Tough Chicken? No stew method

[Bubblingbrooks]

Many of you all are familiar with tough old layers and even tougher roos.
Here is a tactic we came up with that does not require long cooking methods.

Wait till the weather is consistantly cool. you want to have an old shed or crawl space or even the garage will work.
You need temps to hover in the upper 30s to middle 40s in the building.
An old fridge will work very well in place on the building.

Bleed out the selected old chickens, by slitting the throats.
Do not remove feathers!!! But do carefully remove the guts.
Carefully wipe out the cavity with a dry cloth.
DO NOT use water on the bird at all.

Now, using string, hang each bird by the feet in your selected cold room.
Let them hang for 6 days allowing for good airflow around each bird.
Always keep an eye on the temps.

On day 6 or 7, you can finish processing the birds.
The only two methods that you can use, are dry plucking or skinning.
Scalding does not work on an aged bird!

Skinning is ideal if you are doing more then a couple of birds.
You will find that aging mold will likely be on areas of the bird, but this is normal.
It is found on all aged meats, even at a commercial level.
You just trim it away as needed.

Freeze meat as desired.
You will find that the meat is now as tender as a young meat birds, but with a much finer texture and flavor.

 

[patandchickens]

Hung game is kind of an acquired taste, I think, certainly one that *I* never acquired How does the effect of hanging on domestic chickens compare with its effects on game -- is it similar? (e.t.a. - I mean, in terms of flavor)

I marinate and/or brine and/or pressure-cook and/or crockpot my old birds.

Pat

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Hung game is kind of an acquired taste, I think, certainly one that *I* never acquired How does the effect of hanging on domestic chickens compare with its effects on game -- is it similar? (e.t.a. - I mean, in terms of flavor)

I marinate and/or brine and/or pressure-cook and/or crockpot my old birds.

Pat

We have yet to detect any unusual meat flavor. It tastes like really good chicken.
You do realize that all commercial beef is hung for 3 weeks prior to packaging

 

[patandchickens]

Yes, I do, but I have also had freshly killed gamebirds and hung gamebirds and they are really pretty different (I do not like the hung version).

I suppose maybe weather permitting I might try it with a chicken sometime, though, since you are recommending it

Pat

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Yes, I do, but I have also had freshly killed gamebirds and hung gamebirds and they are really pretty different (I do not like the hung version).

I suppose maybe weather permitting I might try it with a chicken sometime, though, since you are recommending it

Pat

I think tempature makes a huge difference. If it gets too warm, you are going to get a flavor that is NOT desirable.
Observation has shown me that many hunters have next to no idea how to care for their game.
That is one of the reasons we do all our own processing. I do not want meat mixed in that has been mishandled.

We had an unusally warm couple of weeks in early moose season up here, and the local butchers were horrified at the condition of the a large portion of the moose that were being brought in to be processed. They turned away so many for being too warm.

 

[journey11]

Hmm, interesting. I might try this on a couple next round. We like to hang our deer for 7-8 days if the weather cooperates and I know it really makes a difference on them. (Usually the people I hear complaining about tough, "gamey" venison are the ones who rush theirs off to the butcher the day after shooting.) I think it would be crucial to watch the temps (but chickens are small enough to go into an extra fridge anyway) and to cook thoroughly. We rest our dressed birds 3-4 days before cutting up or packaging anyway. I would worry more about food poisoning on chicken than on venison. I don't think I'd rest one that long if you'd accidentally punctured the intestines during butchering, just to be on the safe side. Thanks for sharing! It does make sense.