Solo Processing

[ItsChicky]

Good Morning!

I've been processing my excess cockerels myself all year (100s), but I have a rather large amount (16) that i'd like to get done TODAY if possible. My usual process for solo processing is about this:

-Dispatch 3-4 birds
-Skin
-Then part out without gutting
-Into the ice bath
-Repeat

The hard part for me during this type of flow is the "repeat" for whatever reason. I end up dragging my feet to restart the dispatching process. I find myself "taking a break", finding other stuff to do, etc.

My big question is, what is the maximum "hang time" after dispatching? I feel like i'd be a lot faster and more efficient if I could dispatch half or all of them before I have to do any skinning or parting out. It'll be below freezing where I am while I process today, if that matters at all. Any other tips for solo processing to motivate me? Thank you!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Just curious... do you remove the breast meat from the bone (and carcass) while still intact, and just toss out the carcass along with the guts? I never thought of doing it that way - what an idea! But then I like to keep the heart, liver and gizzard, so I'd lose that, but it sure would be much quicker. Sorry I don't have an answer to your question, though.

 

[ItsChicky]

Just curious... do you remove the breast meat from the bone (and carcass) while still intact, and just toss out the carcass along with the guts? I never thought of doing it that way - what an idea! But then I like to keep the heart, liver and gizzard, so I'd lose that, but it sure would be much quicker. Sorry I don't have an answer to your question, though.

Yes!

So I process birds differently depending on breed, final cooking goal, and if I have help or not on that particular day.

I focus on dual-purpose poultry, with an emphasis on improving the "table qualities" of the birds I work with. Currently, I have a bunch of cockerels from my late summer/fall test hatches of various breeds and crosses. Not all of my "tests" made the cut for what I'm looking to breed and raise next year, so a good chunk of these cockerels are much smaller than i'd like. Because of this, I prefer to minimize my processing time and just harvest the biggest pieces of meat while sacrificing the skin, organs, and bones. So i'll cut off the neck, last wing joints, and feet. Cut along the breast bone, pull out the limbs/shoulders, and then skin in one pull (usually just a few tail feathers are left). From there I like to use water (hose or bucket depending on time of year) to give them a rinse and move them to a separate table. Then I'll use a different set of tools to cut the thighs, "mini wings", and breast/rib meat off of the carcass. Organs stay inside. I still get a fantastic yield from the birds, it saves space in the freezer, and my family is very happy with the end result!

I have heard of ducks having their breast meat and thighs removed without fully skinning the carcass or gutting. I'm not sure if that can be done with chickens, I personally haven't tried, but that could potentially be an additional time saver. If anyone has more info on this method for chickens or waterfowl, please feel free to correct me or share more!

Typically, when I'm processing true dual-purpose cockerels, we process more classically. I'll take the time to properly hand pluck the biggest birds, or skin them if i'm processing the smaller ones on my own. Everything gets properly gutted and usable organs saved. Most of the time, we leave these birds whole since they look great roasted. The ones that we skin, we freeze whole, and then stick in the instant pot frozen to cook. It always comes out "fall off the bone" style, so those are great for making soup, stir fry, or really anything else where I need a bunch of skinless chicken meat. We freeze the cooked bones and carcasses until I need to make stock or broth.

We raise our cockerels in chicken tractors on pasture with unlimited access to a custom feed I mix (based off of the Niche Poultry Feeding and Management book by Jeff Mattocks). Even when they get their feed removed the night before, they're usually all happy sunbathing or hunting for bugs right up until their final moments. I don't think I can ever go back to store bought meat, or even Cornish crosses!

 

[ItsChicky]

I spent the morning waiting for it to warm up (to a balmy 18F ), and read about wild duck hunting and processing while I waited. Based off of my limited education from a brief google search, I've decided to try to dispatch more chickens at a time and see how that goes. I'll share the results later on today!

(I'll be dreaming of plucking machines and plumbed processing rooms while I work!)

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I don't think I could handle processing at such cold temperatures!!! I'd at least put some supplemental heat into a garage or shed or something, and bring the dispatched birds in there to finish. But I'm a wuss, I know.

 

[ItsChicky]

This was the fastest/easiest solo processing i've done so far!

Dispatched 14 birds in 50 minutes.
Took an hour break to warm up inside while I prepped the water buckets and cooler.
A total of 90 minutes to part out the birds and clean up.

The meat was cold when I worked with it and there were no bad odors. I ended up deciding to try parting them out without fully skinning them. I removed the legs, made an incision in the skin on the keel bone, and then pulled out the two thighs. I then used a different knife to remove the breast meat and thighs. Carcass (including feathers and organs) went into the wheelbarrow. The meat was rinsed in buckets and then went right into an ice bath. Everything fit easily into one cooler, with plenty of space to spare.

Overall I thought this flowed a lot nicer than doing multiple small batches in a day. Definitely the cold temp played a big part in my ability to do it this way. I'll try to repeat this method a few more times before spring. (Fingers crossed for a plucking machine by then!)

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I use one of these for plucking, about $45.

I use it with my variable speed drill, and strap the drill to a sawhorse with ratchet straps. Then I tie a piece of rope/etc. around the trigger, and set it for the speed I want. I tie the plug and extension cord to the sawhorse, too - so that's my on/off switch. Takes about a minute to fully pluck a chicken. Best investment ever.

 

[Major_in_MS]

The ones that we skin, we freeze whole, and then stick in the instant pot frozen to cook. It always comes out "fall off the bone" style, so those are great for making soup, stir fry, or really anything else where I need a bunch of skinless chicken meat.

Hmmm, frozen? Is the insta pot being used as an air fryer or pressure cooker? How long do you cook it? I'm gonna have to try that in my Ninja Foodi.

(Fingers crossed for a plucking machine by then!)

I bought my plucker at Home Depot for around $489 or so. And I love this "Fish Cleaning Table" that I bought on Amazon.