My 1st butcher batch - will you review my plan?

[Maeschak]

A question related to my last step... should I let them rest a couple of days, and then quarter them? Or should I quarter them, and then let them rest? I like the idea of just sticking them in the fridge after all that work and dealing with cutting them up later.

I have read that it is completely fine to chill the bird, make sure it is dry (part out if you want), and package the chickens for the freezer- but instead of putting it in the freezer, just stick the packages of chicken in the fridge for the rest period. Once rested, just throw them in the freezer! Although, I also read that you must make sure the bird is dry and chilled before packaging. (Something about trapping too much moisture inside the freezer bag too long before freezing will result in spoiled meat).
Never tried it though!

 

[jennifer0224]

Thank you!

 

[Birdinhand]

if you run into a pinch and you need to freeze before you rest the meat, it is possible to rest the meat after it has been frozen and thawed. I thaw my chickens out in the fridge for a couple of days then 12-24 hours of brine, tender like butter!

rjohn39's link is the processing link I was suggesting.

 

[rjohns39]

Ah yes, Joel Salatin.. he makes it look so easy! The only reason I wanted to put them on ice through most of the process is because it takes me so long to process It'll be sunny and 60 degrees tomorrow; I figured I shouldn't let them sit out until I had them all done. Unless I did one at a time, start to finish.

It's important (in my mind) to get the eviscerate out as quickly as possible. After which I soak the birds then do qa. and then into ice. I butcher after resting.

 

[jennifer0224]

I see, that makes sense to me.

 

[Morrigan]

A question related to my last step... should I let them rest a couple of days, and then quarter them? Or should I quarter them, and then let them rest? I like the idea of just sticking them in the fridge after all that work and dealing with cutting them up later.

We let them rest for 2 days before dealing with them further. We bag some of the smaller ones whole for roasting, but the rest we cut into pieces and vacuum seal. Either way, it's nice to have a couple of days off between processing tasks. Also, if you are like me, you are going to want your kitchen clean again before your start cutting and wrapping the chicken for your freezer.

 

[trudyg]

Hey BirdinHand, I can't find the video of butchering that you cited in the first page of this thread. Can you post a link?

 

[Birdinhand]

Hey BirdinHand, I can't find the video of butchering that you cited in the first page of this thread. Can you post a link?

I agree with the above posts. Also, I find it better not to introduce the bird to ice until after it's been fully cleaned. Here's a fairly good video on how I do it, I'm not nearly as good as they are.

Spoiler: Chicken Processing

Best of luck

rjohns39 beat me to it, the link shows up in blue and says "chicken processing".

 

[jennifer0224]

I appreciate all of the advice! We got everything done on Saturday. We were surprised at how much bigger the breasts and thighs were than store-bought! They were 8.5 weeks when they were processed. I think we'll take a couple of months off, and then do a slightly bigger batch in February

 

[lazy gardener]

Congrats. You worked hard to get it all done in a single day. Kudos to you. You'll have some good eating ahead of you. How did it go?