Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in The Good Land is largely a fish out of water tale about how I eventually found my footing on a small farm in an Amish town. We are a mostly organic, somewhat self sufficient, sustainable farm in Ohio. There's action and adventure and I'll always tell you the truth about farming.


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Mean Roo Stew

I make a mean roo stew....

...and by that I mean that I make a dang good stew. And I make it out of mean roos. Mean Roo Stew.  At least thats what my pal "J" calls it.

We've spent the last couple days "inviting" most of our extra roosters to dinner. Too many roos make for a bad barnyard situation. First your hens will be afraid to come in to roost at nite since the gang of thugs will be waiting for them like a bunch of hooligans outside of an all girls school. Next, its loud, annoying, and occasionally dangerous to have too many extra roosters. And last, you're feeding a bunch of  laze-abouts who may or may not be made of the right stuff to justly strut in the yard.

Unless you have small kids you should have a couple roos in your hen yard. Unfortunately roosters can jump kid-eye-height, talons out, kicking and flapping.  And you know how that ends.  Even a good roo has a bad day so it may not be worth the risk to your kids.

A good rooster will take care of the hens and throw the kind of chicks you need. He's call the ladies in at night, show them where all the good eats are, and protect the hens from intruders. That's what makes a good rooster like this one....


... he gets a pass on 'rooster day' and stays.  See how he sticks close to the girls? And he's nice and beefy. We love the Light Brahma roos for the big meaty, yields and how beautifully they dress out for dinner.

Remember that ridiculous group of ill-hatched chicks - the ones that hatched one chick at a time for a couple of weeks?  They had the most interesting collection of colors and patterns you'd ever seen. Finally they were getting big enough to sort themselves out into factions and different groups. Some of the roosters are starting to emerge as leaders - and some were volunteering for our latest Rooster Day.  So we had a nice collection of volunteers and we also dressed a couple of the creepy meats we got in the fall. But don't worry Ginny, your little hen is doing just fine. In fact, she is stunning.

That's Black Jack in the center - he runs a tight ship. I hated his brother but I like Black Jack just fine.

Our current rooster crew includes Black Jack, Red, Mr. Tibbles (my fancy salmon faverolle), and one of the iterations of light brahma roos from the lineage of Big Pansy. I think we are on "Nekkid Pansy" because we finally got a bare legged brahma rooster. We have another group of roosters who will be shown to the pot sometime in the next couple of weeks. Most are the young salmon faverolle roos.. except, you know... um.. not that Occupy one. He chose his own fate when he refused to come in that night.

Not too long ago we sent a salmon faverolle roo to glory in a pot of noodles.  He was extremely mean - but those tend to be the most delicious ones. And for a small bird I have to say the meat yield was amazing.  But the quality of the meat was what sold me. Mr. Tibbles will always have a pass but I can't wait to dress the rest of those salmon roos.

In the meantime I'm gonna cook down this pot of mean roo stew until the stock is rich and thick and the meat is tender and delicious. Should be ready soon. Now I just need to make some biscuits.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Anyone else got a mean roo who needs to go to the pot?


15 comments:

Carolyn said...

Unfortunately, my main Roo was injured over a week ago & he's in the "recovery pen", although I'm not sure if he'll make it. Of course, he was a great rooster. Now I'm left with the gang of adolescents, wondering if any of them will measure up to him. There are six of them....hopeuflly ONE of them will be give the "stew pot pass" and make it to be the new barnyard roo.

JeffJustJeff said...

My mean roo is the best roo to the hens. So far he gets a pass. If he hurts someone, he'll get a trip to the 'hot tub'...

Linda said...

The meaness makes em taste better. I have a freezer full of mean duck. Going to make them in to mean drake confit.

freemotion said...

I have eight that have a date with the "cone!" None are mean, fortunately, but then all are less than a year old. We play "rooster soccer" with any roo that takes a step in our direction.....SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE! Hee-hee. (I never actually contact one, they are too quick. They understand my intentions.)

Ohiofarmgirl said...

The young roos just never are the same as a good ol' guy are they, Carolyn? I'm still mourning the loss of our dear Fred. Jack Black is doing a good job tho. And we kept one of the youngsters who might do ok but the hens dont take him seriously.

Hey Jeff! The "mean" has some value for sure...as long as its directed the right way (protecting the hens). Ah yes... the hot tub.. ;-)

Thats the way, Linda! We have one more drake out there who's time is about to come to an end. And with all this lovely pork lard... we'll be making a confit as well.

SCORE! Thats the way, Free! I just call the dog.. in fact, as soon as I say "Dog!" the roos turn and run. Especially with Kai on the job now.

Autumn said...

Yum, Mean Roo Stew! Sounds like a good dinner to me!

Gingerbreadshouse7 said...

No I don't have a mean Roo, but I'd be glad if I only could have one :o) maybe I'd pet him so much he would be gentle :o) or otherwise I'd stew him too :o) make no bones about it..:o)

Mandy said...

We have 5, all the same breed so we can't really tell them apart. We have one or two that are mean, running up to the kids even though the kids aren't scared to act like the "big rooster". But we can't tell which are nice and which are stew. I'm thinking of giving the kids a can of spray paint whenever they go outside - the meanies get a paint job for easy identification.

Happy Farming Momma said...

Well I don't have any roos yet seeing as we just started with our flock. But I went about it wrong and got a batch of 5 hens that are 4yrs and are refuesing to lay, even with a better set up here than what I got them from. So needless to say I need some recipies for a few good "lazy hen" dinners. Any ideas or tips from anyone?

Happy Farming Momma said...

Well no roos here yet as we just started with our flock. But I went about it the wrong way and trusted a stranger. Got 5 hens I was told were still laying, but they refuse to do so for me. Even with a far better set up than what they had before. So we will be having chicken for a while. Any recipies or ideas for some "lazy hen" dinners?

Chai Chai said...

I read an article and then did some research on salmon Faverolle chickens, they are supposed to be timid and great winter layers.

Do you have any Faverolle hens? How do you like them?

How can you have a rooster post with no tributes to Fred? Is the hurt still too deep?

Chai Chai said...

I should have known better, the first link was a tribute to dear departed Fred...forgive my error.

Rae said...

Our rooster, Dunderhead, is an ASS! But he's really pretty. And he's a JERK. But he's really good with his 21 ladies. Keeps track of every one. Protects them from dogs. Calls them over when he finds something nummy. Herds them into the coop at night. And some days I want to WRING. HIS. STUPID. NECK. But I think we'll keep him, for now. :)

(Our gander on the other hand... Well, Bitor may be a jerk, but catch him and pet him and talk to him like a sweety fluffy baby boo for a few minutes and he'll avoid you for days afterwards... Silly goose)

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hi Autumn! our dinner was fabulous. yum!

Life is too short for a mean roo, Ginny, so we just send them to the pot. ha!

Mandy, thats actually a good idea. Of if you can catch them in the act, put a zip tie bracelet on them. Make sure its not too tight, trim the ends, and watch the flapping.
;-)

Sarah, it might just be the weather and winter darkness. Do you have lights on them? Do they have layer mash? Most of our hens arent laying right now (but we dont care). So they might pick up in the spring. Or if you are just tired of waiting - you can put older hens in a crock pot and simmer low and slow for a good long time.

CC - You know my love for Fred runs deep even after all these long years after his tragic passing. I loved him, I hated him, I hated to love him. Plz stand by for salmon fav info - just as soon as I get my act together. Short answer = yes! we love them! But they are nuts.

David said...

Aw man, I want seconds! And Chickens

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