast in water, in an open pan in the oven. I do this with all mu roast. I find the meat is much more tender this way. If I need to bake vegies, I do them in virgin olive oil, with a little salt to crisp the vegies, in a seperate pan.

Thank you for the tips.....i shall give it a whirl.

I've looked for the answer to my question, but can't find it so...

How long do you rest the chook for before eating?? Is overnight enough?

24 is recommended. ours overnight on the cloths line if it is cool, otherwise in the fridge. then they are usually frozen (we eat the ones in the freezer the longest). they take over 24 hours to thaw. we kill in the evenings before dark and try to have it all done before total darkness.

Mine seem to take a good 48 hours to relax for use. I just cooked up three crossbred mongrels that were a bit small for anything but have made really excellent pies - they'd relaxed for 48 hours prior to freezing and even after defrosting, still seemed very stiff.

But when they're being gently poached for pies, stiffness doesn't seem to matter

thanks!

our isa was still too tough this morning for the dog to eat (granted she's part chihuahua and part foxy so not the biggest dog). and really, not all that much meat anyway. so for our dinner, i'll definitely rest longer than overnight.

it is very important not to stress the birds before dispatching. this includes chasing them around the pen and changing their environment before killing to something which is stressful...like a pen full of roosters or a pair where the other bird is giving the other bird a hard time. the more highly strung the breed the more you have to remember this rule.

Hi, great reading material and pics.
Extra info
After plucking the bird you can remove any fine down with a lighter.
Also I don’t skin the birds because I love roasting them and the skin is the best bit – yummy
One important thing is removing the penning gland, Im unsure what the official name of it is, but it’s the small lump next to the parson’s nose at the tail part that the bird uses to wax its feathers, Cook that and the bird won’t be edible – yucky
We slowly the chook in an oven bag at 180 degrees for 2hs to have a nice tender bird.

I have never removed the oil gland and have not noticed it when eating the bird. How is it supposed the make it inedable?

NellyG

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NellyG ........................

hmm i've never removed it either and we've had no issues with the bird not being tasty.

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Those who say it cannot be done shouldn't interrupt the people doing it

My bad, remove gland on a duck, chook ok

Found this site, it’s really good at explaining how to butcher a duck.

http://girlsguidetobutter.com/2011/10/h ... er-a-duck/

I've never deliberately removed the gland in chooks, although sometimes it comes off if I've got bored and just cut the whole parson's nose off , and haven't noticed any differences.

However, I do remember removing them in bought ducks when younger, as they can give a distinct, faintly unpleasant, musky/oily flavour to the meat - I think the heat of cooking releases the oils/scent and they settle on the meat. Or something. I can tell a male roast duck from female at 10 paces if the gland hasn't been removed. It might be why a lot of people don't like duck!

Yes you bad! That explains why my chooks taste oK then! Thanks for the clarification.

NellyG

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NellyG ........................