T minus 5 days till "B" day for my meatys!

[Appylover]

My dear husband could not wait to eat him so we took the plunge and ate him last night. He was rather smaller than the regular store bought bird but you could taste the differance. He had much more flavor. A little chewier but not tough per say. I will be making the plunge and buying some meaties in a larger batch soon. Will feed them out a whole lot better this time around. I was able to save the gizzard and hearts which are eaten here or stored for giblet gravy. I think when I pulled the liver out and was looking at it I busted the bile duct. So just threw it out. The gizzard was much more flavorful than the store bought and the hearts were about the same. I will have to work on the ICK factor more because even thought I knew he was well fed and happy I still had some issues eating it. My kids on the other hand had NO issues. Even my daughter who threw such a fit. I also have the same ick factor on the fresh eggs. My mother always said they were nasty and fresh meat was even nastier. So I am working off more her beliefs than my own. It will soon become old news to all of us when we want to eat chicken it will be home grown.

 

[backintime]

My dear husband could not wait to eat him so we took the plunge and ate him last night. He was rather smaller than the regular store bought bird but you could taste the differance. He had much more flavor. A little chewier but not tough per say. I will be making the plunge and buying some meaties in a larger batch soon. Will feed them out a whole lot better this time around. I was able to save the gizzard and hearts which are eaten here or stored for giblet gravy. I think when I pulled the liver out and was looking at it I busted the bile duct. So just threw it out. The gizzard was much more flavorful than the store bought and the hearts were about the same. I will have to work on the ICK factor more because even thought I knew he was well fed and happy I still had some issues eating it. My kids on the other hand had NO issues. Even my daughter who threw such a fit. I also have the same ick factor on the fresh eggs. My mother always said they were nasty and fresh meat was even nastier. So I am working off more her beliefs than my own. It will soon become old news to all of us when we want to eat chicken it will be home grown.

Appylover, regarding the "ick factor" we have a cousin who won't eat our fresh eggs. I tried to reassure him that the eggs are carefully washed and refrigerated just like storebought, but he says, "I know, I just like the part where they ride around on the truck for awhile."

 

[Appylover]

Mine is more a flavor ICK factor. Actually I hate the taste of eggs unless boiled. My mother hates eggs unless boiled also. I have to be in the mood to eat a fried egg but will eat a poached or boiled egg like candy. I do prefer boiled eggs cold though. My kids and husband like eggs in any form.
My mom absolutly REFUSES to eat my fresh eggs. Says they smell funny. She also hates any egg other than white. Really mom it's an egg. She swears brown and green eggs have a differant flavor. So when I make her eggs I tell her I used the store eggs. She does'nt know the differance once boiled up. Note up until recently I had been buying farm fresh eggs from a local lady.
I do not think I could pull the fresh chicken over on her though. It did have a noticable richer more full flavor. But we will see.

 

[TMNfarm]

Sorry I haven't posted since we butchered... I have been incredibly busy...

The day went about as well as I could have expected it to. I had everything set up ahead of time, with a large tarp on the ground, my plastic picnic table covered in freezer paper, a tub for the parts we were keeping, and a bucket for parts we were not, a tub of ice water, the turkey fryer filled with water, the plucker with a large tub underneath it to catch the feathers, several knives, vacuum bags and labels, a scale to weigh the processed birds, and the killing station... I bought a large traffic cone and cut the top off so the opening was bigger, and screwed that to a wooden bench and put a bucket underneath it... We put a canopy up over the processing table, but had to run into town quick to buy another because it started to rain and didn't look like it was going to let up. My BIL dug a deep hole to bury the parts we weren't using so the dogs and other critters couldn't get at them.

I did the first bird, and it wasn't too bad. Each of my kids wanted to take a turn, so I let them. I stood by to make sure it was done quickly, and they each did a really good job. My oldest son took over that job for most of them. My daughter (12) did the dipping, and I worked the plucker. My son's friend came with. It was his dad's plucker we borrowed, so he showed us how to use it. He was extremely helpful, as he had been butchering chickens since he was 4. He showed me how to cut them open and gut them. The plucker was not the tub type, but it was a rotating cylinder with the fingers on it. That was a bit difficult to master... My Dad did the final plucking, and Joey and I did most of the processing. They weighed out at about 5-5 1/2 pound apeice after processing. We did put one on the grill and roasted it, along with some potatoes and corn on the cob... It was a bit tough, but I think it got a little overcooked too! The rest are vacuum sealed and in the freezer. I put one in the crock pot yesterday while we were at a horse show, and it was delicious for supper last night!

Two days later, I went and bought 12 more meatys!! Here we go again!! I did order plans to make a Whizbang chicken plucker... My FIL is going to build it for me. I have blue barrels, and there are enough parts and peices of any kind of motor imaginable around my place to build anything I want... I saw a video on You Tube of one that a guy built using pieces of garden hose rather then the plucker fingers... WAY cheaper and seemed to work great! I have bunches of hoses that have been run over and ruined... Good use for them... Recycle!!! I also ordered the poultry shrink wrap bags at the same time. The vacuum bags were difficult to work with. Other than those couple of things, I really wouldn't change much about the day.

I must say, I felt much more prepared because of this site... Without everything I have learned here, it would have been quite the mess!!! Thanks BYC!!!!!!!

 

[Mingming]

Thanks for the informative thread! I'll be doing two of our roosters tomorrow with my dad's help (he's done this years ago). I'm so glad to hear about your experience!