A good friend of mine has been raising her hens, a.k.a. "the ladies", for about six months now. I have oft been the grateful beneficiary of her multi-colored eggs. Still, the problem remains - boys. Let's face it, girls, only so many boys are needed in our lives. Too many and, well, life can become a barnyard brawl.
One too many altercations happened at my friend Di's hen house, which is why the boys' heads found their way into my stew pot.
To go from cock to stock I simply covered the boys with water and cooked slowly. I skimmed froth if it showed up, but in general the boys behaved themselves. Several hours later I strained my stock, let it cool some and placed it into ice cube trays in the freezer. Once frozen, I popped them out and tossed them into a freezer bag. I now have a high flavor no salt base for cooking with.
What happened to the bodies? Inquiring minds want to know...
Let's be clear here. To make something edible out of a fully grown rooster takes some work. They are tough as nails. My family very gamely tried to eat the one I put on the rotisserie. My husband and son truly get gold stars for that round at the family table, but no amount of kindness will erase the memory of trying to chew such a tough bird. Dieters delight. That's what that was. Every mouthful would take 100 chews or more. Probably more.
Since I am naturally stubborn, I decided that a two pronged approach would be my next plan. I had a total of six roosters now left in my freezer. I pulled two, thawed them and hauled them over to my buddy Stewart to smoke. Stewart is a master smoker. Folks line up from far and wide to have a taste of what he can do, so I was betting he would do me proud.
The next day I swung by to pick up my birds. What Stewart handed me smelt like Nirvana. Six hours over fruit wood. Bliss. And still tough as nails. Not a big surprise, but really, I was hoping for some tenderness. No. So, onto the second part of that two pronged attack - straight into the stock pot.
The smells emanating though out my house were unbelievable. Truly. It is a kindness that scratch'n sniff is not available on computers and is ever so 1980's.
Many hours later I was pleased to find that the meat was releasing from the bones and could actually be chewed without danger to my dental work. I strained the meat from the broth and separated the bones from the meat. Most of the meat and stock went into the freezer, but some became the most amazing pot of black beans I have ever made.
Next time I break out one of the boys from the freezer I plan on putting him in a brine before smoking him. I'd like to see if there is a way to get a reasonably tender rooster directly out of the smoker. I am rather doubtful, but a girl can wish.
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