butchering

I know there was a post on here waaaay back about marinating the freshly butchered chickens overnite..but i cant find it..can anyone help? i want to do some of mine close to fall, and would like to make sure they are tenderized..
thanks
cindy

I put mine in an ice chest with ice overnight. Some of the big roasters, I brine for 10 hours or more, then freeze.

Jyl, what kind of brine do you use? ive heard several, but cant remember any of them right now..i would like to print it that way i have it..if i dont lose it LOL
thanks

It is just sugar and water with proportions till it tastes lightly salty-sweet. I probably use a cup of sugar to 1/4 salt in a gallon or so of water. You can also add herbs, pepper of wine to it, but I usually season with that stuff when I cook it.

Great Thanks..ill give that a shot when i do it this fall..not giving them away anymore..i used to give them away to the amish, but i figured the way things are i might as well have them in our freezer..

Cindy, I don't add sugar to my brine - I just sprinkle the chickens with coarse sea salt, using a dry brine, and I leave them in the refrigerator or some other place where it stays no warmer than about 40º for about 48 hours, so the muscles have a chance to relax again, and then I freeze them. I have found that when I'm thawing them, if I put water in the bag with them and change it once or twice, the meat is tender and not overly salty. Jyl has a great way of cooking them, too; I've used her recipe any number of times. She puts them in a clay cooker with olives and rosemary, and they're really tasty that way. I usually put some potato wedges in the oven at the same time with a little chicken fat and rosemary, and that goes beautifully with the chicken.

I made one the other day in the cooker drizzled with honey, sprinkled with lemon juice and fresh rosemary. If it isn't brined first add salt and pepper.I also stuffed the squeezed lemon in it's butt before cooking. It was really good.

Hey thanks! it all sounds great..i will definately give it a shot this fall.also i want to cut them in half before i freeze them, and then i can take them out and use them on the grill or make as many halves as i want for company too..

That sounds awesome! Sometimes I stuff a chicken with lemon and onion. Unfortunately we have to eat store-bought chicken & eggs; I'm trying to find someone close we can get good chicken from again. I used to buy eggs & chicken from a lady where I work but she passed away a couple of months ago :(