Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[ronott1]

Thank you. Yea, anxiety SUCKS lol. I forgot to mention...I did have one emotion surface after I cut the jugular..."oh God, I hope he's not suffering". That is because I wasn't sure if I cut right...he flopped around a lot.

I posted this in a separate thread, but want to share it here in this support topic. Opinions GREATLY appreciated.

I hope I did everything right. I watched a lot of videos and read a lot of how-to's...I hope I didn't miss anything.

I chose the method of slicing the jugular. I watched different technique videos...and it seemed the fastest and best way in order to get all the blood to drain. I was originally going to just cut/chop the head off...but when I watched videos of this and the bird just ran around, decapitated...I noticed there was barely any blood loss. Where does the blood go? The way I did it, the blood just drains out. But the decapitated bird didn't "leak".

I have three extra roos (17 weeks old) and knew they would end up as dinner once I realized they were male. I was going to wait until next weekend, but two nights ago Boring Boy attacked me and bit the crap outta my hand. So he met his maker a little early.

My boys (8 and 10) were there to witness. Last night I isolated him as the rest of the flock free ranged for an hour...I read that it's a good idea to withhold food the night before. Once it got dark, I removed their food from inside the coop and returned him. This morning I retrieved him from the coop. I hung him by his feet from a tree (out of sight of the coop containing the other chickens) by a rope with a slip knot. I used the sharpest knife I had (hubby's filet knife), moved the feathers out of the way, and sliced. I think I got just the jugular...not positive though. He drained for a few seconds and then started flopping around. I didn't realize he'd do that. Or, at least, not so much. He flopped for a good 2 or 3 minutes. My boys laughed so hard...while I just thought to myself "God, I hope he's not suffering". Once the blood just dripped instead of flowed, I cut the head off.

I dipped him in the hot water and swished around till the feathers could be wiped away. The boys and I removed all the feathers and then I rinsed him with a hose. I tried to burn the "hairs" but when I cleaned him, noticed I missed a lot. I picked as many of as I could see with my fingernails, once I gutted him.

When I was finished, I put him in a roasting pan and stuck him in my fridge.

Questions: Did I not slice the neck right? Is that why he just kept flopping around???

How do I store him to "rest" in the fridge? Do I keep him in the roasting pan and just cover it up with plastic wrap? Or should I wrap him up? If so, with what?

He got stiff within minutes of slicing his jugular. He's still stiff. Is this normal????

How long should I let him "rest"? I have read so many conflicting amounts...one person said 2 days for just the right tenderness. Someone else wrote 5 days. I am so confused!

Oh, and I'm not freezing him...he's going to be dinner straight from the fridge. The other two, though (once culled), will be freezer bound. Do I have to soak them in brine and THEN freeze them? Or can I freeze them right from the fridge??


I am very proud of myself for doing it. I didn't enjoy it at all...taking a life is not something I've ever done before. Well, except for a handful of black widows and wasps LOL. But I am proud. No one thought I could go through with it. I did it though, and now that I know I am able to do it, I feel empowered...that I can provide food for my family. What a great feeling.

Resting lets the Rigor relax. You will not be aging like with beef so more than two days is not necessary. Use Alton Browns Brine recipe and let it brine for at least 6 hours.

Ziplock Freezer bags in a bowl for the resting period. Here is a pdf of information for cooking heritage breeds:




And a Pressure cooked Whole Chicken Recipe

 

[MontanaDolphin]

Resting lets the Rigor relax. You will not be aging like with beef so more than two days is not necessary. Use Alton Browns Brine recipe and let it brine for at least 6 hours.

Ziplock Freezer bags in a bowl for the resting period. Here is a pdf of information for cooking heritage breeds:




And a Pressure cooked Whole Chicken Recipe

Do use the brine while it's resting in the fridge...in other words, should I put it in brine now? And if so, can I substitute either sea salt or ice cream salt for the kosher? I don't have kosher. Will either one of those work, or both?

 

[ronott1]

Do use the brine while it's resting in the fridge...in other words, should I put it in brine now? And if so, can I substitute either sea salt or ice cream salt for the kosher? I don't have kosher. Will either one of those work, or both?

Wait a day--

Alton Brown says kosher salt works better but brining work fine with any salt.

Let us know how good it tastes!

 

[chicksooner]

Do use the brine while it's resting in the fridge...in other words, should I put it in brine now? And if so, can I substitute either sea salt or ice cream salt for the kosher? I don't have kosher. Will either one of those work, or both?

I would use the sea salt not the ice cream salt. I think Sally had hers brining for a couple days. Not a 100% sure on that but I think so.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I had them in 5 gal buckets covered with water, added the salt and sugar and didn't LOOK at them from Monday morning till thurs lunch slow cook in the brown bags, I also had older roos and YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM it so worked awesome!!

 

[Jarocal]

It took 4 days to read through this entire thread before I felt I could respond and add to the conversation is a positive manner. I grew up raised by depression era grandparents so processing an animal never occurred to me as something that people may find objectionable or have emotional issues with. That's not to say harvesting and butchering animals was the large part of my childhood as tending a garden and processing fruits/vegetables took far more of my families time. Chicken/rabbit/pig processing was always just another job to do. I have fond memories of the time spent processing chickens not because of the actual processing but because the entire extended family would be involved with even the youngest children having a chore to do. It was almost a communal affair where many birds were processed and family/friends spent time together bringing a bit of comradery to what would be a solemn and tedious chore for one or two people. A post earlier in the thread castigated Joel Salatin about Carrying on a conversation during the butchering. I do not denigrate or negate anyone's values but they would have been appalled at the conversation and joking that used to occur on processing day with my family. IMHO the conversation or joking around in the group does not lessen the respect given the animal being processed, it just further cements the familial and community bonds which used to exist at a time when families and neighbors came together as a group to accomplish tasks that would have expended a lot of energy on the part of an individual. not one of my cousins male or female cried or felt guilty about taking the life of a chicken/rabbit/pig, it was just what happened to get the food we ate. I honestly believe the disconnect from food sources allowed by commercial agriculture over the last few decades is what has allowed the feelings of guilt/trepidation to develop in a lot of people about processing their own food. When I help process 100 broilers I don't feel bad or the least bit guilty because I am among family and friends all working to achieve a goal.

 

[ronott1]

It took 4 days to read through this entire thread before I felt I could respond and add to the conversation is a positive manner. I grew up raised by depression era grandparents so processing an animal never occurred to me as something that people may find objectionable or have emotional issues with. That's not to say harvesting and butchering animals was the large part of my childhood as tending a garden and processing fruits/vegetables took far more of my families time. Chicken/rabbit/pig processing was always just another job to do. I have fond memories of the time spent processing chickens not because of the actual processing but because the entire extended family would be involved with even the youngest children having a chore to do. It was almost a communal affair where many birds were processed and family/friends spent time together bringing a bit of comradery to what would be a solemn and tedious chore for one or two people. A post earlier in the thread castigated Joel Salatin about Carrying on a conversation during the butchering. I do not denigrate or negate anyone's values but they would have been appalled at the conversation and joking that used to occur on processing day with my family. IMHO the conversation or joking around in the group does not lessen the respect given the animal being processed, it just further cements the familial and community bonds which used to exist at a time when families and neighbors came together as a group to accomplish tasks that would have expended a lot of energy on the part of an individual. not one of my cousins male or female cried or felt guilty about taking the life of a chicken/rabbit/pig, it was just what happened to get the food we ate. I honestly believe the disconnect from food sources allowed by commercial agriculture over the last few decades is what has allowed the feelings of guilt/trepidation to develop in a lot of people about processing their own food. When I help process 100 broilers I don't feel bad or the least bit guilty because I am among family and friends all working to achieve a goal.

I agree completely! Family, Work, fun and Food from that work=Americana!

 

[hillfloweranch]

It's also nice to know that since im the one handling my food I know where it's been and and clean/healthy person is handling my food.
My job causes me to rethink eating out sometimes when people come in with illnesses and then you find out they work in the food industry

 

[Elke Beck]

It took 4 days to read through this entire thread before I felt I could respond and add to the conversation is a positive manner. I grew up raised by depression era grandparents so processing an animal never occurred to me as something that people may find objectionable or have emotional issues with. That's not to say harvesting and butchering animals was the large part of my childhood as tending a garden and processing fruits/vegetables took far more of my families time. Chicken/rabbit/pig processing was always just another job to do. I have fond memories of the time spent processing chickens not because of the actual processing but because the entire extended family would be involved with even the youngest children having a chore to do. It was almost a communal affair where many birds were processed and family/friends spent time together bringing a bit of comradery to what would be a solemn and tedious chore for one or two people. A post earlier in the thread castigated Joel Salatin about Carrying on a conversation during the butchering. I do not denigrate or negate anyone's values but they would have been appalled at the conversation and joking that used to occur on processing day with my family. IMHO the conversation or joking around in the group does not lessen the respect given the animal being processed, it just further cements the familial and community bonds which used to exist at a time when families and neighbors came together as a group to accomplish tasks that would have expended a lot of energy on the part of an individual. not one of my cousins male or female cried or felt guilty about taking the life of a chicken/rabbit/pig, it was just what happened to get the food we ate. I honestly believe the disconnect from food sources allowed by commercial agriculture over the last few decades is what has allowed the feelings of guilt/trepidation to develop in a lot of people about processing their own food. When I help process 100 broilers I don't feel bad or the least bit guilty because I am among family and friends all working to achieve a goal.

I think each person comes to this on a different path. For you there is no guilt or other emotions to work through, but for others there are. It is easy to appear superior or that you look down on people when it is clear that you find something easy that others don't. I only say this because there are people on this thread for whom killing and butchering chickens is very hard, and they do not need to feel that they are defective or inferior because for them there is a great deal of emotion attached to this. In fact, I admire those who struggle and succeed more than those who find it easy because there is nobility in mastering yourself that those who find it easy will never know.

On Joel Salatin, I find him being able to hold a conversation and not even look at what he is doing irritating because it is hard for me. I have to pay attention to every step, and he makes it look simple. And I do not worship at the alter of Saint Joel. So, sue me!

 

[Jarocal]

I think each person comes to this on a different path.  For you there is no guilt or other emotions to work through, but for others there are.  It is easy to appear superior or that you look down on people when it is clear that you find something easy that others don't.  I only say this because there are people on this thread for whom killing and butchering chickens is very hard, and they do not need to feel that they are defective or inferior because for them there is a great deal of emotion attached to this.  In fact, I admire those who struggle and succeed more than those who find it easy because there is nobility in mastering yourself that those who find it easy will never know.

I don't feel superior in any way nor did I mean to denigrate anyone with my post. I agree with you on everyone coming to something through a different path. I merely expressed my own personal blinders and shortcomings with never realizing other people may have difficulty in processing an animal (beyond the technique of doing so). If I failed to clearly articulate that it was a revelation to me insomuch as I had never placed myself in another's shoes I offer my most abject and humble apologies.

On Joel Salatin, I find him being able to hold a conversation and not even look at what he is doing irritating because it is hard for me.  I have to pay attention to every step, and he makes it look simple.  And I do not worship at the alter of Saint Joel.  So, sue me! 

I don't expect you(or anyone) to "worship at the altar of saint Joel". Keep in mind when you think of that video where he is talking during processing that it is a task he has repeatedly done for decades. He didn't start at tha point it has taken thousands of repetitions over the years to develop and refine his skills with that knife. I imagine most people on this thread are wanting to process their own to give themselves and their families a better food on the table and that is commendable. Just bear in mind while your doing it that it is a skill developed over time and processing a few birds a couple times a year is not going to hone the skill set the same as processing hundreds of birds at a time repeatedly over a lifetime. That is not saying you are not going to be proficient at it, just that it is a different level needed when butchering for home use and processing because that is part of how you earn a living.