butchering

[Tammyea]

how long can a chicken hang after killing before you process? is 2 hrs too long?

 

[member 373180]

Unless you have horrible heat and humidity it won't spoil in two hours. Processing will likely be more challenging, though, because rigor mortis will make the carcass harder to manipulate.

 

[Molpet]

I kill 2 at a time because they stiffen up too much if I kill more... Some countries it is common to bleed the bird out and hang it for days at below 50f to age before gutting.

 

[sheetmetaltom]

im new to this, bought 10 meat birds, have "processed" 8 so far. 2 more to go. i do 1 at a time. the most ive done is 3 in a row. not sure if i would leave them hanging for a day, seems kind of a long time to give bacteria a start.

 

[Mosey2003]

I wouldn't do it myself, but I think you probably could. I'd at least want them in a fridge though.

 

[Ridgerunner]

As others have mentioned there are two considerations. From a safety perspective people hang game birds for days or weeks, it's a great way to tenderize tough old birds. But the key for that to work is that the temperature has to be low enough that bacteria can't multiply and you don't have flies swarming to lay eggs that hatch into maggots. You are not talking about days or weeks though, just a couple of hours but without them gutted. The warmer it is the faster the bacteria in their guts will multiply. I don't know how hot it will be when you butcher but unless it is ridiculous and you keep them in the shade instead of a hot baking sun I don't think two hours is excessive. I've kept squirrels and rabbits longer than that when I'm hunting, and that's without field dressing them but that is normally in cooler weather.

The second consideration is rigor mortis. I don't have a feel for how long that takes since I do one after another. I generally start the butchering process as soon as they stop moving. Rigor mortis can have two effects. If they stiffen up it can make them harder to butcher. It can negatively affect tenderness when you cook them. That's where aging them for a few days in the fridge or ice water can come in really handy if you don't immediately cook them.

I think you will be OK if you wait a couple of hours after killing and bleeding one to process it, but if rigor has set in it may be a bit less convenient. If it is that much more convenient to you with your set-up to kill them both at the same time you should be OK.