Chicken Recipes

[Jaye]

@muffin57 , if you are ever in our area, I have an extra slow cooker you can have. No one should be without at least a slow cooker lol

[windwalkingwolf]

Thank for the suggestions OC and www. Unfortunately I don't have a slow crock either, as the previous one I had quit working and I never replaced it. I had thought that the chicken only had to rest in the fridge for 24 hours, so it is good to know it needs to be for a week. At what age is a heritage rooster best to cull?

You can "slow-cook" in a roast pan in the oven, or in a pot on the stove as well. Just keep the temperature low, lots of juice of your choice in there and cook over a long period. A crock pot doesn't do anything special that your oven or stove top can't do, and it doesn't use less power, either
As for resting in the fridge after slaughter (or if you've frozen them after slaughter, rest after thawing), if it's a heritage chicken and very young, 3 days is ok...but the older it is, the longer it will need.
Heritage roosters are most tender if culled before 6 months old or so, but anytime after 4-5 months of age they will need some time-out in the fridge. After 7-8 months, most will need the full week. BUT, if your roosters are penned far from the hens (can't see or hear them) and are well fed, they are MUCH more tender than the ones that are raised near hens and pullets.

[muffin57]

Thanks Jaye that is very generous of you, but lol you are a little too far away for me. Thanks www for this info. We do our roosters when they are over a year old. The first year they just seem to be not big enough. My husband puts them in a cage a couple days prior to cleaning, but they are still near the hens. I did not know that they shouldn't see or hear the hens. I thought they just had to stay still and to not eat, but can have water the day prior to culling.

[KimChick]

We have started to grind the meat of old birds, save the rest of the carcass for soups, and put both in the freezer.