I think I finally have everything related to Saturday’s chicken butchering cleaned up and put away. I will not lie to you…it is a lot of work, but well worth it. This is how the day progressed:
7:00 AM – Mr. heads out to string up the first 10. We have found (through our wealth of experience – HA, all two times) that the best way to kill a chicken is to hang it upside down by its feet and then cut its head off. This eliminates the whole headless chicken running around terrorizing the neighborhood. Could you imagine?!?! Let them hang for several minutes so that they bleed out.
7:30 AM – The plucking begins. We set up a propane turkey fryer and my large pressure cooker filled with water to scald the birds before plucking. The heat releases the feathers and makes plucking much easier. Trust me, it works. The first time we butchered chickens we didn't scald them. I found Mr. sitting at the counter in our kitchen with a pair of needle nose pliers trying to pluck a chicken.
The water needs to be very hot. They just need a quick dip. The best thing to do is to start plucking the feathers around the neck first. This allows the skin around the legs more time to cool so that you don’t rip the skin while you pluck those feathers.
We iced them down in a cooler while they awaited the final cleaning and bagging in the kitchen.
9:30 AM – First 10 are complete. We stop for breakfast…I know, how could we possibly eat after that? It’s a lot of work, but it’s really not that bad.
10:30 AM – Mr. heads out to string up the next 8. The water must have been the perfect temperature with this batch because the feathers came out with little effort.
11:30 AM – Mr. heads out to string up the last 7.
12:45 PM – Final cleaning continues in the kitchen and the cleanup outside commences.
2:00 PM – Everything outside is cleaned up and drying in the sun. All chickens have been cleaned thoroughly inside, have been bagged and are in the freezer.
6:00 PM – Dinner. And what do you eat on chicken butchering day? Only the freshest fried chicken you’ve ever had. Add some mashed potatoes with chicken gravy, corn from our garden and iced tea and you have the best, freshest comfort food you could imagine.
7:00 AM – Mr. heads out to string up the first 10. We have found (through our wealth of experience – HA, all two times) that the best way to kill a chicken is to hang it upside down by its feet and then cut its head off. This eliminates the whole headless chicken running around terrorizing the neighborhood. Could you imagine?!?! Let them hang for several minutes so that they bleed out.
7:30 AM – The plucking begins. We set up a propane turkey fryer and my large pressure cooker filled with water to scald the birds before plucking. The heat releases the feathers and makes plucking much easier. Trust me, it works. The first time we butchered chickens we didn't scald them. I found Mr. sitting at the counter in our kitchen with a pair of needle nose pliers trying to pluck a chicken.
The water needs to be very hot. They just need a quick dip. The best thing to do is to start plucking the feathers around the neck first. This allows the skin around the legs more time to cool so that you don’t rip the skin while you pluck those feathers.
We iced them down in a cooler while they awaited the final cleaning and bagging in the kitchen.
9:30 AM – First 10 are complete. We stop for breakfast…I know, how could we possibly eat after that? It’s a lot of work, but it’s really not that bad.
10:30 AM – Mr. heads out to string up the next 8. The water must have been the perfect temperature with this batch because the feathers came out with little effort.
11:30 AM – Mr. heads out to string up the last 7.
12:45 PM – Final cleaning continues in the kitchen and the cleanup outside commences.
2:00 PM – Everything outside is cleaned up and drying in the sun. All chickens have been cleaned thoroughly inside, have been bagged and are in the freezer.
6:00 PM – Dinner. And what do you eat on chicken butchering day? Only the freshest fried chicken you’ve ever had. Add some mashed potatoes with chicken gravy, corn from our garden and iced tea and you have the best, freshest comfort food you could imagine.
Wow! I am impressed!
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