Letting freshly butchered meat "rest" before cooking?

littlels · Nov 9, 2011

We have 4 dual purpose roosters to butcher today. We did one during the summer and the meat was really rubbery. Of course we would like to bypass that with all of these roosters and we heard that we should have let the meat rest before attempting to cook it. Is that true? Will it help the texture? How long does it have to rest?

Renee' · Nov 9, 2011

Yes you should let the meat rest for a few days. However if the roosters are mature, they will probably be tough anway (even after resting). They are probably only good for stews.

jgervais · Nov 9, 2011

I've heard to let them rest for 24hrs at least otherwise the meat will be tough due to rigor mortis. I also let mine soak in a salt water brine for a few hours.

we just butchered ours sunday:
http://simplelifeainteasy.blogspot.com/2011/11/slow-food-dorking-chickens.html

Oregon Blues · Nov 9, 2011

They have to rest long enough for rigor to pass. Once the legs and wings move easily you can eat them.

EggsForIHOP · Nov 9, 2011

I always like to let stuff rest AND marinade at the same time

Even if I'm just gonna make a stew or gumbo out of it, I let it soak up flavorful stuff for a day or 2...seems to come out better when I do

halo · Nov 9, 2011

Quote:
Very nice blog post.

ChickenCanoe · Nov 10, 2011

The first 24 hours are the most important but I usually rest at least 3 days before cooking or freezing. It makes a world of difference.
I also read research that leaving the bone in during the rest period helps so I wait to debone.
When time to cook forget cookbooks on temp/time.
Low and slow. If I cook a whole bird my oven is at 280 for 4 or 5 hours or till meat is separating from the bone.
Pieces are easier because legs will take much longer than breasts. Your birds have actually been using their muscles unlike store bought.

Tracydr · Nov 10, 2011

Try a kefir or yogurt marinade after resting. The acids will break down the tough muscle fibers and give incredibly tender, moist meat. You can add any spices you want, we like tandoori ( tika) seasonings with ours.

halo · Nov 10, 2011

I think buttermilk does the same thing.

littlels · Nov 10, 2011

So, we butchered four of them and they are in the fridge. Is there an easy or easier way to get the skin off of them? We left one with the skin on and the rest we pulled off but it was quite a chore. On one of the birds, the skin was like rubber and was rather separated so I could just pull most of it off but once I got to the legs and wings it was much more difficult especially on the other ones.

Letting freshly butchered meat "rest" before cooking?

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