I did it! but did i scew up???

[agnes_day]

well i did it! we butchered our first chicken! the problem is this though..when i was getting all of the guts out, towards the end, a blackish liquid started running out. i cleaned the chicken out really well but i am wondering if i did something to completely ruin it!
any advice would be great...shes in a big bowl of icey salty icewater in the fridge, and i hope she is still eatable!

 

[Skip]

Congratulations! I remember the first chicken I butchered. Had a mean ol' roo and boy, oh, boy, did we have a hard time catching him!

Black liquid? It could be the gallbladder. It could just be bruised blood. I go hunting a lot, and I've noticed that right around where you shoot an animal, there's a black bruise that can ruin meat easily. Did you shoot the bird in the chest to kill it? If so, that might be what you're seeing.

 

[agnes_day]

nope, we chopped her head off, hung her up to bleed and then just took everything out...it was when we were removing the intestines, stomach and whatever else was in there..it looked almost the same color as coke or something..there wasnt a huge amount of it and when i cleaned it out in the house, it looked fine. i just dont know if i "tainted" the meat.
so new to this, and everyone got squeamish and left me to do it all!

 

[Madfarmer]

It sounds like you may have ruptured the gall bladder. It's attached to the liver. It's best to remove all the entrails, then sort out what you want to keep--heart, liver, gizzard. The gall bladder should be carefully trimmed from the liver without allowing the contents to leak on anything you want to eat. If you have an accident, just wash it off with lots of cool water.

Madfarmer

 

[agnes_day]

it looks pretty good after soaking all night! will it be ready to eat by this evening?

 

[Don]

If you wanna make sure there's no 'off' taste to it, you can brine the bird overnight before cooking. I use the same brine as I do for turkey before deep fryin' em ... 3c sea salt, 1c sugar and 3 gal water. (Of course, I cut it down to size, LOL)

Put the bird in a cooler, cover with the brine, top with ice (also helps keep the bird under the water) and let soak overnight.

Next day ... rinse and cook.

Congrats by the way!

Peace...

Don

 

[agnes_day]

i used kosher salt and ice..will that work too?
my poor husband..up until yesterday he would go on and on about how i am too sensitive to do this, but yesterday he was trying to buy the creature more time, and then he ended up getting mad at me when we finally did the deed!

thanks for the advice everyone!
one thing i found out also...when you chop the head off, they flap around and spray blood everywhere! my poor son got sprayed so
bad!

 

[AK_Button_Mama]

I just clean the bird really well after I butcher it. I have punctured the intestines and still keep it. You would be amazed at the things that go on in a chicken (or any thing we eat-beef pork etc) slaughter house. they drop the bird on the floor and keep it. I mean ANYTHING I could possibly do to "mess" up a butchering will never be nearly as bad as what happens in a slaughter house!!!! but that is just me. I will use a really weak bleach solution like 1/2 cup of bleach for 1 gallon of water I dip my hands in that and the knife too. I would think that a salt brine would eliminate any bacteria that do make it to the bird... GOTTA LOVE osmosis!!!!

 

[AK_Button_Mama]

oh I thump them on the head and slit thier throat and hold the head so the blood is pointing down wards I use newspaper and do it in my garage (to cold outside) after I slit throat I use a foot to hold thier legs still they flap but blood is contained. the thump on the head "stuns" them enuff for me to get a good grip and do the cuttin I ususally put some yummies down for them like worms or something I know they like so that way they are like "OOOOHHH worms" then thump that is thier last thought. perhaps it seems odd but it makes me feel better thinking they have one last good thought prior to offing them!

 

[agnes_day]

well, i roasted it for dinner..and it is soooo tasty!!! very tender, full of flavor..made really nice gravy too! it was big enough that there is enough meat to make another meal out of it tomorrow night! and that is saying something with our family size