Processing chickens

[burgerusmc]

So I had my cornish crosses turn 6 weeks today and decided to go on a test run since I've never processed a chicken before, which lead me to a few questions.

1. How the hell do you guys pluck all the feathers out??! Had my water temp at 155, could pull a wing feather out with ease. Couldn't nearly get all the feathers out of the bird!

2.anyone have any detailed videos or pictures of the process? Ended up cutting everything I shouldn't have. All the videos I saw were for someone familiar with chicken anatomy.

Thanks for all the help guys. I butcher the remaining 21 in 2 weeks and am nervous about messing them up!!!

 

[slingshotandLAR]

Sounds like you did ok lol....

1. You need to scald longer maybe another minute and it will go much easier.

2. There are plenty of videos all over the web.

3. Most important, slow down. When you start cleaning go slow and have a scary sharp knife. One small cut at a time to make sure you only cut what you want. It's good you had this experience, you now know what to look for and what not to do..... The best ones will be easier

 

[IceAngel]

There is lots written about butchering chickens in BYC. Check out this thread for answers.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/22610/how-to-butcher-a-chicken

Good feather removal depends on temperature and time in the bath. Too low a temp or to short a time in the bath and feathers don't' come out easy.... too high or too long in the bath and the skin gets cooked.

I "test pluck" . After swirling the chicken around for a minute or so, I test to see how easily the body feathers come out.

There is a whole section on it here http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/grim79.html

 

[burgerusmc]

There is lots written about butchering chickens in BYC.  Check out this thread for answers.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/22610/how-to-butcher-a-chicken

Good feather removal depends on temperature and time in the bath.  Too low a temp or to short a time in the bath and feathers don't' come out easy.... too high or too long in the bath and the skin gets cooked. 

I "test pluck" .   After swirling the chicken around for a minute or so, I test to see how easily the body feathers come out.

There is a whole section on it here http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/grim79.html

Awesome thanks, I'm not too computer savvy

 

[MichaelZ13]

I go with 160-180F water and rotate the bird back and forth from 4 - 8 seconds, depend on the temp. And I do not pluck so much as "mop", sweeping the feathers off. The only feathers I "pluck" out are mostly the ones on the wings. My water is in a canner. After 4 birds the water needs to be reheated. I will get most of the feathers off and then gut, spray off, and toss into a cooler with ice and water. Then clean up the birds some more.

 

[burgerusmc]

Getting the guts out and knowing what to cut are my biggest problem right now.

 

[slingshotandLAR]

Getting the guts out and knowing what to cut are my biggest problem right now.

Ok....

Make a small slice below the breast bone above the vent. Put knife down.

Almost all the rest can be done by hand, use your hands to open up your cut enough to get your hands inside the cavity. Use your hand flat and reach all the way in using the breast bone as a guide and scoop out. Once everything is outside the bird you can very clearly see what needs to be cut or should I say detached. Only thing that's left inside will be the lungs and they can be scraped out.

This assumes you did the front side first, I remove neck as far down as I can cut it( use shears or small headge clippers) than I can cut away the crop along with windpipe ect. Again separate everything with your hands than cut.

I hope this helps

 

[slingshotandLAR]

Watch this..... This is how I learned

 

[burgerusmc]

Watch this..... This is how I learned

That's a perfect simple explanation.