Do I have to pluck and salt?

[MuranoFarms]

I only have 2 roo's to process, both 22 week old EE's. I was thinking about doing 1 this week and was wondering a few things. If I want to do this guy for dinner, do I have to pluck him or can I just cut the skin off? Also, can I cook him right away? Or should I do it the day before and let him sit on ice? Or is it salt water? If it has to sit overnight I'd like to do it in a cooler instead of the fridge. Will that work ok?

Or should I just do them the same day and freeze 1?

Thanks so much!

 

[zatsdeb]

you could skin it, but I like to pluck, that skin adds so much flavor! if you are cooking it today you can cut it up and put in salt water but its ok to cook today.

 

[emys]

When I have skinned them, I put them directly into the crock pot on low. If cooked at low temps for a long time they are always tender and no extra salt or fuss. Course I like stew, not everyone does.

 

[Kittymomma]

This is a great link that tells all about how to cook barnyard birds. I think if you butcher and cook on the same day that you will not be happy with the results, they're better if they are allowed to "rest" for a few days. Beef, pork, wild game, etc. all need to hang before you finish processing them if you want a quality product, chicken is the same. Enjoy!

http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

 

[dancingbear]

There are a ton of threads on cooking older birds. A little searching will find a lot of useful info. Nearly everybody, including me, will tell you to age the birds at least 24 hours before either cooking or freezing. Otherwise, the muscles will be in rigor, and the bird will be tough. Longer aging=less toughness. You can age them as much as a week in the fridge with no problem at all, I have aged them longer and they were fine. As long as the bird still smells fresh, it's fine.

I prefer to keep the skin, it adds flavor.

Many others who cooked birds without aging them first, have posted that they were tough.

Brining isn't needed, though, on a 22 week old bird. It it was a year or more, I'd brine.

 

[jaku]

Quote:
You can skin them. You should let the bird rest for at least 12 hours after butchering before cooking- more if you can. As long as they're cold, it doesn't matter TOO much whether it's ice, fridge, or salted ice water. I like salted ice water, but I'm sure my birds taste the same as someone who uses no water.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Thanks so much! This is my first try so....I'm hoping to do it right!