- Sep 2, 2012
- 57
- 1
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GOOD MORNING ALL, HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY!
I am optimistically hoping that this thread can be (1.,sorry) helpful to me; 2. possibly a source for the best wrap up of meat chicken processing from kill to cook. I feel somewhat lazy doing this but I can't control my 'Gomer Pyle "but is it the BEST hand" ' impulses and I can't seem to retain ALL the information and entertain my mental questions and side notes in the process....Yes, I do have a notebook and pen handy, and if I don't butcher these roosters today while i'm off for Veteran's Day, I will only be able to hide from my family at the neighbor's house for so long (and they don't look happy/well rested either) LOL. Here's what I got so far: PLEASE TROUBLESHOOT ME.
1. I can ring their necks like Grandma used to do, chop their heads off like Daddy used to do, or cut the throat like I'd never heard of before; I understand the blood drainage to a small degree as to benefit.
I choose....Chopping with the added destressor of covering the eyes for the sake possibly of adrenaline and kindness effect.
2. I can then just start cutting per Grandma, throw'em down and wait til the flopping stops per Dad or somehow stick them in a homemade killing cone per I never heard of one of these...
I choose...bend a quarter inch rat wire killing cone, place them in it prior to chopping and let hang til drained like.. a few minutes.
3. skin or scald....I choose scald, bought deep turkey fryer last week....multi use. Pluck or not to pluck...nevermind.
4. Whole or parts and which ones? I choose....whole plus heart, liver, gizzard and neck which may stay attached. I am going to waste anything else this first round although I hope to get into the whole stock baking boiling canning thing next time. For this time, the feet will waste and anything else I'm missing that COULD be used? What about the testicals?
5. Now, a biggy; I'll mention my two thoughts/worries first. To compensate the 30 degrees here, I'll stick them (outside) in a cooler of LUKEWARM? water to aid fiber breakdown. To add salt, sugar or nothing? Then maybe 4-5 hours later i just hang em by the feet in the pole shed, covered and inaccessable for the whole winter? Freezers in there too. Accessability of dust or critters or whatever aside, is there any reason I can't just hang'em rather than freezer them- they'll probably freeze anyway. Makes me wonder- the storage and extra cost of getting a whole beef processed has held me back, but can't I just get one and stop after it's cleaned (at the processing stage) and hang the whole thing out there too? Cut as needed?
That's all I can think of. Never looked into curing or meat storage before and originally from further south. I've seen MANY of the articles and links and CHOICES...looking for pros and cons and ideas of step one thru five. Thanks.
I am optimistically hoping that this thread can be (1.,sorry) helpful to me; 2. possibly a source for the best wrap up of meat chicken processing from kill to cook. I feel somewhat lazy doing this but I can't control my 'Gomer Pyle "but is it the BEST hand" ' impulses and I can't seem to retain ALL the information and entertain my mental questions and side notes in the process....Yes, I do have a notebook and pen handy, and if I don't butcher these roosters today while i'm off for Veteran's Day, I will only be able to hide from my family at the neighbor's house for so long (and they don't look happy/well rested either) LOL. Here's what I got so far: PLEASE TROUBLESHOOT ME.
1. I can ring their necks like Grandma used to do, chop their heads off like Daddy used to do, or cut the throat like I'd never heard of before; I understand the blood drainage to a small degree as to benefit.
I choose....Chopping with the added destressor of covering the eyes for the sake possibly of adrenaline and kindness effect.
2. I can then just start cutting per Grandma, throw'em down and wait til the flopping stops per Dad or somehow stick them in a homemade killing cone per I never heard of one of these...
I choose...bend a quarter inch rat wire killing cone, place them in it prior to chopping and let hang til drained like.. a few minutes.
3. skin or scald....I choose scald, bought deep turkey fryer last week....multi use. Pluck or not to pluck...nevermind.
4. Whole or parts and which ones? I choose....whole plus heart, liver, gizzard and neck which may stay attached. I am going to waste anything else this first round although I hope to get into the whole stock baking boiling canning thing next time. For this time, the feet will waste and anything else I'm missing that COULD be used? What about the testicals?
5. Now, a biggy; I'll mention my two thoughts/worries first. To compensate the 30 degrees here, I'll stick them (outside) in a cooler of LUKEWARM? water to aid fiber breakdown. To add salt, sugar or nothing? Then maybe 4-5 hours later i just hang em by the feet in the pole shed, covered and inaccessable for the whole winter? Freezers in there too. Accessability of dust or critters or whatever aside, is there any reason I can't just hang'em rather than freezer them- they'll probably freeze anyway. Makes me wonder- the storage and extra cost of getting a whole beef processed has held me back, but can't I just get one and stop after it's cleaned (at the processing stage) and hang the whole thing out there too? Cut as needed?
That's all I can think of. Never looked into curing or meat storage before and originally from further south. I've seen MANY of the articles and links and CHOICES...looking for pros and cons and ideas of step one thru five. Thanks.
