Butchering without gutting.

[humblehillsfarm]

Curious as to why no hearts and gizzards??? If you like organ meat, but don't want it TOO strong, you can make chicken pate and use it as a spread on crackers. Basically a little onion, garlic, pinch of thyme, plus equal amounts of heart/liver/gizzard by weight (I wouldn't mind reducing the liver some, I'm not fond of the strong "mineral" flavor) cooked to done, then processed into a paste suitable for spreading, usually with another addition to get the consistency "right". We often use cream cheese, but I've seen it done with mayo, heavy cream, and even this recipe, which uses duck offal and tomato paste!

Duck Pate Recipe example

as with most classic forcemeat recipes, "ya use what ya gots!"

Was this response to me or OP? My family is full of picky eaters. I felt lucky to get them to agree to try the livers. I've never in my life tried a pate, but I am open to it. I definitely plant to process more chicken in the future and am willing to try. Since giving away the gizzards, I've had three people tell me KFC used to sell gizzards and they were delicious

That's within a half cup of what I get out of three carcasses. My canner holds 18 pints so that much gets canned. Some goes in the fridge for immediate use and the rest gets frozen.

The frozen broth is a bit of a problem. It is so convenient to open a jar of broth compared to thawing frozen broth the frozen stuff doesn't get used until it builds up a bit. Then the wife decides to make soup with it since you can just drop it frozen into the pot and thaw it.

I feel the same with frozen stock lol. That's why I made 10 quarts. I canned 7 quarts and froze the other three. If I have enough forethought, I'll take the frozen out of the freezer, but it's SO much easier using canned. I also have a limited amount of freezer space and am somewhat paranoid about freezer failure, so the less I can freeze the better. Freezer items always get priority over canned, unless the canned goods are nearing a year old.

 

[Jennc-123]

Curious as to why no hearts and gizzards??? If you like organ meat, but don't want it TOO strong, you can make chicken pate and use it as a spread on crackers. Basically a little onion, garlic, pinch of thyme, plus equal amounts of heart/liver/gizzard by weight (I wouldn't mind reducing the liver some, I'm not fond of the strong "mineral" flavor) cooked to done, then processed into a paste suitable for spreading, usually with another addition to get the consistency "right". We often use cream cheese, but I've seen it done with mayo, heavy cream, and even this recipe, which uses duck offal and tomato paste!

Duck Pate Recipe example

as with most classic forcemeat recipes, "ya use what ya gots!"

This is fantastic! I am not a hearts and gizzards person but the rest of my family is. I will totally try this, will also keep the organs from freezer burning. Thanks so much!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

This is fantastic! I am not a hearts and gizzards person but the rest of my family is. I will totally try this, will also keep the organs from freezer burning. Thanks so much!

As much as I've learned, the support I've received, from this site - I'm just happy to have something useful to contribute to the conversation. Good Eating! (I recommend Ritz crackers for these, Trisket works too, but Ritz are better. Wheat thins really aren't).

 

[cassie]

We were hoping the “free range” CX will taste better, but at the same time I’ve been trying not to get my hopes up. They do go outside but, true to the CX, they just lay there.

I don't know what you mean by "taste better" but I will guess. The heritage chickens are butchered at about 20 weeks and as such will develop more flavor as a function of age. The Cornish X are processed much earlier. They are bred to grow fast and be processed at early ages because they are not known for their longevity. In my opinion, the Cornish X is by far the best meat chicken out there but they do have their quirks. They do not tolerate heat and they feel the same way about exercise as my brother-in-law does. To him exercise means getting up off the couch to go to the refrigerator to get a beer if he can't get someone to bring him one. When I had my Cornish I had the feed, water and heat lamps in different parts of the pen so they had to walk some to get from one to the others. I also had the feeders and waterers hung on chains so I could adjust the height as they grew and they had to stand to eat and drink. They couldn't just plop in front of them to eat and drink

From reading this thread and others like it, I get the the impression that too many people, being used to regular chickens, try to make the Cornish X into something it is not and what it was not bred for. If you want a free range chicken, choose another breed. Can you free range Cornish X? Probably. Should you? In my opinion, probably not. There are a number of meat breeds out there. Like my brother-in-law, the Cornish X are not for everyone.

OK. My two cent's worth. I will go away now.

 

[archeryrob]

We split ours open and do not pluck. Breast the birds out and slice the legs out. Then debone them, chunk it all and can the white and leg meat separate. Between half a pig, several deer I cannot have whole chickens with hollow cavities eating freezer space. Besides I think we use they meat just as easy this way for other meals.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I don't know what you mean by "taste better" but I will guess. The heritage chickens are butchered at about 20 weeks and as such will develop more flavor as a function of age. The Cornish X are processed much earlier. They are bred to grow fast and be processed at early ages because they are not known for their longevity. In my opinion, the Cornish X is by far the best meat chicken out there but they do have their quirks. They do not tolerate heat and they feel the same way about exercise as my brother-in-law does. To him exercise means getting up off the couch to go to the refrigerator to get a beer if he can't get someone to bring him one. When I had my Cornish I had the feed, water and heat lamps in different parts of the pen so they had to walk some to get from one to the others. I also had the feeders and waterers hung on chains so I could adjust the height as they grew and they had to stand to eat and drink. They couldn't just plop in front of them to eat and drink

From reading this thread and others like it, I get the the impression that too many people, being used to regular chickens, try to make the Cornish X into something it is not and what it was not bred for. If you want a free range chicken, choose another breed. Can you free range Cornish X? Probably. Should you? In my opinion, probably not. There are a number of meat breeds out there. Like my brother-in-law, the Cornish X are not for everyone.

OK. My two cent's worth. I will go away now.

Not sure if you read the entire thread, but I have already raised and processed Cornish X, and they definitely did forage in their outdoor run, as was evidenced by the amount of grass and pebbles in their crops on processing day. Were they a normal chicken? No. Did they display normal chicken behaviors on a lesser scale? Definitely yes. They dust bathed, ran for treats, learned how to use a ramp and went into the coop at night, and I even witnessed them finding and eating dead bugs. I processed them at nine weeks.

Taste is a function of many factors, not just flavor. It was important that the meat is not tough or dry, chewy, stringy, have unusual muscle striations, etc.. Those factors are just as important to the final product as flavor. Grocery store is almost always frozen, thawed, and then either cooked, or frozen and thawed again. It often loses a lot of moisture while cooking, can be tough, and generally have a poor mouth-feel. I found the meat that was rested in the fridge for six days maintained most of its moisture when cooked, rather than leaching out into the pan. The cooked product was very tender, plump, and moist. Flavor-wise, it tasted exactly like chicken.

 

[RUNuts]

The CX that I raised were very into foraging. One even caught a frog and gobbled it down along with bugs, grass and other tasty bits pulled from the lawn. The CX at 8 weeks were still bedding down in the grass. The Imperial Broilers were on top of the chicken tractor from 8 to 14 weeks. I opened the tractor in the backyard to let them run around with the layers. Worked very well. Still had to place them in the tractor every evening.

 

[B-Goock]

My mother would be proud. In the Ukraine They hardly ever used butter to fry, it was all leftover fats from frying whichever part of the pig for the days meal. Bacon grease keeps those arteries nice and slick, won't catch a clog in em!

Sounds like when I was a kid. Butcher day was always a great day. Rendering pork fat in a large pot on a wood fire. Making pork rinds. Sausage. Yum. Everybody had a bowl of lard & bacon grease to cook with.

Chickens? I didn't know what store bought was. Always 50 running around the barnyard. Whatever feed the other animals spilled the chickens cleaned up. Barnyard vultures.

 

[B-Goock]

Curious as to why no hearts and gizzards??? If you like organ meat, but don't want it TOO strong, you can make chicken pate and use it as a spread on crackers. Basically a little onion, garlic, pinch of thyme, plus equal amounts of heart/liver/gizzard by weight (I wouldn't mind reducing the liver some, I'm not fond of the strong "mineral" flavor) cooked to done, then processed into a paste suitable for spreading, usually with another addition to get the consistency "right". We often use cream cheese, but I've seen it done with mayo, heavy cream, and even this recipe, which uses duck offal and tomato paste!

Duck Pate Recipe example

as with most classic forcemeat recipes, "ya use what ya gots!"

Wife won't eat any organ meat. It grosses her out. Me I'll try just about anything.

 

[TheMother]

H

Sounds like when I was a kid. Butcher day was always a great day. Rendering pork fat in a large pot on a wood fire. Making pork rinds. Sausage. Yum. Everybody had a bowl of lard & bacon grease to cook with.

Chickens? I didn't know what store bought was. Always 50 running around the barnyard. Whatever feed the other animals spilled the chickens cleaned up. Barnyard vultures.

Barnyard vultures indeed!
That just sounds so wholesome and soul warming. I think that's what I keep chasing after for my own kids.