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

[ronott1]

For those of you who use a knife and not a hatchet, What kind of knife do you guys use when you process? Hubby wants to know. And what's the best way to tell if it's sharp enough?

The knife needs to be at least three inches long

Good ones here:

http://www.chickenpickers.com/knives.html

A killing knife and a boning knife are good. You need a knife sharpener and a steel. Use the steel often and during processing. You may need to sharpen once or more depending on how many you are processing. The knife needs to be able to easily cut paper.

A good pair of poultry scissors can help.

 

[Beekissed]

For those of you who use a knife and not a hatchet, What kind of knife do you guys use when you process? Hubby wants to know. And what's the best way to tell if it's sharp enough?

I use RADA brand kitchen knives and just run them through either an electric knife sharpener or just the little hand held versions before and during processing, if need be. They need to be sharp enough to cut cleanly and quickly through a thawed, room temperature piece of chicken that has the skin on it, without sawing or bearing down hard on the chicken. That's your best test for if it will cut through your own chicken's skin and meat fibers, though store bought chicken will be considerably less tough and fibrous, it's the closest thing to it.

I use the butcher knife~natch~to cut the throat, sever the head and do the hard to cut joints, and a paring knife to do all the rest.

 

[offgridhermit]

DH and I are going to do our first run of canned chicken.... we processed 5 roosters on Sunday evening and I want to can instead of freeze so we can conserve freezer space and also because we eat a lot of meals in which I use cubed chicken anyway. We do a lot of salads with chicken, chicken salad sandwiches and Pasta Accent type meals, and it would be much quicker to have it ready to go in a can instead of having to cook and then chop it for meals.

I have read many versions of the Raw Pack method and plan to do the raw pack for our canning, I have the times and instructions but there is still one variable I am debating on....
The question I have for you experienced chicken canners on here.... do any of you add either salt or bullion to the jar before filling with the chicken?

I think I am going to add a 1/4 teaspoon of bullion to each jar before filling it with chicken, and maybe a couple with plain salt instead for comparison. Anyone have any experience in the choices?

I'm sure you've already done your canning. I've been away and didn't see your post till now.

I have cold/raw packed boneless chicken before.

Sterilize your jars and let them cool. Pack raw cubed chicken into the jars add 1/2 to 1 tsp of kosher salt.... DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID. The chicken makes it's own liquid while pressure canning.
My elevation is 6200ft and I pressure can for 90 minutes. I've done pints and quarts this way.
Sometimes I buy boneless skinless chicken breasts when there is a great sale and can it all this way. Tastes much better than store bought canned chicken.

How did your canning go? And how did you end up doing it?
Cheryl

 

[Arielle]

For those of you who use a knife and not a hatchet, What kind of knife do you guys use when you process? Hubby wants to know. And what's the best way to tell if it's sharp enough?

I use a box cutter. Invested into a large handle for safety and so changing the blades is quick as they dull quickly.


I used scapels in the past, and those dull fast and are not so easy to come by. ( I have to order them.) Box cutter was a simple substitute for the scalpel.

 

[katbriar]

I use a long blade to dispatch the birds and switch to a paring knife to process. The long blade gives me plenty of draw to make a confident killing cut. The paring knife is short enough that I can reach in tight places, control the point, apply pressure to a joint, and the handle fits my smaller hands.

To sharpen I use a hand held thing made by a company called Smith's. it has two v shaped notches side by side. You start first with one to establish the edge and then finish with the second to really make it sharp. It's easy and simple and cost me less than $10 in the outdoors section of Walmart.

I know it's sharp enough when I can put the knife blade at the edge of a piece of paper and slice the paper.

If you are processing a lot of birds sharpen after each four or five.

It doesn't have to be an expensive knife to work well. The most important things are that it's sharp and it is comfortable to use in your hand.

Of course if he's asking because he wants to give you a good birthday gift you can't beat Forschner/Victorinox or Wusthof! (My little 3 in Wusthof is my favorite knife ever!)

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Lol thanks everyone. No, it's not for a birthday gift. He just wants to know. We've only processed one bird so far but we've started breeding extra for food so we want the most efficient equipment for the job. Anyone recommend a decent plucker thar doesn't cost a fortune? That was harder than we expected last time around lol

 

[hennible]

You can build one... But maybe try by hand again, make sure your water is the right temp and soap in the water even helps with chickens.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Salt is fine and I've done boullion also...there's a good brand at Walmart that has no MSG in it and uses the same spices I use in my chicken stock, so when I don't have stock to pour over the raw packed meat, I'll use a T. of that boullion. It's just like canning the chicken in a stock base and it doesn't mask the flavor of the chicken at all, since you'll likely be eating it in a boullion based soup anyway. If not using your chicken for soup and wishing to use it in other preparations, then just use a T. of salt.

Hopefully your stuff really doesn't have MSG, but I wanted to share this just in case. MSG is often hidden under many different names, most commonly autolyzed yeast extract, or just yeast extract... and worst of all it's hidden in the blanket term spices. Companies get away with using phrases like, "no MSG added," even though it's still in the food. I'm convinced from the research that MSG is a seriously dangerous substance.

Here's just a quick anecdote and then I'll share some resources if anyone's wanting to learn more. My boyfriend got horrible migraines "randomly" throughout his life. They came on about 4-5 times a year, and caused him intense pain, bouts of vomiting, slurred speech, disrupted vision... all he could do was stay in bed for the whole day until it subsided. His father (a doctor!) had prescribed him everything on the market for migraines, and nothing seemed to work. About five years ago (when we were 22 years old), he had enough!!! and started to research like crazy. He found articles written by Dr. Russel Blaylock and learned that MSG is an excitotoxin, able to cross the blood-brain barrier and reek havoc.

My boyfriend thought back to previous migraines that he could remember, and realized he had eaten something laden with MSG or artificial nitrates (Cheetos, ramen noodles, frozen dinners, fast food, gold fish crackers, cheap bacon, store-bought sausage and bratwurst, etc.). Once we made this connection and once we realized how MSG has sneaked into so much food (listed under so many different names), we immediately cut it out of our diet. Not a dang migraine since... for about five years now! I believe that just because I never showed symptoms (as most people don't) like my boyfriend does, doesn't mean that I'm in the clear. This substance has a damaging effect on the mind and body, whether immediately or in the long term.

Here's a bite-sized article that explains the basics of MSG: http://lifespa.com/sneaky-names-for-msg-check-your-labels/
Here's a long but informative presentation:

And here's a list of ingredients that either are or contain MSG: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html

I've found that healthy, happy, home-grown meat has such a nice flavor that it shouldn't need such strong "flavors" added. Don't get me wrong, we use lots of herbs and real spices, as long as it truly has just one single ingredient or as long as every ingredient is listed out and we know for sure what each one is.

It can take time though after eating all that horrible stuff for so long to let your taste buds adjust to "real" food... it definitely took some adjusting for me but now I will never go back.

Whoa, sorry for the long schpeal. Hopefully it helps someone out!

 

[Happy Chooks]

To make a long story short... we loved it, and will be doing it again without a doubt!

We butchered 5 cockerels, we skinned them and gutted, saving the gizzard, heart and liver. We separated the legs and filleted the breast and rib meat off, then filleted the leg meat also. All bones, neck and innards were processed through the pressure cooker to make chicken balls as I've described in earlier posts.

The filleted meat totalled 10 lbs. It was cut in large chunks. We strained off a couple of the cups of broth from processing all of the bones and scraps and set it aside.
We sterilized all of the pint bottles, rings and lids and then put 1/4 tsp of a msg free chicken soup bullion into each jar. We filled the jars to just over an inch from full, but we didn't pack it tight, we filled 12 jars (probably could have done 10, but didn't want to pack it too tight on our first try)
We put about a tablespoon or two of the broth in each jar and used a butter knife to stir it in to help remove extra air from between the pieces. (this probably wasn't needed, but just another part of our 'experimenting')
We cleaned the jars and then processed them at 15 lbs for 75 minutes after they had come up to temp without the weight regulator on. We then removed the pressure cooker from the heat and let it cool down (seemed to take forever!). Once the pressure was off we opened it and it was pretty cool to see the liquid in the jars was still boiling and continued to for a long time!

All of the jars sealed (thankfully!) and were set to cool for future use.... of course we couldn't wait long though to try it... so last night we opened a jar and gave it a try... It was awesome! The bigger chunks just pulled apart without problem and it was perfect for mixing into my stir fry. Flavor was spot on for our taste and couldn't beat the convenience of opening a jar to make dinner.

DH was impressed and is already eyeing up some other roosters in the coop!

Thanks for sharing! I will have to give it a try!

 

[kada6305]

Had chicken in slip knots,,,hanging upside down...head in one hand..knife in other...put knife to throat....stopped...nope can't do this! I tried to do it 5 times! Hpw do I get over the initial cut??? ugh...back in the brooder he went...