Stewing Hens

Strewing hens from our pasture-raised retired laying hens. Fed 100% GMO-FREE, SOY-free feed, freshly milled and mixed on the farm. Antibiotic and hormone-free.

To make stewing hens tender, they need to be submerged in water and slow-cooked for a few hours until the meat falls off the bone. You can do this in a crockpot, instant pot or on the stove. (There is a sweet spot though in how long to do this so that the meat doesn't become flavorless!) We found 4-5 hours on low to be the perfect amount of time to where the meat is delicious and tender enough to eat and use it in all sorts of recipes, and the broth is flavorful enough for soup or just drinking.

Please note: stewing hens are very different from the rest of our broth-making products like chicken backs or feet. All the stewing hens in our freezer were processed in August of 2023 at 3+ years old. Due to their age, everything about them is "older" and that's why for one, they smell differently, and have an outer layer of residue that comes off easily on a young broiler chicken, but all stewing hens have it due to their age. It is harmless but doesn't smell too nice! A lot of people will blanch their stewing hens (like this gal) for 30 minutes to remove this residue from the skin and interior tissue and therefore that strong smell. Also, the foam is another normal thing that is harmless and I recommend you read more about it here as she does an excellent job explaining it. Basically it's "impurities" which a lot of people call lipoproteins. Stewing hens appear lean on the outside but are extremely fatty on the inside so it's common for a lot of foam to appear at the top of the broth that you skim off if preferred.

Pasture raised + GMO-free + Soy-free + Antibiotic-free + Humanely-raised