Help! For after chickens are processed

[BusFarmLady]

I'm taking 20 meat chickens to an Amish farm in two weeks for processing. They'll throw all the birds in trash bags for me to take home and package. So...this is my plan -- take them home and soak them (unpackaged?) in a ice/water filled cooler overnight. Then bag them in jumbo 2.5 gallon freezer bags, getting as much air out as possible. Then to the freezer. Am I missing anything? Does this sound right? Any other recommendations? I'm terrified of food poisoning so I want to make sure I'm doing it all right!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The ice water soak in a salt bath isn't a bad idea.
But with freezer bags, you'll still get freezer burn.
You need either vacuum sealing or shrink wrap bags.
You'll want to drip dry them before bagging.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds like they are going to leave the carcass whole, not cut it into serving pieces. I cut mine into serving pieces and double wrap it in freezer paper, using special freezer tape. I wrap it once, then wrap it again. It lasts as long as vacuum packing it but takes a bit of time to wrap compared to vacuum packing.

I agree with the freezer burn in a zip-loc type bag. I save the parts I use for broth in a zip-loc. They get a lot of ice crystals and some freezer burn but still make great broth. One problem I've had with zip-locs is that a bone might puncture it. This usually happens when I'm digging through the freezer looking for something.

I pick the meat when I make broth and vacuum pack that. That meat is good for tacos, soup, salad, or stew. The vacuum bags keep it fresh for a long, long time. Vacuum packing works great for many veggies too.

I've never tried vacuum packing a whole chicken. Often when the vacuum packer pulls the vacuum it pulls liquid into the seal area and will not seal. To overcome that I put whatever I'm packaging in the vacuum bag overnight in the freezer. It freezes so the vacuum does not pull any liquid out. But only do one or two at a time or they will partially thaw and release moisture.

I have never tried shrink-wrapping so no hints there. From comments on here some people really like the process.

It will be safe as long as you keep it cold, you are doing that part right. And of course try to keep the meat clean. If you are doing this in your house you might want to spread towels or such on the floor to make clean-up easier. I sanitize my kitchen counter and sink after processing raw chicken. Before I start I clean off the counter (think toasters or containers) so other things don't get splattered with the liquid.

Welcome to the forum and good luck. You can manage this but there might be a bit of a learning curve. That should be a lot of chicken, hope you have freezer space. If you don't get it done all at once, not a problem. Just keep what's left in ice water overnight and finish the next day. It will still be good.