What is your processing essential??

furbabymum

Songster
7 Years
May 6, 2012
1,336
79
188
Burns, Wyoming
So we are doing our mass processing this Sunday. We have all the musts. Sharp knife, rope for hanging, scalding pot, plucker (necessary imo when you are doing tons!) and shrink bags. I figure the rest of what we have lined out isn't necessary. We are going to be doing it all outside on a card table. We are having a "party" and so it'll be kind of like a processing line. I figure we should cover the table with plastic for cleanliness. Have tons of paper towels on hand along with Clorox wipes for clean up. Gloves. Buckets for yuck. A hose handy. Lastly, pliars, for those hard to pluck feathers.

What do you keep?
 
A bucket on warm soapy water with Clorox, a rag, real towels, not paper towels, You need to clean the knives now and than, a good sharpening steel,
I use 3 buckets of soapy water with bleach, one at the killing cone to wash my hands, (They tend to get muddy, and bloody.) one for the table and knives, and one to clean my hands at the eviscerating station. (I know, probably over kill, but I want to make sure I have the cleanest meat, I can.)
You will need a water hose for spraying off the birds after they have been finished before placing them in the ice bath, and also for spraying the birds in the plucker.
 
If possible I like an outside sink, or at least a table with a washable surface and a faucet or nozzle for some higher pressure water in an area that drains well so it doesn't turn into a mud pit.

A meat thermometer or other device to check water temperature.
I like using a turkey fryer to keep the water hot.

Having a plucker will eliminate lots of the issues with pulling feathers. You'll need one hose just for the plucker.
I use a 3 or 4 way splitter for the hoses.
 
All the items already listed are great. We do our processing in my garage and have a few stations set up. We line the floor and walls with painters plastic as well as the plastic type buffet table we use for plucking and gutting. We have many 5 gallon buckets handy. The first 3 lined with a garbage bag, One for draining blood, one for feathers and one for guts. Then I keep a hand washing bucket by the kill station and 5 gallon water bucket at the plucking station to rinse feathers off and another 5 gallon water bucket at the gutting station to rinse clean before they go into the ice bath. We keep a few knives on hand at each station as well as scissors(for chickens) for cutting off heads and legs. A knife sharpener is a must, we sharpen the knives every 3 birds or so.

A thermometer is a must to keep the scalding water the right temp, If your using a turkey fryer make sure it has propane lol. We also make sure to have on hand plastic gloves(I don't use them lol its easier to go bare handed) lots of paper towels. Cant forget the storage bags. And for clean up Clorox wipes and bleach.

If you have helpers for the day another must is to provide favorite food and beverages. This last time we had beer and beef stew yum.
 
A bucket on warm soapy water with Clorox, a rag, real towels, not paper towels, You need to clean the knives now and than, a good sharpening steel,
I use 3 buckets of soapy water with bleach, one at the killing cone to wash my hands, (They tend to get muddy, and bloody.) one for the table and knives, and one to clean my hands at the eviscerating station. (I know, probably over kill, but I want to make sure I have the cleanest meat, I can.)
You will need a water hose for spraying off the birds after they have been finished before placing them in the ice bath, and also for spraying the birds in the plucker.
The cleaning buckets are brilliant! Thanks!!!
 
All the items already listed are great. We do our processing in my garage and have a few stations set up. We line the floor and walls with painters plastic as well as the plastic type buffet table we use for plucking and gutting. We have many 5 gallon buckets handy. The first 3 lined with a garbage bag, One for draining blood, one for feathers and one for guts. Then I keep a hand washing bucket by the kill station and 5 gallon water bucket at the plucking station to rinse feathers off and another 5 gallon water bucket at the gutting station to rinse clean before they go into the ice bath. We keep a few knives on hand at each station as well as scissors(for chickens) for cutting off heads and legs. A knife sharpener is a must, we sharpen the knives every 3 birds or so.

A thermometer is a must to keep the scalding water the right temp, If your using a turkey fryer make sure it has propane lol. We also make sure to have on hand plastic gloves(I don't use them lol its easier to go bare handed) lots of paper towels. Cant forget the storage bags. And for clean up Clorox wipes and bleach.

If you have helpers for the day another must is to provide favorite food and beverages. This last time we had beer and beef stew yum.
Hmm. Covering the floor could be good. I think we are bleeding them out in our leanto but we will be processing them in the garage so I'll get some plastic!
 

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