Cooking Chicken To "mush" ?

[fourofem]

I used to do thighs and leg quarters in the crockpot on LOW for 24 hours and the bones were totally mushable. Maybe you don't have enough water added in?

[Guest hlpnhounds]

We do a whole roaster chicken (5-ish lbs) plus 1-2cups water on high for 24 hours. every bone is totally mushable. Cooking one right now as a matter of fact.

[TwiggysMom]

I cook 1-2 big chickens this way a week for Twiggy, and have to say it seems to depend on the bird as to whether the bones will "mush" or not. It does seem that the scrawnier chickens I get from Aldi are more likely to produce soft bones than the burly Purdue oven stuffer roasters I get. However, last weekend the 8-pound oven stuffer roaster bones mushed up beautifully.

 

I'm very careful to make certain I get ALL the bones out, and when I mush them, I do it with my fingers and make sure they are truly mush. Parts of the bones still break off in sharp parts, and I don't want to give anything that will cause throat irritation.

 

I also skin the chickens and trim off as much fat as I possible can. (NOT a pleasant task for a 25-year vegetarian!!)

[silverfish]

I cook 1-2 big chickens this way a week for Twiggy, and have to say it seems to depend on the bird as to whether the bones will "mush" or not.

 

This is true, and one reason I don't always get to mush up all the bones is that I buy free range chicken. You know how it goes; walking improves bone density! 'Battery house' chickens will produce softer, more mushable bones, but I'm not willing to buy those, because the methods of rearing the birds are inhumane, even with the new 'roomier cage plus twig to play with' regulations in Europe.

 

I'm very careful to make certain I get ALL the bones out, and when I mush them, I do it with my fingers and make sure they are truly mush. Parts of the bones still break off in sharp parts, and I don't want to give anything that will cause throat irritation.

 

I run all the stuff I hand-mush through my fingers, too. It's only liquidised stuff I don't, because .. well, it's liquid!

 

 

I also skin the chickens and trim off as much fat as I possible can. (NOT a pleasant task for a 25-year vegetarian!!)

 

Kudos to you! I am very squeamish about preparing chicken, though I'm not a vegetarian. DH hasn't quite cottoned on yet that for years I wouldn't cook a whole chicken because I couldn't stand the preparation, and yet now I'll do this for the dogs. Either that, or he is wisely keeping silent.