Wanting to process my own Hens

[JKeiser]

Hello all,

I have come to the realization that the majority of my chickens are closing in on the big 4. I am thinking of butchering a few for a few reasons: A. They don't lay nearly as much as when they were younger B. I want to continue with the idea of " knowing and appreciating where your food comes from." Can someone please explain to me how this could be done??? Also, what are they best ways of serving senior hens?? I was thinking a stew or roast of some sort?? I have been in the " poultry business" since I was about 14 years old. Now broaching 18, I have the strong mindset that I want to continue animal husbandry well into the future.


Thanks a bunch,


JK

 

[Judy]

Check out the stickies at the top of the Meat Birds forum, in the blue bar. Several excellent links about processing, plus an excellent article about cooking older chickens ("Rediscovering traditional Meats.") Briefly, you will want to cook them "low and slow," crock pot or low simmer for several hours, for example. The broth will be excellent.

 

[bobbi-j]

We pressure-can our older birds. You would need a pressure canner, quart or pint jars with lids and rings. I have the Ball Blue Book of Canning and Preserving (or some such thing) and it has excellent directions on how to can meat. We love canned chicken here. We use it in soup, stew, hot dish, chicken salad and chicken sandwiches. Canning tenderizes the meat very nicely. It's fairly labor-intensive, so I don't know if it would be worth it for just a few birds, but if you have a dozen or more, I would say it's well worth your time. It was a sad day when we ran out of canned chicken here. I have to wait until butchering time to get some more...