California - Northern

[Wishing4Wings]

Dinner was good but that white meat was very very chewy. Even a long slow simmer did little to help that. The kids had NO issues eating the chicken. My mil and hubby however- ate it painfully slow and pausing often. Both were scarred over the fact that it was our chicken that they ate. I know it shouldn't but it did hurt my feelings a little because I am the one that did all the butchering and the cooking. I am just bummed they couldn't enjoy it because it was a lot of work on my end. lol

The broth was insanely delicious. I usually have to add some organic chicken bouillon to my chicken dishes. I did not here. It was light and flavorful.
We got the waterer moved to the run. So we can treat the affected mold area. I am thinking to remove the dirt in that area and let it dry out and add fresh dirt from another part of the yard?

Can we pass the week and skip right to next weekend?

It can be hard to get used to when you don't grow up knowing the animals you eat. For some reason young kids accept it more easily. I watched one of our steers get killed and slaughtered when I was a kid, and I remember thinking that it seemed pretty quick and painless. Got an interesting anatomy lesson too, not to mention beef for a year! Really, if your folks saw how chickens are raised and processed in the factory farms, they would probably feel much better about your wonderful meal.

Long time ago, taught high school students a little anatomy lesson by dissecting a chicken wing (back when they were really cheap!) to identify skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments and show how they interact with the bones. I was flabbergasted when the kids asked me, in all seriousness, where the meat was! "You know, the part that you eat, the meat?" Oh the reaction when I told them it was muscle they ate! "Eeewww, gross. I'm never eating that again!" They decided to stick to steak and hamburger, until their slightly sadistic teacher informed them that that was mostly cow muscles.

 

[lawatt]

It can be hard to get used to when you don't grow up knowing the animals you eat. For some reason young kids accept it more easily. I watched one of our steers get killed and slaughtered when I was a kid, and I remember thinking that it seemed pretty quick and painless. Got an interesting anatomy lesson too, not to mention beef for a year! Really, if your folks saw how chickens are raised and processed in the factory farms, they would probably feel much better about your wonderful meal.

similarly, my sister's kids, who live just outside of NYC, did a farm-camp for several summers, at which there were lots of livestock with names, who they totally got to know, including Boris the gigantic pig -- and when he was slaughtered and made into sausages and hot dogs, the kids ate him happily, saying, "this is Boris!" -- it's us adults that seem to have the most issues.

so great that you're getting your kids started early, Amy Beth!

 

[zooweemama]

I cook the chicken in my pressure cooker. After dinner, I take the meat off the bones and add the neck and any juice left over and put it back into the pressure cooker along with water to cover. I also add some veggies from the fridge such as a carrot, celery, broccoli stubs and always an onion. That all goes up to pressure for one hour. Add Salt to taste. The next day I make soup and next time, Lardy biscuits.

The pressure cooker braises the meat with moisture so it is very good.

I added Pressure cooker instructions to this recipe:

Ohhh thanks! I just bought a bigger pressure cooker/canner. A 23 quart. I am so excited! I have a 7 qt right now. There is no way these chickens will fit in that pressure cooker. I could barely put the lid on my big stew pot. I can't wait to try this on the next one! Thanks!

 

[zooweemama]

It can be hard to get used to when you don't grow up knowing the animals you eat. For some reason young kids accept it more easily. I watched one of our steers get killed and slaughtered when I was a kid, and I remember thinking that it seemed pretty quick and painless. Got an interesting anatomy lesson too, not to mention beef for a year! Really, if your folks saw how chickens are raised and processed in the factory farms, they would probably feel much better about your wonderful meal.

Long time ago, taught high school students a little anatomy lesson by dissecting a chicken wing (back when they were really cheap!) to identify skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments and show how they interact with the bones. I was flabbergasted when the kids asked me, in all seriousness, where the meat was! "You know, the part that you eat, the meat?" Oh the reaction when I told them it was muscle they ate! "Eeewww, gross. I'm never eating that again!" They decided to stick to steak and hamburger, until their slightly sadistic teacher informed them that that was mostly cow muscles.

similarly, my sister's kids, who live just outside of NYC, did a farm-camp for several summers, at which there were lots of livestock with names, who they totally got to know, including Boris the gigantic pig -- and when he was slaughtered and made into sausages and hot dogs, the kids ate him happily, saying, "this is Boris!" -- it's us adults that seem to have the most issues.

so great that you're getting your kids started early, Amy Beth!

Thanks guys! I totally understand why they are a little squigged out. I personally am trying not to think about it- if you think about it too much it just gets ugly. I like meat. I would be very hungry without meat lol. We have a ton of roosters we cannot keep. I cannot bring myself to cull and garbage perfectly good meat. My brain just won't do it. So if I have to do it all myself - I would rather that and have the adults eat the meal rather than get through it the best they can. I am really proud of my kids. The oldest was put off for a bit but he came around quickly when he saw me stealing bites while it was simmering and I was behaving like it was the more normal thing. The one I porcessed was the one we called Birchen. The funny colored one and everyone sorta liked him so that didn't help.

 

[juststruttin]

Well here is Rocky my rooster. the one that got beat up good. He is doing better seemingly though he still likes to rest a ton.
Poor guy I hope he recovers or I will be looking for a new crele rooster

Wow, he did get him good. I'm sure he'll recover at this point, he may just be feeling a little embarrassed that his tail is missing. I remember when we clipped our aussie dog one year and she wouldn't leave the house due to embarrassment. Who knew animals were so vain. ... I hear a song coming on.

 

[debs_flock]

It helps when you separate the action from the meal by a few days. Let them rest in the refrigerator for a few days. I check mine to see when I can flex the leg joint, and I pinch the thigh to see if the meat is soft. Then I put the bird into the freezer (thoroughly wrapped of course (I might need to ask for a sealer for Xmas

). When you take that bird out, they'll enjoy it.

Homegrown meat is always going to be "chewier" cooked in the same way as store bought chicken. They are basically "veal", slaughtered at around 8 weeks old. They haven't had the chance to develop muscle or flavor. You can get a similar result at home by raising meat birds. You can improve the flavor with the diet you provide, but they will still be young/tender.

I cook all my birds by braising and they are not chewy. I save roasting for store bought chicken.

I'll have to see the results this fall with my 15 turkeys

(less the furture breeders that get to stay).

Deb

 

[Happy Chooks]

Hope you have a massive pot for scalding Deb!

I'm catching up here as we were gone for the weekend. I'm with you Amy, processing your own birds does give you a new appreciation for eating meat. I also feel it is much more difficult not being raised in a hunting family - we were much more distanced from our food, which made our first time more difficult too. And we ate less the first time than we normally would. I still haven't been able to do the killing part - mostly because I'm afraid of botching it and having the bird suffer. (I have put chicks down though) My DH does the killing and I do everything after that.

I made coq au vin with one and I thought it was fabulous. Hubby didn't like that the meat was purple from the wine though.

 

[debs_flock]

Hope you have a massive pot for scalding Deb!

You mean you can't dip one extremity at a time?

I use a teapot!

Actually, this might be one processing that is worth driving to the processing plant in Sacramento. Although I remember with turkeys, they charge quite a bit more. Maybe I should sell my excess "on the hoof".

Deb

 

[Happy Chooks]

Oh, and Cooper - I had a cockerel once get scalped like that and he healed fine, feathers grew back and you wouldn't have ever known it happened.

 

[capayvalleychick]

Rocky has such pretty feathers. Hope they grow back quickly. I had a rooster beat up so badly he looked dead and he recovered.

Regarding killing your own meat, I feel the same as HappyChooks. Someone else has to kill it. I tried to be a vegetarian for many years because I felt so guilty about eating meat. Now, I feel better knowing that the animal had a good life and humane death. Something else that helped was that our teeth are designed for eating meat and in the animal world there are omnivores and carnivores. So humans aren't the only meat eaters. Those are the things that helped me finally feel ok about eating meat.

I don't name anything that is going to get eaten. From the moment a critter is born here, I develop a mindset that it is either a breeding animal or a food animal. Breeding animals get names or numbers, I get attached to them. Steers, barrows, wethers, cockerels are simply meat. That's another thing that I have to do in order to feel ok about eating them.

It was a learning process with me, to be able to cook homegrown chicken so it was edible. The texture took some getting used to and my husband complained a lot. I always age the birds in the fridge before freezing. I have best results by covering the bird with butter & seasoned salt, then slow roasting at 300 until done. I have done Coq Au Vin too.

Deb, I have heard that the Sac processor will not take turkeys and that the closest place that will is down by Modesto.