I've got a batch of FR roos that are coming up on Freezer Camp day in another couple weeks. These are in the 'burbs and we're not allowed to have roosters that may crow. If one starts to crow, is there a way to kill it and then process it a few days later? Thanks, -DB
Kill & process the same day. Most likely won't happen, but a knife and a pot of hot water (150 degrees) for scalding will give you some good practice. Doing one or two the old school way won't take long. Killing and letting rest before cleaning, not my bag, even with pheasants. I'll clean them and let them rest a few days in the fridge. Much better option.
Do it the same day. I do the killing outside in the garage with minimal noise, and all my plucking and gutting in the kitchen. I had a few folks over for a class, and it took about an hour for some of them to go through the whole shebang, for their first time.
IMHO you absolutly should clean immediatly after killing. Number one is food safety and meat quality, get the bacteria ridden innards out ASAP and get the carcase down in that ~34F - 40F range quick. Number two it is much easier to clean right away, and if you have ever gutted a deer that was left overnight you will appeciate how unpleasent it is to delay cleaning. Processsing a couple birds is not a big deal. -Hold upside down in something (large jug with bottom cut out or bag with opening cut for neck) -slit the jugulars and bleed out -Pluck if you want, scalding with hot water does make that easier -remove all innards, oil gland from tail, feet head ect. -clean up and wash off in kitchen sink and let stand in the fridge 2-3 days -cook nice and slow with lots of moisture If you want to save a bunch of time then skin rather than pluck, should not take more than 15 min coop to kitchen. Really short on time just kill and slice off the breasts and legs, no need to get into plucking or gutting. But some meat and soup stock is wasted.
Quote:Oh man does that stink.. I dropped a doe in archery and had to leave her sit over night because i couldnt find the blood trail.. That was one of the WORST smells ever.. I can also tell you that my dad forgot about a chicken and left it in a cooler one day.. the cooler sat outside the living room for about 3 weeks and we noticed a smell. My mom opened the lid to the cooler and there was a green chicken.. She pucked from the smell.. Guess who had cooler duty to get rid of the chicken? ME... That was the worst smell ever! So I am with them... Kill and butcher the same day!
I liken it to leaving a refirgerator door open. Everything will look good on the outside, but not so good once you open 'er up.
Thanks for all the advice, y'all. I was just hoping someone may have a magic bullet for being able to cull the roos one-by one if they start crowing and hold off processing them until butchering day when we do the whole batch. I've butcherd a few chickens before using cones and would rather not set up the whole processing area in the back yard, heat a big vat of water, and do the cleanup any more than I absolutely have to. We've got 25 birds to process and I expect it'll be a very full, gory sunup-to-sundown day even if we're efficient; with the smell lingering in my nostrils and on my hands for days afterwards. Thanks again, -DB
If you don't mind no skin... you can just skin the roos as soon as you kill them. With some experience, the whole kill to kitchen sink will be no more than 10 min. I've done so far 8 on a condo balcony in 2 hours from arrival back to the fort to putting offal into the dumpster. All skinning, but that did include boiling water to scald feet, and keeping choice insides. The longest part is covering everything in plastic and keeping noise down so nobody is the wiser. I'll be doing 20 this weekend... on a balcony.. of a condo...
Quote:I just pictured a Mexican cartel popping an FBI agent or something with all the plastic and talk of blood spatter.
