I finally had some of my chickens processed! It took my almost four years to do this so that tells you how old the chickens were.I couldn`t do it so took them elsewhere.Now this is what I have tried for cooking them,slow cooker,baking,and today simmering on the stove on very low heat and I will cook it all day.The slow cooker I cooked for 18 hours on low but had to much onion in it and thats all we could taste but was tender,the baking one I put it in a brine for 18 hours and baked it,could not cut the leg meat with a sharp knife breast was so so.I know they will be tough being so old but is there anything I can do so they won`t be so tough?
New to forum
Hey green... Welcome!
Old birds are hard to cook because they are inherently tougher than young birds. However, toughness can occur in even young birds (or meat) if they are subject to fright at butchering. "Stewing Hens" are hard to find in the stores anymore, but that's because poultry factories want to cut feeding time/cost and turn over inventory quickly.
My new slow cooker cooks too hot even on Low so I usually braise tough birds and meats. My old slow cooker that died didn't get as hot on Low... it's the new federal laws on cooking standards that manufacturers have to follow. Feds don't care if it's tough as long as it's "safe" LOL.
I have a recipe that bakes birds at 500ºF. Surprisingly, they are moist and tender but I haven't tried it on a tough bird. I only buy fresh local pastured birds anymore, but I do plan to raise my own when I can afford some varmint-proof fencing. I hear you on not being able to butcher the birds yourself... I won't know if I can do it until that time comes!
BTW, I never brine small birds or small meat cuts more than 2-4 hours; turkeys I brine 12 hours or more.
This one turned out pretty good,cooked it on simmer for 7 hrs.I really expected the taste to be quite different in a home grown bird and I have to say that I like store bought taste better in the whole bird but not in the boneless skinless breast,that has no taste at all.
I cook my "old" birds in a pressure cooker. Quick and tender. I process my own birds.
I haven't done this for a while but I used to process them myself. I grew up in a large family and we did it by assembly line so I had hands on experience.
Anyway, I pressure cooked the tough birds. We like canned chicken in dishes and as a sandwich meat also so it was a good way to use the tougher birds. I had also found that I could bake one in an oven browning bag and they would get fall apart tender.
Now I'm wishing I had more chickens. Oh well...
Thanks for all the help.