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

[Arielle]

Thanks for posting-- my cornish x girls might be just dinner afterall. Based on the amount of fat inside one that I butcher recently, I am concerned that an egg cannot pass thru the body to be laid. Thank you for the heads up that my idea may not fly.

Great information you collected from these trials.

 

[katbriar]

I've posted this in another meat bird thread, but does anyone have advice on what temperature the scalding water should be at higher elevations? I used to scald at 150 degrees when I was close to sea level, but that didn't seem to work well now that I've moved to 7,000 feet.

I managed to get through processing 8 birds this fall, but would like to raise 50 or so this spring. I can't imagine doing it if I have as many struggles as I did this year!

 

[ronott1]

I've posted this in another meat bird thread, but does anyone have advice on what temperature the scalding water should be at higher elevations? I used to scald at 150 degrees when I was close to sea level, but that didn't seem to work well now that I've moved to 7,000 feet.

I managed to get through processing 8 birds this fall, but would like to raise 50 or so this spring. I can't imagine doing it if I have as many struggles as I did this year!

Based on the temperature change for boiling, I would try 162 Degrees.

 

[ronott1]

I cooked one of the Pita Pinta cockerels--This one was about 20 weeks old. He was very meaty. The dressed weight was 3# 12 oz. My Middle Daughter said that he had a lot of Breast meat. He was the meatiest at that age so far.

I oven roasted in a convection oven at 340(oven cuts the temp to 315). It took 1.5 hours to cook.

Very Tasty!

 

[Beekissed]

Put up 20 qts of older DP chickens and stock in the jar yesterday and was incredibly pleased to note that, since feeding the flock all year on fermented feeds, the smell of the cooking stock and the flavor of the meat lacked that particular odor and flavor that accompanies an older stewing hen...a gamey, barnyard smell/flavor..that I had been raised up on and have always known as the taste of "real" chickens, not the baby CX from the store. Not that I minded it too awful much, it was just another flavor of chicken as opposed to the flavor of the young meat birds, which is a little bland for my taste.

This meat was so incredibly flavorful that I was shocked and the cooking smell was just mild and aromatic~no gamey flavor or odor at all. I'm old and I've eaten hundreds of home grown chickens in my lifetime and I can honestly say that this is the best tasting chicken I've ever had in my life. I'm wondering if this is what the Bresse chickens are like in their native land, raised on free range and finished out on buttermilk...if so, then I finally know what they are raving on about and can full well see why folks pay so much for one in the store.

The fat was so buttery smooth that I am freezing it combined with stock in ice cube trays to use for cooking things like stir fry, gravy, etc. After freezing it, I will keep the cubes in freezer bags and just take out what I need in those individual cubes.

I knew it had made the eggs mild and sweet in flavor, without one hint of sulfur or eggy smell or taste, but I had no idea what it could do for an old hen...this fermented feed is like some kind of super food. I had used it initially with CX and the flavor of the meat was very good, but not anything like the flavor in these older hens and roosters I canned yesterday.

 

[3 NH reds]

Put up 20 qts of older DP chickens and stock in the jar yesterday and was incredibly pleased to note that, since feeding the flock all year on fermented feeds, the smell of the cooking stock and the flavor of the meat lacked that particular odor and flavor that accompanies an older stewing hen...a gamey, barnyard smell/flavor..that I had been raised up on and have always known as the taste of "real" chickens, not the baby CX from the store. Not that I minded it too awful much, it was just another flavor of chicken as opposed to the flavor of the young meat birds, which is a little bland for my taste.

This meat was so incredibly flavorful that I was shocked and the cooking smell was just mild and aromatic~no gamey flavor or odor at all. I'm old and I've eaten hundreds of home grown chickens in my lifetime and I can honestly say that this is the best tasting chicken I've ever had in my life. I'm wondering if this is what the Bresse chickens are like in their native land, raised on free range and finished out on buttermilk...if so, then I finally know what they are raving on about and can full well see why folks pay so much for one in the store.

The fat was so buttery smooth that I am freezing it combined with stock in ice cube trays to use for cooking things like stir fry, gravy, etc. After freezing it, I will keep the cubes in freezer bags and just take out what I need in those individual cubes.

I knew it had made the eggs mild and sweet in flavor, without one hint of sulfur or eggy smell or taste, but I had no idea what it could do for an old hen...this fermented feed is like some kind of super food. I had used it initially with CX and the flavor of the meat was very good, but not anything like the flavor in these older hens and roosters I canned yesterday.

Do you cook before you can the meat? I was thinking of starting to can but I haven't got around to buying the canning book.

 

[Beekissed]

No, the meat is cold packed, meaning it is placed in the jar raw. If you cook the meats before canning and then pressure can, you generally wind up with some pale, mushy meats, so most people normally cold pack meats to avoid that quality.

Now, the bones, giblets and odd bits and pieces of carcass are cooked down to produce a stock the night before, which is strained and chilled in the fridge to get the fat to rise to the top. The fat is then skimmed off to leave a beautiful amber stock which can either be poured over the raw meats in the jar prior to canning or canned up separately. The meats, left to their own in the jar, would produce their own juice anyway but usually not enough to cover all the meat in the jar, so for chicken most folks will add some stock to the jar to augment the meat's natural juices. The stock also cooks in the salt and flavorings into the chicken during the process, so the meat is fully seasoned and ready for use when removed from the jar.

Deer meat is usually cold packed without any additional stock or water as it has more blood than chicken, and so will produce it's own broth that covers most of the meat in the jar. It is usually canned with just a teaspoon of salt, but some add additional flavoring like onion or garlic to the jar prior to canning.

I pick the bones I used in the stock and incorporate those meats into the stock itself so that none is wasted, so my stock is not often all clear, strained stock in the jar. It's less pretty but I feel it's more flavorful with the meat and spices left in during the canning process.

The bird goes from this....



To this......a more versatile version of older chickens. The long stewing process is over, the meat is fully tenderized and seasoned and one need only open the jar and use it for a variety of dishes. I debone mine before placing in the jar, so it's ready for use as is. In the jars of the front row below, the one on the far right is deer meat, the two next to it are chicken and stock and then the other two are stock with the seasonings and meat picked off the bones and giblets.

 

[fisherlady]

Looks good Beekissed! I haven't been canning much the last few years due to working schedules and it just being DH and I at home now, but lately have been trying more experiments/recipes to use left over meats and to make use of the DP birds for more than just soup stock... so looks like I may be following your lead with canning some of the birds instead of freezing.


Question for those with experience processing Silkie type birds... I have a Silkie mix roo who may be processed in the future (attitude will be determining factor). Is it harder, easier or the same for plucking since the feathers are a bit different on them? Any tips or tricks to dealing with Silkie feathers I should be warned about ahead of time?

 

[jajeanpierre]

Looks good Beekissed! I haven't been canning much the last few years due to working schedules and it just being DH and I at home now, but lately have been trying more experiments/recipes to use left over meats and to make use of the DP birds for more than just soup stock... so looks like I may be following your lead with canning some of the birds instead of freezing.


Question for those with experience processing Silkie type birds... I have a Silkie mix roo who may be processed in the future (attitude will be determining factor). Is it harder, easier or the same for plucking since the feathers are a bit different on them? Any tips or tricks to dealing with Silkie feathers I should be warned about ahead of time?

I just skinned mine. The skin is black which many people would find unappetizing.

 

[pipemum]

I skinned mine (a tiny polish/silkie mix) too. It just seemed easier--he was too small to deal with plucking. His meat was black/greyish too, so as far as the skin being unappealing...it didn't really matter!