Can I do it myself?

[Wolfwoman]

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This is exactly what I'm going to to, just like a rabbit!!

 

[cluckcluck42]

I'm doing it this weekend with my 4 month old RIR mix cockerals. If I can do it, so can you!! Like another poster said, we are going to be skinning. We don't care for the skin and takes the hard work of plucking away. I believe in you!!!

 

[tlaquepaque]

Thanks for all the encouragement! Tomorrow is the big day. I appreciate all the tips and advice. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Lauren

 

[slackwater]

Good luck! Tomorrow is hte "big day" for my 5 too. My dad did this years ago...but now it's my turn. I'll be doing the hanging cone and skinning methods...

 

[tlaquepaque]

I did it! My two meat birds are in the cooler right now. It was quite the drama and took 3 of us city people to butcher 2 chickens. A friend slit the throats for me after I hung them upside down. That part could have gone better but the job was done.

They both bled out fairly quickly but the rooster's wings broke somehow. I'm not real sure what happened. Compound fractures on both sides. Is it because he was so heavy hanging upside down? The hen's string broke after her throat was slit and she fell to the ground but bled out anyway. I'm not going to lie. It was very traumatic for me and I was seriously considering just burying them and being done with it. But, I hosed them off and put them in the shade and went inside for a break and after that I felt better about the situation. My husband justified to me that I would feel better about everything if I finish the job and use them for meat. So back out I went.

I did the scald and I think they stayed in too long because the skin peeled off with the feathers. We don't eat the skin anyway so I just went with it. I got the feet off myself and then did the innards. That part I found to be quite interesting. I kept finding parts and then tried to figure out what it was so this part took me awhile. At this point they were just meat so I was no longer icked out so much.

We let the kids come take a look after the heads were off. I was surprised that my boy (age 6) was more freaked out than his 3 year old sister. She wanted to see what was going on and he just stayed back. I think he was sad. We had a long talk last night about it and he understands I just this the reality of it is harder for him. But after they were cleaned and in the sink he told me he wanted to eat the drumstick. hehe!

This is probably the end of my meat chicken adventure but thanks to everyone here for the support and advice.

Lauren

 

[Me & My Peeps]

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Good for you! Glad it all worked out in the end!!

 

[TimG]

Lauren, good for you getting through it. I don't think there's anything to be ashamed of if you don't try again. But, you should know that it gets easier with experience.

 

[tlaquepaque]

I forgot to mention. After cleaned the rooster was 8 lbs and the hen was 5 lbs 12 oz. Since I took the skin off I need to know now how to cook them. I bought a roasting pan but I'm not sure I can roast them now. Is there a special way to roast a skinless chicken?

 

[dancingbear]

Good for you, Lauren, for carrying through with the whole thing! Give yourself a huge pat on the back.

I wouldn't roast a skinless chicken, it would probably become jerky-on-the-bone. Unless you might be able to get away with it in a cooking bag, but still, I suspect it wouldn't turn out very well.

Those birds were young enough to fry or grill, you could cut them up and try that.

Or...
One of our favorite recipes is Buttermilk Chicken, and it would work great with a skinless bird. The quick and short description is dredge the pieces in flour, and pan fry until brown, (season with salt and pepper wile browning) but not cooked all the way through. Arrange the pieces in a baking dish, (I use a big rectangular Pyrex one, about 2 inches deep) and cover with about 3 cups of buttermilk. You want the chicken about halfway submerged, not fully submerged. Sprinkle with a little oregano. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, take it out, turn the pieces, bake another 20-30 minutes. You may need a spatula to scrape under each piece to turn without losing the coating.

We love this with hot, buttered, homemade biscuits (and honey!) and mashed potatoes, (and milk gravy made with the crunchies and part of the grease in the pan from browning the bird) and whatever green veg you like. The buttermilk coagulates and browns into really tasty, tangy, little browned bits that are wonderful on the potatoes, and keeps the meat from getting dry. Better than ordinary fried, even though it's a little more work, it's worth it.

This is a real splurge of a meal, calorie-wise, but so worth it! Just not what you want to eat everyday, more of a special occasion meal. Like, "Oh, I successfully processed these chickens, let's celebrate!"

 

[offdagridsoon]

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If you're up for it, I think that what you're doing is the most honest way of eating meat there is. It takes a lot, for those of us who weren't raised on a farm and raising their own food animals, to get to the point where we are comfortable with killing and eating animals we've raised. It's far and away more honest to take responsibility for our food choices like that, rather than divorce ourselves from the whole process and kid ourselves into thinking that meat comes from styrofoam trays. Never mind the fact of the superior nutrition that comes from homeraised! Your FIL is kidding himself when he thinks that the meat from the grocery store is "perfectly good"....it's likely been "washed" in huge drums with lots of other chickens in a bleach solution.

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