FunClucks
Crowing
You may already have this info, but just in case you don't, here is Molpet's picture with things labeled.
1. liver, 2 lobes.
2. heart
3. Galbladder, located on top of intestines, attached to the liver - I usually have to cut a portion out of the liver to remove the galbladder carefully so it doesn't bust and make everything taste bitter.
4. Gizzard.
5. Fat deposits around the gizzard - this one, and to the left of the gizzard muscle you can see. The gizzard is under all of that fat.
6. Part of the lungs can be seen, mostly on the left, some on the right. They go into the grooves of the ribs, and you have to pop them out with finger without being able to see them unless you cut the chicken open like this.
7. Behind that white membrane is the neck. I usually cut it off from the other end of the bird before I get to removing the guts.
Best method to de-gut that I've found - carefully make a horizontal incission across the end of the chicken just above the vent, when chicken is lying on its back with vent facing you. Incision goes from rib to rib, and you can pull the chicken open a bit. Loosen the membranes between the ribs/body and intestines that you can get to. Then reach in with your hand, grab around the heart, and some of the lungs if you can get them, and pull everything out onto the table.
Rigor starts to set in for my chickens around 30 minutes, my whole process takes 1.5 hrs if I skin. By the time I have a clean carcass, it's stiff enough I don't want to use a shrink wrap bag yet. I put the clean, rinsed carcass whole into a large cooler of ice water for 3 days (keep the ice refreshed), then rinse, put in shrink wrap bags, shrink them, and then the freezer.
If I part them out, I'll do it once I have a clean carcass - two legs, thighs, and wings into one gallon ziplock (bone-in skinless), the breasts into another ziplock (boneless skinless), edible entrails (heart, gizzard, liver, neck, yolks) into a sandwich size ziplock. I save the bones/frame left over after meat removal for soup stock. This makes two meals for my family, one per gallon ziplock bag of meat, from one 8-10 lb CX chicken. Then I put these three bags into the fridge, on separate shelves (not stacked), so they can cool down quickly. After 3 days once rigor passes, I move them to the freezer.
With RIR cockerels around 12 weeks, you might could get an entire carcass into one gallon ziplock. Or stick it into a large metal bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge until rigor passes, it will pack more compactly after that. You don't have to remove the neck unless you want to. You could cut it to spatch cock it over the grill.
No matter how you cook, make sure the joints move freely so rigor is past prior to cooking. Low and slow cooking methods are the best. I suggest investing in a pressure cooker/canner, they're relatively inexpensive and practically guarantee tender chicken. 12 weeks should still be pretty tender, I tend to try and cook/eat birds a year old or more, so pressure cooking is a must for those birds.
1. liver, 2 lobes.
2. heart
3. Galbladder, located on top of intestines, attached to the liver - I usually have to cut a portion out of the liver to remove the galbladder carefully so it doesn't bust and make everything taste bitter.
4. Gizzard.
5. Fat deposits around the gizzard - this one, and to the left of the gizzard muscle you can see. The gizzard is under all of that fat.
6. Part of the lungs can be seen, mostly on the left, some on the right. They go into the grooves of the ribs, and you have to pop them out with finger without being able to see them unless you cut the chicken open like this.
7. Behind that white membrane is the neck. I usually cut it off from the other end of the bird before I get to removing the guts.
Best method to de-gut that I've found - carefully make a horizontal incission across the end of the chicken just above the vent, when chicken is lying on its back with vent facing you. Incision goes from rib to rib, and you can pull the chicken open a bit. Loosen the membranes between the ribs/body and intestines that you can get to. Then reach in with your hand, grab around the heart, and some of the lungs if you can get them, and pull everything out onto the table.
Rigor starts to set in for my chickens around 30 minutes, my whole process takes 1.5 hrs if I skin. By the time I have a clean carcass, it's stiff enough I don't want to use a shrink wrap bag yet. I put the clean, rinsed carcass whole into a large cooler of ice water for 3 days (keep the ice refreshed), then rinse, put in shrink wrap bags, shrink them, and then the freezer.
If I part them out, I'll do it once I have a clean carcass - two legs, thighs, and wings into one gallon ziplock (bone-in skinless), the breasts into another ziplock (boneless skinless), edible entrails (heart, gizzard, liver, neck, yolks) into a sandwich size ziplock. I save the bones/frame left over after meat removal for soup stock. This makes two meals for my family, one per gallon ziplock bag of meat, from one 8-10 lb CX chicken. Then I put these three bags into the fridge, on separate shelves (not stacked), so they can cool down quickly. After 3 days once rigor passes, I move them to the freezer.
With RIR cockerels around 12 weeks, you might could get an entire carcass into one gallon ziplock. Or stick it into a large metal bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge until rigor passes, it will pack more compactly after that. You don't have to remove the neck unless you want to. You could cut it to spatch cock it over the grill.
No matter how you cook, make sure the joints move freely so rigor is past prior to cooking. Low and slow cooking methods are the best. I suggest investing in a pressure cooker/canner, they're relatively inexpensive and practically guarantee tender chicken. 12 weeks should still be pretty tender, I tend to try and cook/eat birds a year old or more, so pressure cooking is a must for those birds.
