9 Step Guide to Butchering a Chicken
- 6 years ago
https://www.tngun.com/9-step-guide-to-chicken-butchering/
I never did any chicken butchering before, heck before last year I never OWNED a live chicken before. When I mentioned that I wanted to butcher my own chickens my mom asked me why I wanted to do such a thing.
I guess she remembered me throwing up at first grade when they made me pull out pumpkin guts when we were cutting up Jack O’ Lanterns as an art project.
I guess a seven year old can afford a little squeamishness, but as an adult, I feel that I need to take some responsibility for what I eat. If I raise them, and I butcher them, then I can ensure that they are treated humanely and with respect.
I feel that when God gave man dominion over the earth, he wanted us to be stewards of it and not just takers.
Knowing that the piece of fried chicken used to come running when it saw me with the grain bucket makes it a little harder be wasteful.
So without any more ranting here are the 9 steps to butchering a chicken:
Preparation
Remove The Feet
Pull off the Head
Loosen The Crop
Remove The Neck
Remove The Oil Gland
Open The Rear
Remove The Viscera
Clean Up & Chill
Step One – Preparation
You really don’t need a lot to butcher chickens, but you need access to running water, a decent workspace, a cooler with ice water to cool your birds, a gut bucket for offal, a pot and lid edible organs your going to keep, and most importantly a sharp knife.
The sharper your knife the easier this will be, you may want to buy a butcher steel or other knife sharpener and resharpen your knife every 15 or 20 birds.
Step 2 – Remove the Feet
It always best to give a quick rinse to your plucked bird just to start off right, and while your doing that its best to look for any remaining pin feathers.
Next lay the bird on its back. Grab a foot and bend down to put pressure on the joint. Slice the joint, but know that there is no need to apply a lot of force. If you saw gently a sharp knife while bending back on the foot, all will find this is pretty easy.
Most people throw the feet away, but in some countries fried chicken feet are a popular treat, you can also make a flavorful soup base with the feet.
Step 3 – Pull off the Head
Just as the title says pull off the head. It’s not hard, but if you’re squeamish nobody will laugh at you if you use a knife.
To use a knife, just slice into the neck just under the head. There are bones in the neck and you will meet a little resistance, but it is not more than a sharp knife can handle.
Step 4 – Remove the Crop
It’s generally considered best practice to not feed your bird 24 hours before slaughter, this not only reduces fecal content, but it also keeps the crop empty of food. Some people disregard this practice as they believe food in the crop makes it easier to find. Personally, I would rather go with the 24 hour fast, but can see the benefit of feeding the chicken once or twice just to learn where everything is.
The crop is a dig
I never did any chicken butchering before, heck before last year I never OWNED a live chicken before. When I mentioned that I wanted to butcher my own chickens my mom asked me why I wanted to do such a thing.
I guess she remembered me throwing up at first grade when they made me pull out pumpkin guts when we were cutting up Jack O’ Lanterns as an art project.
I guess a seven year old can afford a little squeamishness, but as an adult, I feel that I need to take some responsibility for what I eat. If I raise them, and I butcher them, then I can ensure that they are treated humanely and with respect.
I feel that when God gave man dominion over the earth, he wanted us to be stewards of it and not just takers.
Knowing that the piece of fried chicken used to come running when it saw me with the grain bucket makes it a little harder be wasteful.
So without any more ranting here are the 9 steps to butchering a chicken:
Preparation
Remove The Feet
Pull off the Head
Loosen The Crop
Remove The Neck
Remove The Oil Gland
Open The Rear
Remove The Viscera
Clean Up & Chill
Step One – Preparation
You really don’t need a lot to butcher chickens, but you need access to running water, a decent workspace, a cooler with ice water to cool your birds, a gut bucket for offal, a pot and lid edible organs your going to keep, and most importantly a sharp knife.
The sharper your knife the easier this will be, you may want to buy a butcher steel or other knife sharpener and resharpen your knife every 15 or 20 birds.
Step 2 – Remove the Feet
It always best to give a quick rinse to your plucked bird just to start off right, and while your doing that its best to look for any remaining pin feathers.
Next lay the bird on its back. Grab a foot and bend down to put pressure on the joint. Slice the joint, but know that there is no need to apply a lot of force. If you saw gently a sharp knife while bending back on the foot, all will find this is pretty easy.
Most people throw the feet away, but in some countries fried chicken feet are a popular treat, you can also make a flavorful soup base with the feet.
Step 3 – Pull off the Head
Just as the title says pull off the head. It’s not hard, but if you’re squeamish nobody will laugh at you if you use a knife.
To use a knife, just slice into the neck just under the head. There are bones in the neck and you will meet a little resistance, but it is not more than a sharp knife can handle.
Step 4 – Remove the Crop
It’s generally considered best practice to not feed your bird 24 hours before slaughter, this not only reduces fecal content, but it also keeps the crop empty of food. Some people disregard this practice as they believe food in the crop makes it easier to find. Personally, I would rather go with the 24 hour fast, but can see the benefit of feeding the chicken once or twice just to learn where everything is.
The crop is a dig