chickens for meat

[petal]

I have 4 young roosters who are intended for the pot. I am competent with dispatching and plucking but not confident with the gutting bit. Has anyone any advice or pointers towards useful websites/courses?

[Suechooks]

When I do pheasants kindly donated by a shooting friend I just make sure I've a good pair of rubber gloves and then delve in the more obvious orifices and hoik out whatever I can find, give the bird a good wash under running cold water, dry with kitchen paper and straight in the freezer. Did the same many years ago with chickens and we all live to tell the tale.
If you lived nearer I'd do that bit for you if you did the dispatching for me!

[Bramble-Poultry]

when i gut out a bird, i cut AROUND the vent (dont cut into it otherwise you will contaminate the meat). cut a good 3/4" around the vent as this will give you a good sized hole to pull all the bits through.

Then i clear back the neck at the other end so that there are no connective tissues. Then, as sue puts it "hoik" (is that a technical term Sue ) out the innards from the vent end. Once you are sure you have the innards outside, put you fingers up inside again to make sure you have removed the heart and lungs and anything else clinging on inside (usually towards the spinal column)

Reserve the livers and hearts if you so wish (we just give the lot to the dogs / ferret) and then give it a good wash inside and out.

Now if you wish you can truss it up with string, which i find if i cross over the legs across the vent hole i made. i tie up the legs and then pass the string through the body bit with a needle and tie off. That wasy they stay put through cooking.

I am not worried about the wings as rarely do we actually eat them as the dog has those to clean their teeth! Whenever i am processing meat such as chickens, lamb or prok i always have helpers such as the dog rubbing around my legs hoping i will drop something for them.

There is no waste here! if i dont want it as a cut it goes into the mince / sausage pile if if its not worth that it goes to the dogs / ferret. Zero waste here!!

[Hilary B]

Seymour's original 'complete book of self-sufficiency' had a lot of weak points, but it DID include some useful pictorial guides to assorted tasks. Gutting a chicken is (I think, some time since I actually read it) one it showed quite well.

When it comes to trussing for the oven, I find a 3-way 'clover-leaf' tie about the leggs and the Parson't nose works pretty wel, but if you want a bit more the string can go between the wings and the breast, and cross the back of the bird at the neck end (a bit like a wrestling 'full nelson' hold) as well. I tend to just fold the wings so that the tips tuck 'behind' the 'shoulders' and hold the neck skin against the back (the only reason for leaving that part of the wing attached). I don't like 'sewing' thread through the bird. For one thing I've never owned a suitable needle, and for another.. well I just don't like the idea!

If it was a bit closer I'd come and show you my method (there are several approaches)

[Snadger]

I adopt the 'hoic' approach! I usually butterfly the chicken then cut the butterfly in half giving me two half chickens. (ideal for barbies!) With this approach, because you've opened the bird up fully you can give it a good hoic-ing and get every last piece of internal crud out!

[lettucegrow!]

If you can get to Thorne's poultry centre he has a talk coming up soon on the whole dispatching etc topic.Frank is very helpful and his meetings are worth going to.It's on 25/10/09.They are on Stotfold rd in Letchworth at the Stotfold end. Phone no. is 01462 675767.

[Suechooks]

I adopt the 'hoic' approach! I usually butterfly the chicken then cut the butterfly in half giving me two half chickens. (ideal for barbies!) With this approach, because you've opened the bird up fully you can give it a good hoic-ing and get every last piece of internal crud out!

Bet you have a job hoiking the innards out of a butterfly!
Jennie - Hoik is a technical term used in my late health-care profession!!