Off With Their Heads!

Warning: this post is not for those with a weak stomach! :) I'm not very good at taking pictures when we butcher chickens, because we are busy. But this year I made a special point to take some pictures so my kids will have evidence of these joyful memories when they are adults. Here they are, for your viewing pleasure, especially for those of you who have never been a part of this process.

First, the chicken is put into a jug head down, where his throat is slit and he can hang to drain the blood.

Once the blood is adequately drained, Destry dips the chickens into scalding water. . .
then he puts them into the chicken plucker that Alan built several years ago. It only takes about 30 seconds to pluck the feathers off two chickens. This is much easier for Alan than the years he plucked the chickens by hand.

After this point, the chickens go to Alan's station where he cuts off the feet and neck and removes the guts from the cavity, cleaning the inside of the chicken as well as he can.


Destry usually has the delightful job of cleaning the gizzard, which is usually full of feed and corn and other appetizing crud.
At this point, the chickens are placed in ice cold water, where they wait for Briana and I to cut them up.
I have an unusual system in dividing the chickens into different types of meals for our family. First, we cut the legs off and divide them into legs and thighs. These go into one freezer bag designated 'fryer' which we use to make fried chicken or bake in various recipes. Then we remove the wings and cut them into three pieces, one of which is discarded and the other two will become buffalo or barbecue wings. The next step is to remove boneless, skinless chicken breasts which I use in many different recipes (this is always the first cut I run out of). Finally, the breastbone and back are deposited into my big roaster pan with a lot of water to cook on a low heat. I leave a few chickens whole to bless family and friends or to bake with rice stuffing. . .yummy!
It is so rewarding to see the freezer stacked with these cuts of chicken to feed our family through the next year.
The next step involves picking the chicken meat off the bones and canning the meat and broth for chicken and noodles, dumplings, casseroles and soups. I've frozen the broth and meat before, but my preference is to can it, because it is SO convenient to pop open a jar when you have unexpected company and whip up some dumplings without waiting for the meat and broth to thaw. Kiana got involved in this step, stuffing the meat into the jars.
Look at how many meals I'll get out of all that yummy meat and broth! I love chicken--it is so versatile.
Alas, there is no picture of Easton and Kiana trashing their bedroom while we were busy butchering. They got the fish food from under the aquarium (which is a no-no in the first place!), and took it into their room where they dumped it all over their carpet and beds and were running around in it, throwing it into the air like confetti and yelling 'whooo! whooo!' I didn't know whether to cry, laugh, spank them, or run away. . . Shall I mention how hard it is to get flaky fish food out of Kiana's hair?! I knew it was awfully quiet in there, and then that telltale 'whoo' prompted me to wash my hands and go see what was going on. They always know when we are busy and distracted, don't they. After that, they had to play in the living room where I could see them or they had to help with what they could! :)