Butchered in the bathtub this morning!

[Tala]

I decided that the broomstick on the neck method worked better than trying to come up with a sharp-enough knife.

 

[dancingbear]

I keep a few disposable scalpels on hand for medical/veterinary use, I get them at Tractor Supply Co. It never occurred to me to try them for butchering, what a great idea.

Good job, Gardenweaver, it really is a lot easier than you'd think. I've only done a few myself, I'm still clumsy at it, but getting better.

If you can rig up a cone over a bucket, maybe the end of the cone down in the bucket, that should contain most of the mess. I scald mine in the kitchen sink. I fill it with the hot tap water, then add a couple of saucepans of boiling water. that gets it up near 160, the birds cool it back down pretty quick. I swish them around until the feathers begin to come out easily.

I never skin them, the skin's one of my favorite things about chicken. And a lot of folks cut off the wings and discard them, (

) them, but the wing's my favorite part.

 

[weaveagarden]

Wow! I thought I remembered what chicken had tasted like when I was younger. But with one bite the memories came flooding back. My little bathtub bird was so wonderful. I don't think I can ever look at the other stuff the same. Yes, there was a little bit more tone to the muscle. But it wasn't tough at all. It was so flavorful. Not just the seasonings, but a full chicken flavor.

If I ever questioned whether I would continue to raise chickens for meat, I don't now. Next time I think I will be more conventional in my location, but there will be a next time.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
I raw feed my dog, so she gets all the less-desirable parts - including wings. I think wings are more trouble to cook for the amount of meat you get back, and DH agrees. Neither of us really eat chicken wings, but if you're a dog who likes bones then wings might be your favorite!


Weaveagarden - that's how I feel about backyard eggs too. I don't know if I can even look at a storebought egg anymore.

 

[S&SPoultryExchange]

Sounds to me you got off easy. Lol. My first time was 300+ birds. I wasnt planning on it being that many. I went with a friend of mine to kill a "few" birds. I was there for about 6 hours. With 6 people you can get it done pretty quick. And yes killing cones make a world of difference.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I think wings are more trouble to cook for the amount of meat you get back, and DH agrees. Neither of us really eat chicken wings, but if you're a dog who likes bones then wings might be your favorite!

Well, since I'm already cooking the rest of the bird anyway, it's really no trouble to cook the wings right along with it. Wings are no harder to cook than the rest of the chicken. And, I'm not a dog, thank you very much, but I do like the wings, a lot, and judging by the popularity of Buffalo wings, hot wings, etc. so do a lot of other people who are not dogs.

I don't waste any of the meat from the chickens we butcher. Even backs and necks. If nothing else, they get used to make chicken salad or something.

Feeding extra parts to your pets is also a good use, and avoids waste. Neither I nor my DH care for the livers, I use those, the lungs, spleens, and pretty much everything except the intestines and gall bladder, to make food for dogs and cats.

 

[Nikki28]

I love chicken skin to

Question though... If you skin a chicken do you still have to dip it in hot water before hand?

 

[Crickett]

I wouldn't think so.

 

[weaveagarden]

Quote:
Well, pretty much every part of this guy will get eaten with my family and pets. Except the skin this time since I decided that it was best to simply remove it once I was done. Mom uses the feet in soup (And I will too in future) My dad wanted to try cocks comb, and will undoubtable like it. Moody my half time dog, and the two cats will eat anything else organ like (at least one or another will). About the only thing that I will probably throw away in future is the intestines, gall bladder and the feathers (which could be ground and put in the compost I suppose. I have even heard of people using the cleaned heads in making chickenstock. I may try that once to see how it goes. It may be more trouble than it is worth.

But I have to say that I do like the liver. Store bought livers taste toxic to me. The liver on this guy was about the best I have ever eaten. Melt in your mouth good. And it was probably because he was so fresh or so young, but the gizzard was nice and tender, for a gizzard.

 

[weaveagarden]

Quote:
I don't think so either, but I think I would be tempted to do it after skinning and eviscerating for just a sec before putting in the ice bath. Seems like the meat might get a bit contaminated if it came in contact with the feathers much.

Maybe an expert or two can give their opinion.