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First culled, plucked and dressed cockeral now in the freezer- all thats left is to eat him! No 1 son not very keen, No2 not bothered at all by it! plays a game where he's hunting deer in the garden so I think he's quite happy! the proof of the puddings in the casserole to paraphrase...

kind thoughts
Deb

There's nothing quite like a home killed, plucked and dressed chicken for dinner.

Ours are Scots Greys, an old dual-purpose breed, with quite dark meat concentrated on the thighs and legs.

They're not great roasters because unless you bard with bacon, the breast tends to dry out. But as pot roasts, stoved, casseroled or made into soup they are sublime.

I might have to go and kill one now, as that's got me hungry!!

He was a Sussex so they are a dual purpose bird too, I normally say I'm a veggie but I'm gonna eat him as I know exactly what he's eaten, how he's lived and how he was dispatched, I'm not happy that I can say that about any shop bought meat so I avoid it. He was one I raised myself and he was fine until he recently started to get agressive, not having any of that, his days were then numbered! I have a friend who says the agressive ones taste the best- maybe its the aftertaste of sweet vengence that lingers!

kind thoughts
Deb

Any good recipes for rooster?

We've killed and eaten a few and the meat was a bit plasticy in texture. I don't bother plucking, it's easier to skin them.

Yep, the only place for an aggressive rooster ..............is in the pot If you freeze the bird, the kids forget where it came from by the time they eat it

my son never forgets... half the reason we don't name our food as he will ask for another slice of Fred please....

however as he is a confirmed carnevore, and brought up on a farm, he is very used to the concept...

going to be culling some of our chickens soon, we have 9 and are getting two eggs a day so those who think they have a free ride are going to get it, i know which two are laying and we had a pet hen so she will survive, but 3 of the 4 australops are for the chop, we were given them as one or two year olds, my suspision is that they are a lot older, so in the pot they go, everything here must earn its keep.

red wrote:my son never forgets... half the reason we don't name our food as he will ask for another slice of Fred please....

however as he is a confirmed carnevore, and brought up on a farm, he is very used to the concept...

Our boys are the same. We're in the middle of finishing processing Rocket, a Berkshire porker.

The Wee 'Un just asked if he could have Rocket chops for dinner, while his brother has been telling school teachers we're making Rocket sausages.

brilliant!

It's a lesson to think hard about the names of your livestock. Rocket sausages don't sound too bad. Just don't name it Pooh

Zoe

Yum! I am a big fan of stewed meat, and we kill a lot of roosters over the winter, so to not have to take up room in the already full freezers, and to slow cook on the woodstove.

I pop 2-3 carcases in a large stew pot with a salt and pepper, onion, celery, bay leaves, and splash of whatever liquor is open (usually white wine or port).

Stew for 2-3 DAYS on a low fire (is the fire is roaring, I put it on a heat-proof trivet so it's about half an inch from the cast iron cook top). The carcase will fall apart, and the meat will fall off the bone and is very tender.

Then I use in soups, stews, toasties, etc. The favourite of everyone is actually a cold dish of chicken salad, made with chopped celery, apples, walnuts and/or sunflower seeds, sultanas, and red onions, with a dressing of mayonnaise with salt and pepper to taste.

I've found it helps the tenderness of the meat if it's aged in the fridge for up to a week before either cooking or putting in the freezer.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

Thomzo wrote:It's a lesson to think hard about the names of your livestock. Rocket sausages don't sound too bad. Just don't name it Pooh

Zoe

We've eaten Honey, Crackle, Smunch, Bunch, Thunderpig, Sausages, Hambone and Rocket. Our oldest told me he want to call the next one Anne. When I asked why, he said he'd been learning about Henry VIII and thought it would be fun to have a pig called Anne so he could shout "off with her head".

farmerdrea wrote:
I've found it helps the tenderness of the meat if it's aged in the fridge for up to a week before either cooking or putting in the freezer.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

Ah so that's where we've been going wrong, we've been killing them and eating straight away. Thanks for that info

farmerdrea wrote:Yum! I am a big fan of stewed meat, and we kill a lot of roosters over the winter, so to not have to take up room in the already full freezers, and to slow cook on the woodstove.

I pop 2-3 carcases in a large stew pot with a salt and pepper, onion, celery, bay leaves, and splash of whatever liquor is open (usually white wine or port).

Stew for 2-3 DAYS on a low fire (is the fire is roaring, I put it on a heat-proof trivet so it's about half an inch from the cast iron cook top). The carcase will fall apart, and the meat will fall off the bone and is very tender.

Then I use in soups, stews, toasties, etc. The favourite of everyone is actually a cold dish of chicken salad, made with chopped celery, apples, walnuts and/or sunflower seeds, sultanas, and red onions, with a dressing of mayonnaise with salt and pepper to taste.

I've found it helps the tenderness of the meat if it's aged in the fridge for up to a week before either cooking or putting in the freezer.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

Do you live in Oxford by any chance Andrea?

Yes, I do live in Oxford.

Do I "know" you from that other forum?

Andrea
NZ