do you fast your birds? Why? Why not?
I don't. That's the way I grew up. On the farm Mom would tell me to get her a chicken. I'd get one, gut it and pluck it, and give it to her. Usually I had little or no warning that she was going to want one so no time for fasting. When hunters harvest animals, fowl or other, there is no fasting. You take them as you get them.
Fasting does reduce the amount of stuff in their digestive system which makes it nicer when you accidentally cut part of it. Fasting does not get rid of the bacteria that lives in their digestive system. If you get separation you still need to rinse the meat off. While fasting may make it nicer for you, I don't see it as necessary.
I believe my husband will be lopping their heads off in hopes that it's the quickest death possible (this is for my benefit, not his). What tools are recommended for this and do you think the cone is the best way to stabilize them prior to the lopping?
You can get a lot of different opinions on this. My opinion is whichever way you can do it is the best. You don't want to flinch or close your eyes at the wrong time, that could result in injury to yourself and not result in a clean kill. Te result is what is important to me, not the method.
I grew up using an ax and stump so that's the method I'm comfortable with. When I got old I switched to a hatchet, they are easier to handle than an ax. There are some secrets to this. I drive two large nails in at an angle to form a Vee to hold the head stable when I gently stretch it. And I cut into the grain of the wood, not across the grain. The hatchet head sinks in better and you get a better cut. If you cut across the grain the head may bounce back. I don't recommend this method if you are not comfortable you can do it and hit the target.
A lot of people use a cone or a broomstick. Other methods too. I don't so I'll let them talk about that.
After all this is done they need to rest in the fridge for 3 days? If there's not enough room in the fridge can they be kept iced down in coolers?
Again you can get different opinions on aging them. The goal is to let rigor mortis pass while keeping them cool enough so that bacteria cannot grow. Again the method is not that critical. You can do that in a refrigerator or an ice chest. Some people keep them in water, some keep them dry while doing this.
If you plan to cut them apart, do you do that before or after the rest or does it not matter?
I cut them apart as I butcher them. When I butcher a bird I keep two buckets handy, one for what gets buried and one for what gets fed back to the rest of the flock. I skin instead of pluck. I save the liver separately for the dogs. I save the heart, gizzard, neck, back, wings, and feet to make broth. When I cook it I cook it in pieces, not the whole carcass. From how I use all the parts of the carcass it is easier for me to cut it up as butcher, but it slows me down. There is nothing wrong with cutting it up after it has aged, nothing at all. Which is easier for you?
Wet brine, dry brine or no brine before packing?
I don't brine mine at all. I'll go through the three parts. Aging is where you let rigor mortis pass as mentioned above.
Brining is where you use salt to add some flavor but the big thing is that it helps the meat retain moisture. If you cook it a dry method, say grilling or roasting, that extra moisture can help. I use a wet cooking method, typically baking or crock pot, so the moisture isn't important. I don't know how much moisturizing you gain by dry brining. To me the big advantage of brining is the moisture retention. You can usually add salt later, depending on how you cook it.
Marinating is when you use something like wine, vinegar, or even beer to break down some of the tissue. This is typically done just before you cook it and you can add a lot of different flavors in the marinade so it has two purposes. The stronger the solution and the longer it soaks the more the tissue will break down. This is most useful on older birds that have more texture. It is an important part of Coq au Vin, which is how you make a gourmet meal out of an old tough rooster. If you leave a young tender bird in it too long it can become mushy.
Would you recommend vacuum packing them or using shrink bags?
Both work tremendously well. How are you set up for either? I use vacuum packing for many things but I generally double wrap the meat in freezer paper. You want an airtight seal, what is the easiest way for you to achieve that? I try to not let the pursuit of perfection get in the way of plenty good enough. For some people vacuum packing is perfection, for others it's shrink bags.
One problem I have is that sharp bones can puncture whatever you wrap them in. That's part of why I double wrap in freezer paper. That can happen when I'm packaging them but usually it's when I am pawing through the freezer searching for something. Be a little gentle when you are doing that.
As far as I'm concerned there is no one method for any of these that is perfect for everyone that butchers a chicken. There are lots of different ways that can work. What is easiest for you?
Good luck!
