National Jersey Giant Club

Giants - Great Layers, Pets, or Meat Birds

(or What Do I Do With All of Those Extra Cockerels?!?!) Part 1

by Sher Jennings - V & VI District Director

(360) 852-6044

I have Giants for the same reasons as a lot of folks. Sweet natured, hearty, hardy, easy to care for, weather resistant, they lay enough eggs that it almost offsets the amount of food they eat. Okay, well maybe not so much. But what does offset the rest of the feed bill is the fact that this really is a great tasting meat bird.

Because I grew up on farms and ranches, butchering was not a new concept. And while I do now have a few “pet” Giants, I know the breed was actually developed as a roasting bird and I wasn’t interested in growing every single male out to 10 months before culling. Nor was I interested in hauling all the males I culled to the auction and receive pennies towards the dollars I’d spent on feed, even for the younger ones.

This past year has been a focused journey in education and experimentation (research and development) to learn about Giants as meat birds. Here are a few nuggets to help you get started:

1. Giants are a “heritage breed.” (For purposes of the length of this article, please Google for the full definition or go to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy website.) They are one of the breeds our grandparents and great grandparents utilized for meat and eggs. The meat has much better flavor and more texture than the present day birds from the store. The bones are much stronger and like other heritage breeds, the carcasses will be long and lanky compared to the hybrid broad-breasted cornish cross grocery store bird (aka “the franken-chicken”). It also needs to be cooked differently than the relatively fast-cooking franken-chickens. The old-fashioned way. Much slower. You’ll need to dig up your grandmother’s recipe book to find recipes that work for heritage breeds (or get on the internet) (or keep reading this newsletter). Heritage bird meat does not have the comparably mushy and soft texture that you get from the franken-chickens, which also lack flavor.

2. Keeping in mind that Giants are meant to be roasters, with heritage breeds overall (many of the American breeds) the optimal times to butcher are at 12 to 14 weeks (3 to 3½ months) for broilers, 16 to 18 weeks (4 to 4½ months) for pan frying (slow, slow, slow) and again at 24 - 28 weeks (6 to 6 ½ months) for roasters. While you can process them at an older age, you’ll just need to cook them a little longer. (Some French recipes can only use old stewing hens.) We’ve eaten a number of one and two year old cock birds. Delicious!

3. It’s worthwhile to spend some time researching your area to find a processor, particularly if you wish to avoid this task or have a larger number of birds to process. These folks have the experience and equipment necessary to most efficiently process your birds & without causing undue stress. A USDA inspected processor is the perfect world but you may not have one available and may have to opt for another processor. Check them out, make sure they run a clean operation, and find out how much they’ll charge to process your birds. It will likely cost $3 to $7 per bird depending on how long you let your birds grow (the USDA processors are the most expensive). The good processors also know not to stress your birds (which can affect the meat flavor). You can usually drop your birds off at the processor and leave them in the crate you brought them in. A few hours later or the next morning you should be able to pick them up. Each bird will have been cleaned, cooled, and vacuum sealed.

4. FLAVOR COMES WITH AGE, which is why the franken-chickens lack it, and why the roasters taste better, as did the friers sold in stores before franken-chickens were developed. The friers in the stores today are butchered out at around 5 to 6 weeks. Friers sold previously, that came from heritage breeds such as New Hampshires, were 16 to 18 weeks old. I’ll get into that more in our next newsletter. Bottom line is: the more age, the more flavor!

For some great cooking hints and recipes for heritage breed meat, go to the following site:

Also there are some good ones at (go to the home website, click on “resources” and then click on “resources” again on the drop down menu, then click on recipes, and then “heritage poultry cooking recipes”).

Giants - Great Layers, Pets, or Meat Birds(Con’t)

For some great cooking hints and recipes for heritage breed meat, go to the following site:

Also there are some good ones at (go to the home website, click on “resources” and then click on “resources” again on the drop down menu, then click on recipes, and then “heritage poultry cooking recipes”).

NJGC District VI Baked Young Giants

(for 4 to 6 quarters)

Process 8 to 14 week old Giant(s), cut in quarters, vaccu-seal or bag, leave in refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours, then do the following:

1. Brush Giant quarters with butter, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

2. Place on top rack under hot broiler for 1 to 2 mins to brown and seal skin. (Can also be done on hot cast iron skillet….remember this is “browning”, not cooking.)

3. Place quarters in baking dish with potatoes.

4. Layer top with cream of mushroom soup.

5. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 1 hour 10 mins.

You can vary this recipe with different favorite seasonings and vegetables. Next time, I’ll write about capons, flavor, and include more recipes. Do remember that I don’t claim to be an expert. It is my intent to learn, educate, and inspire. At the very least, even if you opt out of eating your Giants, it’s good to know more about the breed. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions or just want to talk. Please do share any recipes and experiences you have with the editor (or me) for future newsletters.

Beer Butt Giant(or other Heritage Chicken)

Rub:

2 tspPaprika2 tsp dry yellow mustard

2 Tbl sea salt 2tsp brown sugar

½ tsp pepper 2tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

For bird & basting spray (you can refrigerate left-over spray for more grilling):

1Can beer (will use ½ can of this for the spray)

2CApple Cider

2Tbls Olive oil

2Tbls Balsamic vinegar.

At least a few hours before cooking, mix dry ingredients together and generously rub Giant inside and out. Open can of beer, take a sip, and pour half into a spray bottle and add cider, olive oil, and vinegar. Insert can with remaining beer into cavity of bird, place on cookie sheet in beer can chicken holder if you have one (Cabellas sells them for about $20), spritz lightly with basting spray, and let sit to room temp. With the chicken still sitting on the can, remove from cookie sheet and place on pre-heated grill. Cook for about one hour and 10 mins over low grill (about 300 to 325) with grill cover on.

Important! - Spritz chicken (front, back, and sides) with the basting spray while cooking (about every 10 mins….set a timer so you don’t forget!). Do this quickly to minimize heat loss. There’s a noticeable difference between birds that are and aren’t spritzed.) When done, carefully lift the bird off the grill and transport to large glass or metal bowl. With an oven mitt on (or big tongs), remove the can, place bird in bowl or platter and let rest 5 min (cover lightly - don’t seal). This gives the juices a chance to settle and the meat time to set up. Carve and serve.