Quote: The first is hard - don't sweat it - congratulations on getting it done. If it makes you feel better, I'll tell you about my first. You know how we all used to grow up with Grandma butchering a chicken for Sunday dinner? It was commonplace then but our society has gotten away from that and now we have whole generations of people so far removed from where their food comes from that they don't have a clue how all this stuff works.
DH and I were both raised on farms - he on a cattle ranch and me on a smaller farm where we even raised poultry. However my parents were never able to butcher and DH's family only raised beef so neither of us had a clue how to butcher a chicken. Inevitably we had one that needed done so we - together - spent hours poring over YouTube videos. We decided on the method that cuts across the artery and bleeds them out. I made a makeshift cone out of a large vinegar bottle, we got the bird caught up and then each of us stood back to give the other room to do the cut. It turned out that while watching the videos, each of us had pictured the other doing the actual cutting!!! So there was the poor bird hung upside down waiting, while we had to hastily decide who was going to do the honors. DH eventually did and the first actually didn't go too badly but we were doing three that day and the other two, the first cut didn't get the job done and it was not as quick or clean as either of us had wanted it to be.
We continued on doing the occasional bird for a few months but eventually reached a point where a bird had to be done (at this point we were still living in the city so once they crowed they had to go) and DH was out of town so I had to do one myself. It did NOT go well. I felt terrible for the poor bird who suffered more than I would have liked. So I went back to basics and learned exactly where to cut. Once I knew where to make the cut, it got easier to do it knowing the bird was not going to suffer much and that it would be quick. I now butcher 30-50 birds throughout the year. I keep the knife sharpened and one quick, clean cut in the right place does the job every time. Like anything, it is a learning curve and you get better at it with practice.
DH and I were both raised on farms - he on a cattle ranch and me on a smaller farm where we even raised poultry. However my parents were never able to butcher and DH's family only raised beef so neither of us had a clue how to butcher a chicken. Inevitably we had one that needed done so we - together - spent hours poring over YouTube videos. We decided on the method that cuts across the artery and bleeds them out. I made a makeshift cone out of a large vinegar bottle, we got the bird caught up and then each of us stood back to give the other room to do the cut. It turned out that while watching the videos, each of us had pictured the other doing the actual cutting!!! So there was the poor bird hung upside down waiting, while we had to hastily decide who was going to do the honors. DH eventually did and the first actually didn't go too badly but we were doing three that day and the other two, the first cut didn't get the job done and it was not as quick or clean as either of us had wanted it to be.
We continued on doing the occasional bird for a few months but eventually reached a point where a bird had to be done (at this point we were still living in the city so once they crowed they had to go) and DH was out of town so I had to do one myself. It did NOT go well. I felt terrible for the poor bird who suffered more than I would have liked. So I went back to basics and learned exactly where to cut. Once I knew where to make the cut, it got easier to do it knowing the bird was not going to suffer much and that it would be quick. I now butcher 30-50 birds throughout the year. I keep the knife sharpened and one quick, clean cut in the right place does the job every time. Like anything, it is a learning curve and you get better at it with practice.
