Older chicken cooking ideas needed.

[Skandi]

We killed our resident egg eater and she's sitting in my fridge. She's a 8-9 month old maran hen weighing 3.6lb

Reading online she's just over the "traditional" roaster age, but will she still roast fine? or do I need to do something slower.

[Skandi]

slaughtered day before yesterday, planning on eating her tomorow which is two days she's been segregated for a couple of weeks in the greenhouse, but she hated it so was pacing, probably on the more tough side then! but they have been inside since november so maybe not.

[woolybear]

We butchered 7-8 month old free range roosters in Jan. I low,slow roasted one. I think I roasted at about 250* for a couple of hours, might have started at 11am and we ate around 2-3pm. He was very tender, pan drippings very flavorful. And @redfish, is correct, they are not mushy, the meat has "body"

[nyhunter]

I roast mine at 275 in a roaster pan with some liquid on the bottom. Ive done this with older birds too.

[horseyrider]

I cooked one like that today and he was fall of the bone tender. Ohhh, the smell while he was cooking! He was in a tight roaster (one we call a "rooster roaster" because of the size) for two hours at 350, in a puddle of Rainwater Madiera and fragrant herbs.

After I ate all I could hold, everything but the meat itself went in to a stock pot and it's now simmering on the back burner of the stove. Tomorrow I get to strain and make a fabulous soup. Chicken barley? Chicken and wild rice? Chicken vegetable?

Mmmmm....

[Skandi]

I treated her like a bought chicken, but put some water in the bottom of the pan and cooked at 150C

Leg meat was a lot darker than the roo or bought chicken, but you would be hard pressed to tell the diffrence in taste really. Slightly firmer. Except for the skin, the skin came out really thick and crispy nothing like a bought bird, even cold it's holding crisp, more like crackling. The other half is sitting in the fridge at the moment, think it'll turn into pasties. At least this girl had a lot more breast meat than the roo did, I certainly wouldn't recoment danish landchickens (landhøns) as meat birds!

[Deleted]

I make sausage out of my old hens and the roosters

[horseyrider]

Mar 8, 2016 14:58:08 GMT @janisr said:

I make sausage out of my old hens and the roosters

Hmmm....

I believe that demands a   request for the recipe.