It can very, how old the animal was when you butchered, what the diet consisted of to some degree, how it's cooked. It's not gamey like elk and vension. I have found I split the silver skin to keep it from getting tough and I cook the 'low and slow'. Moisture in the pan, low temp for longer. Kind of like a not great cut of roast you would do in a crock pot. I will sometimes shred it then add taco seasoning- yummy.
A guy down the road from me has boers grazing in the field. Not sure if they get grain. I wanted to see if he would sell me a weather under a year old. Does all of the meat have to be cooked "low and slow" in order to be tender? I am going to take extra measures on my chickens to try to get the most tender meat I can so it doesn't have to be that way.
They don't have to get grain, I think the reason most people do it is to get the size fast. If he has a wether the size you want go for it. No it doesn' t have to be 'low and slow' I just haven't done too much else. We've cooked in a roasting pan with different ingredients for different dished. With my chickens that I'm going to butcher I don't have a problem with them not being tender. I don't cram them into a 'standing room only' I do however not let them run the property. It also depends on what type of chicken some are bred more for meat. I do a slow grower (they take a little longer than the big cornish) not more than a few weeks more. My layers are also considered dual purpose birds, New Hampshire reds, and a few light Brahmas. My New Hamp reds all lay 1 a day and the rooster is big and beautiful.
Thanks for the info. I was going to get Dorking chickens. I like the breed since they are a heritage breed and they are a dual purpose chicken that are good at raising thier young. I don't think I could get a cornich because, for me, it goes against what I believe. I plan on letting them free range in my goat pen until they are 6 months old and then butchering. By chance, have you caponized any of your roosters?
I did the Hamps for the same reason they are a heritage breed. I butcher earlier than 6 months- depending on the breed usually 12 weeks. No I haven't caponized roosters.
Both goat and alpaca are lean meats that you need to be careful when cooking. I use my Cuisinart grill (like a George Foreman grill) and my chops and steaks come out perfectly. Goat is just a mild beef flavor. Doesn't taste like quite like beef but not gamey or anything.
We have grass fed beef and venison and both are gamey to me. I'm sure it's because I'm used to the grain fed beef in the stores. I'm getting away from that now so it will take a little while for tastes to adjust. So, if it doesn't taste gamey that's a plus.
Soak the meat 2 or 3 hours in milk and it will remove any gamey taste. I learned this when I got a gamey tasting deer. After soaking the gamey taste was gone and the venison was mighty tasty.
An old timer told me to soak beef liver in milk overnight in the fridge. It breaks down the meat and makes it much more tender. I'm gonna try it on some venison we have. (I do the milk and liver, never thought about the venison!)
