This was our first time processing and although I wish we had been faster I am so pleased with the end result.
We used the skinning method and did 10 birds in about an hour and half. I know, wow how slow. Of course we really took our time on the first 3 (almost an hour), and sped considerably by the end. We just had an old card table to process on and I'd like to fix up something taller. My back was having fits by the 5th bird.
Our method:
- One of the kids got to pick which bird was sent "to the cone".
- My husband took the bird out to the edge of the tree line where we had the cone nailed to a tree. He dispatched the bird using a slit on either side of the neck.
- He brought the bird to me at our "processing station". I cut off the bottom of the legs and one wing tip, while he took off the head and the other wing tip. He slit through the skin on the breast and we each skinned one side. The wings were much trickier than I had anticipated and we lost some wing meat on the first couple birds.
- Then my husband left to get the next bird while I took off the legs, wings and breasts. One of the kids helped rinse the meat (which accounted for the fact that I was dripping wet by the time we finished) and the meat went into the cooler.
I was so proud of how our kids did. They were thrilled to be able to help. My daughter took it upon herself to calm the birds before they taken. She pet their beaks and even told me when was particularly good. ("I think he'll die easily because he is such a sweet, lovable little guy." - DD) They told me they both enjoyed seeing where meat comes from.
All in all a good day and we're looking forward to a great dinner tomorrow! Thanks for all the help and pointers from my BYC friends. I learned so much on here that was a great asset today.
We used the skinning method and did 10 birds in about an hour and half. I know, wow how slow. Of course we really took our time on the first 3 (almost an hour), and sped considerably by the end. We just had an old card table to process on and I'd like to fix up something taller. My back was having fits by the 5th bird.
Our method:
- One of the kids got to pick which bird was sent "to the cone".
- My husband took the bird out to the edge of the tree line where we had the cone nailed to a tree. He dispatched the bird using a slit on either side of the neck.
- He brought the bird to me at our "processing station". I cut off the bottom of the legs and one wing tip, while he took off the head and the other wing tip. He slit through the skin on the breast and we each skinned one side. The wings were much trickier than I had anticipated and we lost some wing meat on the first couple birds.
- Then my husband left to get the next bird while I took off the legs, wings and breasts. One of the kids helped rinse the meat (which accounted for the fact that I was dripping wet by the time we finished) and the meat went into the cooler.
I was so proud of how our kids did. They were thrilled to be able to help. My daughter took it upon herself to calm the birds before they taken. She pet their beaks and even told me when was particularly good. ("I think he'll die easily because he is such a sweet, lovable little guy." - DD) They told me they both enjoyed seeing where meat comes from.
All in all a good day and we're looking forward to a great dinner tomorrow! Thanks for all the help and pointers from my BYC friends. I learned so much on here that was a great asset today.
