I use a very well-sharpened paring knife, one with a good point, to process birds. If I try to use a longer one, I tend to stab myself with the tip.
For scalding, we just use any big pot, fill w/hot water, keep it hot on a propane camp stove. When I haven't had a pot big enough to dunk the whole bird, I've dunked what I could, turn the bird and dunk again, however many time sit took to get the job done. If you're on a tight budget, keep an eye out at yard sales, flea markets, and such, just look for a big ol' pot. You don't have to have an actual scalder. It helps to have a thermometer though, to check the water temp.
In a pinch, when presented with a surprise bird to process unplanned, (like when I heard a squawk and a thump, and went out to find that one of my hens had been hit by a car) I've heated water in my tea kettle, and just poured it over the bird. Usually have to heat 2 or 3 pots full, but starting with hot tap water, it doesn't take long. While it heats, I'm plucking the parts I already poured water over. I keep a big bowl in one side of the sink for innards, another smaller one with cold water for gizzard, neck, heart. Another small bowl for bits I boil up for the dogs and cats, like lungs, the liver, as neither of us like chicken liver, a little round, dark red organ that I don't really know what it is, I'm guessing maybe a spleen? The dark stuff between the back ribs, the liverish looking stuff, I scrape that out for critters. Plus excess skin, other misc. bits. (Sometimes bruised or badly damaged bits, if the bird was killed by an accident or a predator)
If I'll be cutting the bird up, to can or whatever, instead of reaching inside to pull out the innards, I split the skin on the side, cut between the front and back ribs on each side, then on up through the wishbone ends meet those two bones on either side of the breast, to separate the front half of the bird from the back. You just sort of pry the front of the bird up, like the top of a hinged box. Then it's all just laying there to scoop out. I usually leave birds whole to freeze, but for the ones I'm cutting up, this is faster. Much easier if the bird's an older one, as they develop a pair of bones around the pelvic opening that make it hard to get your hand inside. And the tips can really jab into your hands, too. Once I tried breaking those bones off, then I had sharp bone ends to jab my hands!
For scalding, we just use any big pot, fill w/hot water, keep it hot on a propane camp stove. When I haven't had a pot big enough to dunk the whole bird, I've dunked what I could, turn the bird and dunk again, however many time sit took to get the job done. If you're on a tight budget, keep an eye out at yard sales, flea markets, and such, just look for a big ol' pot. You don't have to have an actual scalder. It helps to have a thermometer though, to check the water temp.
In a pinch, when presented with a surprise bird to process unplanned, (like when I heard a squawk and a thump, and went out to find that one of my hens had been hit by a car) I've heated water in my tea kettle, and just poured it over the bird. Usually have to heat 2 or 3 pots full, but starting with hot tap water, it doesn't take long. While it heats, I'm plucking the parts I already poured water over. I keep a big bowl in one side of the sink for innards, another smaller one with cold water for gizzard, neck, heart. Another small bowl for bits I boil up for the dogs and cats, like lungs, the liver, as neither of us like chicken liver, a little round, dark red organ that I don't really know what it is, I'm guessing maybe a spleen? The dark stuff between the back ribs, the liverish looking stuff, I scrape that out for critters. Plus excess skin, other misc. bits. (Sometimes bruised or badly damaged bits, if the bird was killed by an accident or a predator)
If I'll be cutting the bird up, to can or whatever, instead of reaching inside to pull out the innards, I split the skin on the side, cut between the front and back ribs on each side, then on up through the wishbone ends meet those two bones on either side of the breast, to separate the front half of the bird from the back. You just sort of pry the front of the bird up, like the top of a hinged box. Then it's all just laying there to scoop out. I usually leave birds whole to freeze, but for the ones I'm cutting up, this is faster. Much easier if the bird's an older one, as they develop a pair of bones around the pelvic opening that make it hard to get your hand inside. And the tips can really jab into your hands, too. Once I tried breaking those bones off, then I had sharp bone ends to jab my hands!
