Slow Braised Rooster Wings – Rooster Legs: Dual Recipes

Since I did this as a test, I only cooked one Ziploc pack of wings from the recent farm-harvested roosters.  It held five whole wings, and I’d left the drumette attached to the dual-bone part.  For guests, separate the drumette from the dual-bone part prior to cooking.  In most cases, we’d removed the wing tips from the wing after dispatching and prior to freezing (great for stock), but one seems to have been left on.

While ideally the portions of wing would be separated prior to cooking… here they are all connected. I snipped the skin holding them more tightly together before doing this cooking run.

So, we can effectively consider this ten pieces of wing, which should serve two people as an appetizer, or a movie-night snack (or whatever you might be sitting in front of your tube for – hmm, they’re no longer tubes, are they?  … in front of your flatscreen watching).

These roosters were black or red broilers, and were 21 and a half weeks old upon dispatching.  By best practice, they should have been dispatched a month before, but I had to wait for an expert to show me the ropes for both that and for de-feathering and gutting.  You Tube videos exist, but I wanted expert hands at hand…  The first part is certainly not an undertaking done lightly.  (One plus, as I’ve mentioned before, is that if a chicken is severely injured and cannot be saved, I’ll know what to do, and I’ll know I can do it.)

Both because these roosters were older than ideal, and they were fairly free-range – I’d let them out of their chicken tractor to roam often, mostly because as it turned out my tractor is too heavy for me to pull (next year I’ll have a motorized vehicle, aka a regular tractor, to assist me) to gnosh on fresh grasses, grubs, and hopefully ticks, every few days.  Yes, they walk around a lot, and flap those wings, and fly a few feet when out.  So, they’re not going to be as soft and tender as your regular supermarket bird.  They get to exercise and enjoy their activity, and this impacts their musculature.  Sorry, it’s a part of raising healthy outdoor birds.

Wings, done marinating, with balsamic and ground pepper added. Awaiting me to stop taking photos to toss them in oven.

I did a test run cooking rooster backs, and learned that yes, braising is the best way to go.  I also did a recipe on a set of legs:  both drumsticks and thighs, separated in that case.  I used that tested successful recipe on these wings… but the legs I cooked for 2-2.5 hours.  Alas, I neglected to take photos.  (When I get around to cooking more legs, I’ll take photos, since I now know it works, and will edit here accordingly.)

That being said, despite being a tougher meat than from supermarket sourced birds (or even from local farmers who are selling poultry at the proper age for their breed), these birds were full of flavor.  Far more delectable flavor than what you find at the supermarket.  The dark meat, after all, is the part of the poultry that is intended to WORK.

As far as flavor comparison with those I’ve bought from local farmers… it depends on how the individual farmer raised them, and I also noticed that I liked the taste of Red Ranger chickens better than Cornish Cross from the same farmer… but there wasn’t a whole lot of difference, just enough to notice.  The Red Rangers also have less percentage white meat, which for me is a good thing.  Bringing my poultry into the equation – I think I like the flavor on mine best so far (because they’re mine) because they’re a bit older.  I did buy a stewing hen once, but since I stewed that for hours and hours and did not braise it, I can’t really say in that case.

Interestingly, I find my chicken to be far more filling than supermarket or most local birds.  I would have been satisfied with two whole wings, and I wasn’t having them as an appetizer, but as a rather late breakfast.  Ended up eating three, and saving the final two for dinner (heating up in the oven, so they’d not be soggy).  Normally I could eat all five whole wings without a blink of an eye.

Wings have braised for 1.75 hours. While the oven gets up to “broil”, hot sauce is splattered on, to taste.

Prep Time:  5 minutes + 1 hour marinate.
Cook Time:  1.75 – 2 hours
Rest Time:  5 minutes
Serves: 2 as appetizers/snacks
Cuisine:  Homesteading Specialty
Leftovers:  Sure.  Eat cold or nuke or warm in oven.

Slow Braised Rooster WINGS

• Five whole chicken wings (tips can be removed), ideally separated out into two segments.  Do as I say, not as I did… but mine was a test run.
• 1/4 cup of a good vinaigrette-based salad dressing, either home made, or some low in sugars/sweeteners idea such as Annie’s Organic Shiitake Sesame.
• A thick balsamic vinegar… You can use a reduced balsamic vinegar, which you can find in most large supermarkets, or a flavored fruit-based balsamic rendering — I went with Blood Orange.
• Salt and ground pepper to taste.  (I went with no salt; there’s some in the dressing; and about 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper)  You can always add more of either just prior to the broil step.
• Optional hot sauce.  Chohoula  maybe?

Stretch out / layer the wings in your oven pan.  Marinate the wings in the cooking pan for about an hour with the salad dressing.

Pre-heat oven to 275 F / C.

Add everything else except the hot sauce, over the wings.  I would just drizzle in strategic locations some of the balsamic sauce, probably a hefty 2 tablespoons.  Doesn’t need to cover.

Bake for 1.75 -2 hours.  Some may be coming off the bone, a good sign.

Remove from oven, let rest, and add drops of hot sauce if desired, to the level of heat you like.

Set oven on Broil.  The goal here is to brown them up a bit.

Allow to come to temp, then broil, uncovered, for 2-5 minutes, depending on the heat level of your broil setting.  Mine in my new home heats way WAY fast, so I am tempted to stop at 2 minutes.  (In my old home, I’d just bought a new range that had a dual setting, “high broil” and “low broil”.  I’d be more willing to use low broil in most cases, because you have a better timing leeway.)

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Autumn colors, Oct 14th. Looking out over the chicken tractor. Some of the redder trees have already dropped leaves.

Prep Time:  5 minutes + 1 hour marinate.
Cook Time:  2 – 2.5 hours
Rest Time:  5 minutes
Serves: a leg and a thigh per person for dinner (Recipe for 2)
Cuisine:  Homesteading Specialty
Leftovers:  Sure.  Eat cold or nuke or warm in oven.  Warm is far best.

Slow Braised Rooster LEGS

• Two whole chicken legs, separate into thighs and drumsticks.
• 1/4 cup of a good vinaigrette-based salad dressing, either home made, or some low in sugars/sweeteners idea such as Annie’s Organic Shiitake Sesame.
• A thick balsamic vinegar… You can use a reduced balsamic vinegar, which you can find in most large supermarkets, or a flavored fruit-based balsamic rendering — I went with Blood Orange.
• Salt and ground pepper to taste.  (I went with no salt; there’s some in the dressing; and about 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper)  You can always add more of either just prior to the broil step.

Add the pieces of chicken to your oven pan.  Marinate here for about an hour with the salad dressing.

Pre-heat oven to 275 F / C.

Add everything else over the chicken.  I would just drizzle in strategic locations some of the balsamic sauce, probably a hefty 2 tablespoons.  Doesn’t need to cover.

Bake for 2 – 2.5 hours.

Remove from oven, let rest briefly while you re-set your oven.

Set oven on Broil.  The goal here is to brown them up a bit.

Allow to come to temp, then broil, uncovered, for 3-5 minutes, depending on the heat level of your broil setting.  Mine in my new home heats way WAY fast, I definitely needed to stop at three minutes.  (In my old home, I’d just bought a new range that had a dual setting, “high broil” and “low broil”.  I’d be more willing to use low broil in most cases, because you have a better timing leeway.)

Again with these legs:  one drumstick and one thigh would suffice as a serving.  I eat at least three things (two drumsticks and a thigh, or two thighs and a drumstick) normally.  The legs are large, but I’ve had large legs from other sources, too.  There’s got to be some nutritional difference/improvement here!

A possible vinaigrette.

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Just for fun, I’m posting a portion of my last tomato eaten for 2018.  This excludes grape tomatoes and tomato sauce.  I had some of it sliced raw, but I nuked a bit of it atop crispy Romaine lettuce with cheddar cheese and dried oregano.  I’m serious when I say I have no interest in hothouse tomatoes shipped up from Florida.  

Just a (chicken-less) snack.

Join us at Fiesta Friday, with co-hosts: Jenny @ Apply To Face Blog. and additionally me, Diann @ Of Goats and Greens, where we will be cranking up some great dishes for your personal or family fiesta.

Also, feel free to wander on over to Full Plate Thursday, which is also cooking up a storm. as is the What’s for Sunday Supper? Link Up.  

And for those homesteading aficionados… We’re sharing at the Homestead Blog Hop.

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