Packaging Options for Whole Birds

[mothercluckn]

Hi there everyone, my partner and I are about to butcher our second flock of broilers and want to be able to freeze whole birds. I'm trying to find the best vacuum sealer to accomplish this. We already have a vacuum sealer that does great for halves or quatres, but it's too small to for whole bird. During my research for whole bird sealers, I'm seeing lots about heat shrinking instead. Interested to see who likes which better and why. We'll be butchering 50-100 6lb birds a day and want them packaged same day, so we need something quick, clean, and efficient for long term freezing. Any and all feedback/brand recommendations welcome.

 

[iwltfum]

Heat shrink bags is definitely what I would recommend. Usually folks have a scalder anyway, which is usually completely capable of holding the temp you need for both scalding and heat shrinking. I'm not sure if "texas poultry shrink bags" is still in the picture. I bought a couple thousand a few years back and haven't needed to restock. But I'm about out and need to order more this year. Definitely going to see if they are still at it.

I'm a big vacuum sealer for other types of food saving, but whole chickens just don't work that well with flat bags and the heat shrink is definitely faster once you get it set up.

I can pack, weigh, and label 100 chickens within an hour with the heat shrink bags if I'm set up efficiently.

 

[mothercluckn]

Heat shrink bags is definitely what I would recommend. Usually folks have a scalder anyway, which is usually completely capable of holding the temp you need for both scalding and heat shrinking. I'm not sure if "texas poultry shrink bags" is still in the picture. I bought a couple thousand a few years back and haven't needed to restock. But I'm about out and need to order more this year. Definitely going to see if they are still at it.

I'm a big vacuum sealer for other types of food saving, but whole chickens just don't work that well with flat bags and the heat shrink is definitely faster once you get it set up.

I can pack, weigh, and label 100 chickens within an hour with the heat shrink bags if I'm set up efficiently.

Thanks for the advice. What size bag did you like best for the whole birds?

 

[Echelontheory101]

Hi there everyone, my partner and I are about to butcher our second flock of broilers and want to be able to freeze whole birds. I'm trying to find the best vacuum sealer to accomplish this. We already have a vacuum sealer that does great for halves or quatres, but it's too small to for whole bird. During my research for whole bird sealers, I'm seeing lots about heat shrinking instead. Interested to see who likes which better and why. We'll be butchering 50-100 6lb birds a day and want them packaged same day, so we need something quick, clean, and efficient for long term freezing. Any and all feedback/brand recommendations welcome.

Would you be open to spatchcocking the chickens before you store them? that may make it a little bit easier to fit in smaller vacuum seal bags and the chickens are more stackable in the freezer that way. I know some people like the look of a round whole bird roasted but spatchcocking does also cook more evenly and you get a better crispier skin if you're doing Roasters and easier to store. However I know spatchcocking 100 birds probably adds quite a lot of time to your processing day though so just a suggestion!