# Tough Meat - What I am Doing Wrong



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

We are new(ish) to eating fresh chicken, however, I must be doing something wrong, why is my meat (especially thighs) so tough. I have cooked in the oven, made a soup in the crockpot yesterday, and other ways, yet my meat seems to be tough and chewy.

When I process I skin the meat, sometimes leave whole, sometimes cut up. I let it all rest in the fridge a few days, then freeze it in the deep freeze. When we thaw it, we do so in the fridge and even let it set a few days after thaw to rest more.

Is this just the way fresh chicken is? These are not old birds, some are Cornish cross, others are red broiler, some are young roosters, same result. How do we get it "grocery store" tender to make it more pleasing to eat?


----------



## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

I have only processed one rooster and it was very tough. I didn't let it rest, we just cleaned it and put it on the grill. I figured it was from not letting it rest. It sounds like you have done everything I have read to do. 
I hope you find the answer, I have some Cornish crosses growing out now and am looking forward to fresh meat.


----------



## HodgesParadise (Jan 25, 2014)

When we hunt for wild game (turkey, deer, duck, etc...), I've found that soaking the meat in different things helps. Hubby and I soak everything in whole milk for a couple days before we cook with it, changing the milk out daily. My parents soak their wild turkey in salt water overnight and a friend soaks in apple juice. I have no idea if this will help with your chicken as we haven't processed any yet...but it is worth a try. Our meat is always so tender and juicy!


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

We do turkey in a salt brine, maybe will try that with the next one, maybe that is why the ones from the store have liquid in them when they are in a bag.


----------



## Speedy92362 (Apr 23, 2013)

I bake mine doing the beer can recipe. Comes out perfect every time.


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

I was thinking the ones I had baked were better, will have to bake my next ones I thaw.


----------



## Speedy92362 (Apr 23, 2013)

You can drink like half the can of beer, fill it with whatever spices you prefer, position the chicken over the can and you're set to go. I also rub mine with olive oil and put a rub all over it.


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

Yes. I actually have the beer can stand from a few years back. Just have to pull one of the whole birds out if the freezer. Thanks !


----------



## Speedy92362 (Apr 23, 2013)

Anytime, actually I just use a beer can and set the chicken on it, no beer can stand really necessary. Good luck!


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

Awesome, that means no stand to clean!


Jim


----------



## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

I have found that Bud Light 16oz make the best stands. :beer:


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

Not sure where I would find a bud light can....but with try with some good stout if I can find in a can. 


Jim


----------



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

I like your style. Maybe a dales.. Dales ale in a can is great


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

I'll have to see of dales is down here and try one, if not, will this summer when we go to Colorado Springs. 


Jim


----------



## LittleWings (Jul 15, 2013)

If I go to Colorado, it's not the beer I want to try.


----------



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

Lots of excellent brews to choose. The great American beer fest was unreal. Especially if you like craft brews.
And of course you can spend a ton of money for some high end flowers.


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

My folks made their last years RV brew trip up to Colorado and back down through Cali last summer, fond some great ones along the way, sadly, they forgot to bring home souvenirs!


Jim


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

Today, I am trying to put one of the whole birds in the pressure cooker! Hopefully this will tenderized it up.


Jim


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

Pressure cooker did it! Nice and tender. 


Jim


----------



## coffeepoet (Jan 7, 2014)

There are a couple reasons why your birds might get tough. First, what are you comparing them to? If your comparison is a CAFO/grocery store bird, your bird will have firmer flesh. 
Birds that run around and flap their wings are going to develop their muscles more. 

Another factor is age at butchering. If you are raising Cornish crosses as fryers, they are going to reach weight (3 to 3.5 lbs live weight) by 5-6 weeks. The longer you let them go, the tougher they get.


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

I think it was a length of life issue. These guys were 8-10
Week old when we butchered them. I only went that long because they wouldn't fatten up. Dressed weight, they were average if 2 pounds. My spring batch is starting on broiler, them on to game bird feed!


Jim


----------



## coffeepoet (Jan 7, 2014)

I like game bird feed too. Great nutrition for meat birds. I use fermented feed because it improves the nutrition availability of the feed and decreases the amount of feed I have to buy. 


Sent from my iPhone using Chicken Forum


----------



## Jim (Sep 26, 2012)

We ferment some, but mainly the DUST left at the end of the feed bucket. I finally found some non-GMO game bird feed, can't wait to see how they do on it. I already put my extra roosters on it to bulk them up hopefully quicker. 


Jim


----------



## hellofromtexas (Feb 16, 2014)

coffeepoet said:


> There are a couple reasons why your birds might get tough. First, what are you comparing them to? If your comparison is a CAFO/grocery store bird, your bird will have firmer flesh.
> Birds that run around and flap their wings are going to develop their muscles more.
> 
> Another factor is age at butchering. If you are raising Cornish crosses as fryers, they are going to reach weight (3 to 3.5 lbs live weight) by 5-6 weeks. The longer you let them go, the tougher they get.


I agree with coffeepoet. The 3 reasons a bird is tough is age, breed, and activity.

Most commercial birds are cornish x white rock crosses because they grow fast but they have a bland taste. A true meat bird (any breed) may be the key if someone is really focusing on meat. They can be ready before at 6-7 weeks

Dual purpose take too long for tender meat. It could be used but it's typically at weight at 8-10 weeks ish.

The other thing that makes the bird tender is their fat. The fat naturally bast the meat while it cooks making it tender.

The moral of the story is young obese lazy birds that sit on the couch all day taste good.


----------



## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

When I use my chickens for meat i first put them in a separate small cage inside and give them only water for two days. That empties their gastrointestinal tract. I chop the head off then hang it to drain for anywhere from 15-30 minutes. I skin it and remove all the innards. I then rinse it and put it in a ziploc bag. I let it rest in the refrigerator for two days then put it in a crock pot with water and bouillon cubes for 6 -7 hours. It was very tender. In the past I used to bake the breast and give the legs to the dog but now with a crock pot I eat the whole bird. The birds I do are starting their second winter and are kept in a coop at night and free range all day on three acres.


----------



## rich (Mar 9, 2013)

*In my opinion age and activity make any breed tough. Too old or too active. I try not to wait too long and confine them for a few weeks before slaughtering.*


----------



## buffy (Jan 30, 2015)

I know they soak commercial chicken in salt water. Don't know if it tenderizes it but they get more per pound that way. The beer can idea sounds good. Our 20 week roosters were already tough and stringy so I know there has to be a better way. Maybe I'll soak overnight in salt brine then cook over the beer can with a rub outside.


----------



## Buckeye209 (Aug 11, 2015)

Did you slow cooker I know some breeds do better if they are slow cooked


----------



## grampsjim (May 18, 2015)

I have an electric pressure cooker that is awesome for cooking chicken or any other meat. I am getting ready to try a rooster that we buthcered today,but I need to let it rest a couple of days first. They were so stiff by the time we finished and brought them to the housr that I couldn't bend the thighs or legs to get them in the freezer bags. I had to cut them up.


----------



## Buckeye209 (Aug 11, 2015)

Oh yeah rigamortis is the worst


----------



## MichaelZ (Feb 27, 2015)

I can speak to the whole tough meat issue. When my CX birds were about 8 weeks old, I butchered a lone bird for my son's birthday. I thought "fresher the better". Wrong. This bird was like rubber! A week prior we ate one of 4 that I butchered and it sat in the refrigerator 1 day before cooking - it was not nearly as tough. Then, 2 months later we had a bird that came out of the freezer and thawed for a day. It was very tender! So I confirmed what others have said: The chicken needs to sit refrigerated 1-2 days before cooking so the meat can "relax". For our frozen birds, the bird sits much of one day before freezing and another day thawing - so that takes care of it. I have since read than some will let their birds sit refrigerated 24 hours before freezing - this would probably help even more. But if you cook up a bird that was walking around only hours prior, it will probably be like rubber bands.


----------



## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Last resort, you can debone, and buy one of those mallets with the points underneath and beat the pieces. It breaks up the fibers.


----------



## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

I am in the camp that proper cooking is key. Cook at LOW heat... Any spike in temp and the meat gets tough.

If you boil the chicken and the pot reaches a boil, it is now ruined.... You need to cook at a simmer.


----------



## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Would you think that free range bird meat is tougher due to more exercise?


----------



## Alaskan (Aug 22, 2015)

Well... I have never had two similarly aged birds, same breed, one that was free ranged and one caged.

Dunno.

But mostly the least expensive chicken is stores is so young that it will cook at high heat.

The chicken we raise in our backyards is always much older before butcher...

I can say that I need to remind spouse the age of the bird that I am handing over.

Younger birds can cook at higher heat... Older birds can NOT.


----------



## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

They are tougher due to more exercise. A young bird is still not "tough", but you'll notice the drumsticks have a more stringy consistency. 
It's the same reason a shoulder roast is tougher than a tenderloin on the same cow - shoulder muscle is used a lot, loin muscle is used very little.


----------



## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

There's always slicing in strips and using it that way. I don't have any experience with fresh chicken. The other thing is that commercial chickens have been bred for many years to be tender and juicy.


----------



## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

They're bred to have a lot of meat and very high growth ratios and raised to have tender and juicy meat. You have to think, in a commercial set up they eat, lay down, drink, lay down, eat, lay down, then go to slaughter. They never use their muscles so they develop a lot of fat and the meat is tender. If you let them run around the yard, you'll find them tougher than grocery store bought chicken because they actually move. They won't be as "tough" as a heritage bird because they grow so fast they still spend a good deal of time laying down, and they have a lot of meat on them, but being able to use their muscles makes a world of difference for texture and taste.


----------



## MichaelZ (Feb 27, 2015)

The way I now cook these chickens is in a turkey roaster on high heat for an hour, then I turn the heat down to about 180 for another 3 hours, then finish at a moderate heat for another half hour. I will coat the bird with butter initially to brown it and I injected butter with a basting needle into the breasts initially as well. They come out nice and tender, not mush-meat like store chickens, but plenty tender enough.


----------

