How to butcher Skinning method Graphic pics

[flock4mebane]

i have considered getting meat birds along with my egg layers but thought it would be way too much work to do the butchering without my wife freaking out about the mess (she's a city girl and took convincing that she would have to do nothing for the chickens and my daughter and i would do all the work) but now that i see this post i am confidant that i could do this easy enough. great explanation and pics. after tending to my own deer and rabbits in the past i figured birds would be twice as messy.( i have developed a streamline way to skin and quarter a deer with little to no mess using a large trash bag, i don't use internals i donate them to a dog food company nearby). after seeing your post i am seriously considering meat birds in the spring. thanks so much for the detailed thread.

 

[spiffwilkie]

Thanks for the pictures and descriptions. We had a rooster that we needed to get rid of, but I was unable to find another home. I decided that last night was as good a time as any to learn a bit about processing chickens, so I used your method to take the legs/thighs and breasts. Everything went a-ok! Although, I realize that it's time to invest in a nicer knife.

Thanks again!

 

[Huntress78]

You're welcome.
When I cooked the legs from the last batch and took the meat off the bones I couldn't quit snitching...it was sooo good. You'll never get chicken that fresh from the grocery store.

 

[spiffwilkie]

You're welcome.
When I cooked the legs from the last batch and took the meat off the bones I couldn't quit snitching...it was sooo good. You'll never get chicken that fresh from the grocery store.

How do you prepare the meat prior to cooking? Brining and resting in the fridge? I'm not exactly a huge fan of chicken, but mostly that's due to my lack of knowledge in preparing it. I'm very good at ending up with dry meat. If I can learn some good technique, I might get a few meat birds next year to put in the freezer.

 

[Huntress78]

I don't brine. To me brine is salt water and any time you put salt on raw meat it draws the moisture out possibly making it dry when you cook it. Mine just rest in a covered bowl or zip loc bag in the fridge overnight. I then either freeze or cook. Did you mean marinade?

The meat I was snitching was the leftovers from making stock. I used the necks, legs and drumettes and simmered them with onions. After it was cooked I strained out all the bones and took the meat off. I then froze that cooked meat...I've already taken it out and used it in a casserole. Tonight I'm using the breasts in Chop Suey. I think skinless chicken does best with moist cooking...simmering, stewing, soup or baked with something moist like tomatoes or canned soup. I don't pan fry or oven fry skinless chicken as that seems to dry it out but I will grill breast meat cut into even pieces...like for shish kabobs...you just have to be careful not to over cook.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Is there a reason why you couldn't leave the bone in the breast meat? I would just separate the legs and wings, then cut the carcass between the ribs to separate the back and the breast. I've done this on supermarket whole chickens ,but of course those have their organs removed. Would this method mess up the intestines, liver etc, that would spoil the meat?

ETA: my preferred way of preparing chicken is to cut it into legs, wings, breast and back and simmer that for about an hour. The meat is then very tender and soft and the broth makes excellent stock for a savory chicken soup. After the meat is done, I debone, cook veggies in the broth, puree (this step you could omit) and then add the meat back.So I'd like the bone in the breast meat.

 

[Huntress78]

I think it would work fine to leave the breast bone in...just be sure to keep the shears/snips as close to the ribs as possible. You would be exposing the giblets just like in the pic and you could use those for stock too.
I fillet the breast meat off the bones to make a smaller package to save on freezer space.

Let us know how it works out for you.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Thanks for your reply. I'm not planning on butchering until another 2 months, maybe. I want the boys to have a bit more meat on their bones first. But I was researching skinning vs plucking and came across your first post documenting how you do it. That was very helpful, thanks for sharing!

 

[happychucks]

Most helpful post with easy to follow pics,thanks for taking the time to do it.

 

[bilsie]

I realize this is an old thread but Huntress78 I would like to say thank you for this information as I plan on doing my first bird (a duck) in the next couple of days. This is so much less messy and involved for my first time. I am hoping yourself or Jdywntr or any one can tell me - is there anything anatomically different - such as the oil gland - between a chicken and a duck? There is so much more information on butchering a chicken and I am afraid I just don't know. Thanks for helping a newbie, Kelsie