Three stories tall "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"...
flash backs to last fall's canning. LOL
So how long do you let the rabbits/chickens sit in the salt water? And if you wash it off, does it really work as well at tenderizing?
I'd like to try that dry rub technique...
How Cold Is to Cold
here's a link to BYC on salt brining: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=117729
Oooo, how about The Blob! Saw that one sunday afternoon when I was a kid-scared the dickens outa me! I'm such a wuss!
Quoting:
Aha! Now, that makes sense. One reason to let the meat rest in the fridge before freezing is the muscles stiffen up after cooling and then they relax. So if you freeze while they are stiff the meat will be tough. The added salt water soak helps tenderize the meat.
Around Easter my supermarket was offering free hams, turkeys or kosher chickens for expenditures over a period of time up to a specific dollar amount. Since I didn't want a turkey or ham I decided to try the kosher chicken, because people on a cooking forum where I post had said that they were delicious. I was amazed at how tender, juicy and flavorful the chicken was when I roasted it. That's why I got interested in the effects of dry salting or brining, since that's how kosher chickens are processed too. A friend of mine in France came up with the dry rub technique and it does work, but I haven't tried it extensively.
Sorry to hear about your peahen!
I'm still wrestling with that stupid heated poultry waterer; it isn't going above freezing today so I got it out to fill it and the rubber stopper on the bottom is frozen shut. It's thawing on the porch and meanwhile I'm using a pan of water so the poor critters have something. I can't wait until my heated base gets here!
Great one. Thanks Sue!
Your welcome, grow. :-)
Here's hoping for a speedy shipment, greenhouse_gal and warmer temps.
Thanks, Sue!
Someone should let the people on BYC know about the dry rub method; it's a lot easier.
We used to freeze our salmon in 1/2-gallon milk cartons filled with water when we lived on the coast in WA; that's something they were talking about in that BYC thread, and it does work.
Leslie - finally thawed the waterer out in the basement and brought it to the chickens; they're happy now!
For those of you chasing chickens around, here's an idea:
A few years ago I bought a green netted butterfly net on a bamboo stick, I was at a flower show and thought it would look cute in the garden... It's been laying around the house for years, and I've discovered it's great for chasing chickens, I can scoop them right up, or snag them out of a tree.
Maybe I could start a new business! Chicken nets! lol
We actually use a fish net for that purpose sometimes, although the mesh is stronger than a butterfly net and sometimes it's hard to disentangle a flailing fowl. We also have those long hooks with wooden handles, which work especially well on goose necks, or on chicken legs if you can snare 'em.
The Looney Tunes pull-em-off-stage kind? Where do you get those?
I don't know where we got ours; they've been hanging up in the garage for ages. But you can buy them here:
http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=24458&cat_id=144
or here
https://www.randallburkey.com/products.asp?dept=168&pagenumber=1&sort_on=price&sort_by=DESC
Randall Burkey even lists a heavy duty catching net, lakesidecallas!
Enjoy!
Leslie
I just use a dip net i got in the sporting goods at walmart they are cheaper than the actual poultry nets.
Yes, we use a fish net that hangs by our pond, handy for scooping out leaves or the occasional dead fish or frog, when it's not being employed to chase chickens.
I have got so good at catching them i can catch them in mid flight thats real good when it's a flighty pigeon on the loose.
Doves are impossible to catch once loose they do stay close but high in the trees. I wait a few days to see if they will come lower so i can catch them but thats rare.
Best way to catch a dove is to use a hose on them if you can get them wet enough they can't fly. Then you can just scare them or shake the tree and when they try to fly they kind of half fly/fall to the ground.
This sounds exstreme but tame doves will starve to death if out on their own so it's better to catch them this way then them starve.
Harmony! Champeen Chicken Snagger... Felicitous Fowl Mugger...
=0)
LMBO!!!! In a strange way i like that......
Do you suppose it's a marketable title? Hmmmm, I can just see you on a box of Cheerios...
Maybe a Nike sponsorship?
LOL Jay
My heated base from Stromberg's was only just shipped and won't get here until the 28th, so I went to the local tractor supply place and found one there; I figured I can always use a backup. It's different from the one I ordered and is only for use with galvanized waterers. But the instructions on it say to keep it away from water! Do you see anything a bit contradictory there? Sue, did yours say that? And how did you handle it? I set it up and did my best, but I'm sure a drop or two is going to get on it sooner or later. How could it not?
It also said to use it in a sheltered area. I don't have one, so I'm trusting to luck, but with the new coop we're planning to build we'll put a shed roof off one side to provide some shelter.
At least this should make my life a bit easier. I'll be curious to see how the one from Stromberg's is labeled regarding what can and can't be allowed with it!
Well my chickens have survived the cold. In fact they have produced eggs in the cold as long as I was there to get them before they destroyed them. It's looking like we will be getting a new start of baby chicks. DH was to get both, hens and roosters this time. I have to think out the crowd I have at the moment. I have a few that long to give me eggs with no problem, but a few who was to lay them and then destroy them. Those chickens will be put into my freezer when the time comes. I'm beginning to see the difference with the birds. The ones who like laying the eggs for me stay laying in the next. The ones who don't are usually stand-ups who just wait for the egg to drop then crack it open to eat it.
That would be great, if you could be sure which were which. I think we have some egg-munchers too; if I don't check several times a day I find at least one egg wet and sticky with the yolk from a vanished egg. But I haven't a clue which are the perpetrators!
We spent yesterday butchering eight roosters and one old hen. They are resting in the refrigerator now, because I read in Backyard Poultry that birds are tougher if they are not allowed to sit in a cool place for 12 to 24 hours before freezing them. Another friend advised 24 to 48 hours. That way rigor mortis passes and the meat is tenderized by changes in pH and such. I had never heard that before - might be why my chickens have been chewy up to now!
Maybe some of the now dearly-departed were responsible for the egg-eating. I can only hope!
Thanks for the advice greenhouse. I will check further on that and let hubby know.
There's another thing I need to check up on, hubby says that he has read somewhere that now you can only get 12 at a time instead of less.
Hopefully you don't mind my butting in here greenhouse gal..
We processed our first crosses this fall and not only was it good for the chickens to rest.. it was great for us too!
We would kill, defeather, clean, then put them in a salt solution to soak in the fridge for 24 hours, then take them out, wash them off and freezer bag them.
Amazing how much extra (sorry) blood there was that we didn't see, but the salt draws that out along with other .. whatevers.. can't remember this second the right word.. but I want to say something like "dirty light toxins", not to mention gives the rigamortis a chance to 100% pass.. I also found when you remove from the fridge you want to move the legs around or they will still be stiff, not for any reason.. just thats the way you leave them, they will stay.
I packaged a few chickens with pre-marinate.. some with italian dressing.. Best chicken ever!! then a few with a tomatoe sauce.. made catchatori.. YUM!! then just plain.. I have not fried any yet.. I have been taking 3 whole birds out at a time and I pressure cook them, then refreeze two for different meals.. that is whats left.. my family rushes the kitchen and eats the chicken as I am trying to salvage the meat.
It was all hard work and took mental preparadness, but worth ever second and we will do it again!
WOW, that went far from overnight soaking, didn't it.
Wow, thanks for the info. We usually rotisseri the chicken. This way we don't have any extra fat either. Hubby wants to smoke one in our smoker.
Where did you hear about that method, frans? The wet marinade is interesting. What do you put them in to do it? My plastic bags don't seem to hold up very well when filled with salt water and a chicken! And anything else takes an awful lot of room in the refrigerator. Also, what proportion of salt to water do you use?
I forget if I've posted this here or elsewhere, but this is what a friend in France does to pre-season her poultry:
Quoting:
I prefer dry rubs to marinades for almost everything, because I find that the flavor is more intense. What I do is to pick whatever seasonings I'm going to use, however they MUST include salt, as that is essential to the functioning of the process. I rub it all over, both inside and out in the case of a whole chicken, then stick it in a plastic bag and pop it into the freezer. As it defrosts, it basically self-marinates. One of the things that's nice with my graniteware cooker is that it doesn't have to be entirely defrosted before cooking. In fact, I think that part of what makes it so juicy is that it finishes defrosting as it cooks, so the steam actually helps to penetrate the flavors into the meat.
I was planning to try that this time.