Butchering chickens debate

[TJAnonymous]

My DH and I are having a debate. We have butchered chickens 3 or 4 times over the past few years. Usually they are standard heavy breeds (RIR, Ameracaunas-cross) but occasionally there will be a smaller breed such as a Silkie or game hen. The first few times we would dip the bird into boiling water, pluck, and process...keeping the skin. Took FOREVER and was very messy. This last time we tried something different. I had seen a video from a homesteader who skinned the bird without plucking and pretty much only took the legs, thighs, breast, and tenderloins. They left behind the back and wings with the justification that the small amount of meat in these areas don't justify the effort.

So here's the debate. We have 8 more chickens to process. Five of them are small game hens. I will be putting them in the Instant Pot to cook and debone them, then pressure can. Rather than just taking legs, thighs, and breast, I think we should skin and gut then just put the whole bird in the pot. DH agrees with the homesteader video that the back and wings don't justify the effort.


Which perspective do you agree with and why?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I like to make stock with the carcass. Skinning completely takes longer than a proper scald. I'm guessing you have water too hot and do not dunk and swish the birds enough before plucking. If you get it right it is super fast.

Water temp at 155 F, you need a heat source, dunk swish around pull out then repeat. Keep repeating until the largest saddle or wing feather pull with little effort. Then and only then do you proceed to plucking. Maybe takes a minute per bird once it's prepped.

The merit to taking only what you'll eat is fine. I guess if you don't do soups and such just skinning enough for the meat is quick. Like you would with a partridge or quail or rabbit in the field.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Pure personal preference. Some people like the skin. Maybe it makes the carcass prettier if you roast the bird or they like eating the skin if it is prepared a certain way, say fried or grilled. Some people don't want the skin for their own reasons. You'll notice at the grocery store they sell chicken meat both skinless and with skin. My wife requested it be skinless, made my decision easy.

I find that young birds skin really easily. But the older they get the harder that becomes, especially with males. A mature hen isn't usually that hard to skin, about equivalent to a 6 month old cockerel, but a mature rooster is a real challenge to skin. Like most other things, whether plucking or skinning, your technique and experience makes a difference. It helps to have the right tools too.

Like Egghead, I want the carcass for stock. I even use the feet for that. Others just want certain parts, usually breasts and legs. not even the wings. Some people cut those off without gutting the bird or taking internal organs. Growing up on the farm Mom could feed a family with five kids on one chicken. Some of the serving pieces were gizzard, liver, back, and neck. I was glad to get some of those pieces. Now I feed the liver to the dogs and use the other pieces to make stock. Priorities change.

My perspective is that you need to use your goals, preferences, cooking methods, experiences, and such to make your decision. You don't want to use mine, they are different. And trial and error is a great teacher.

If you use the whole carcass instead of just certain parts be careful picking the meat. There are a few really small bones that are easy to miss. I don't know your recipe for the instapot but I'd strain the liquid and either use that for stock or to pressure can the meat in, whether just parts or the carcass.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I guess it's a matter of what you value more: time or the carcass of the bird.

I've only processed a handful of birds so far, and when we did ours, we were trying to keep with the mindset of as little waste as possible. I think especially since this was our first processing and we had a lot of emotions tied to it, we really were doing everything we could to be as respectful as we could to the birds. But I don't see why we won't continue that mindset moving forward. I just think less waste is good in general. But "not wasting" in my eyes can even be something as simple as feeding it to the dog or composting it. But if you value your time more than parts of the carcass, then I'd say go with the way your husband is suggesting.


But I'd also like to add: be cautious of advice from Youtube homesteaders. There are some great ones out there, but also some really bad ones. I've noticed that sometimes with certain Youtube homesteaders, the need to say something "new" or "different" to get more views (monetization), outweighs the importance of giving actual, valid advice. Not necessarily saying this is one of those cases, but just something to watch out for. I've heard YT homesteaders say some wild things before.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I like to make stock with the carcass. Skinning completely takes longer than a proper scald. I'm guessing you have water too hot and do not dunk and swish the birds enough before plucking. If you get it right it is super fast.

Water temp at 155 F, you need a heat source, dunk swish around pull out then repeat. Keep repeating until the largest saddle or wing feather pull with little effort. Then and only then do you proceed to plucking. Maybe takes a minute per bird once it's prepped.

The merit to taking only what you'll eat is fine. I guess if you don't do soups and such just skinning enough for the meat is quick. Like you would with a partridge or quail or rabbit in the field.

We boil water on a turkey fryer. DH dunks the bird and swishes it for a few seconds. The feathers come out pretty easily. It's just messy and time consuming. Our birds are usually 6 - 9 months old too so their meat is tenderized by pressure cooking it. I make shredded meat and stock from the chickens we butcher ourselves. We tend to buy leg quarters and wings from the store for grilling, fried chicken, etc. However...we have on rare occasions grilled our butchered chickens with mixed success. Some were great and some were tough. Legs, thighs, and breasts are easy. My question is the value of the "meat" beyond that... When it comes to canning chicken, is the rest of the chicken of value or just a nuisance/time suck?

 

[Sally PB]

I would use as much of the bird as I could. Giblets could go to the dog, or back to the chickens, and I'd make bone broth out of the carcass, which would include any part that don't have enough meat to be worth while.

I haven't butchered one of my birds for the table yet, but I would feel bad "wasting" any of it. I also doubt I'd be doing more than one at a time, so the time wouldn't be an issue for me.

@Ridgerunner, Thanks for the info about roosters being harder to skin. I wouldn't have guessed that. I don't know whether I'll skin or pluck (probably pluck...?), so I'll just file that fact away for future use.

Whichever way you do it is up to you, and your needs. Maybe do it both ways to see which works better for you?

 

[raingarden]

Here is my personal perspective and personal problem......

Growing our own chickens for food or to sell makes no economic sense. When it comes time to butcher or sell we have already spent more for feed than the bird is worth. The effort that goes into processing or selling only compounds the problem. Butchering is nothing more than a failed attempt to justify keeping chickens.

The truth of the matter is, I like breeding chickens, hatching chickens, keeping chickens and building chicken pens. I wish they didn't live so long so I could bring on some new ones. I wish I could just knock them in the head and put them in the dumpster so I can bring on some new ones. I wish I could break this addiction and move on to another hobby. Woe is me.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I would use as much of the bird as I could. Giblets could go to the dog, or back to the chickens, and I'd make bone broth out of the carcass, which would include any part that don't have enough meat to be worth while.

I haven't butchered one of my birds for the table yet, but I would feel bad "wasting" any of it. I also doubt I'd be doing more than one at a time, so the time wouldn't be an issue for me.

@Ridgerunner, Thanks for the info about roosters being harder to skin. I wouldn't have guessed that. I don't know whether I'll skin or pluck (probably pluck...?), so I'll just file that fact away for future use.

Whichever way you do it is up to you, and your needs. Maybe do it both ways to see which works better for you?

I don't like to waste either... I guess that's why I wanted to use the whole carcass (minus skin and organs) to make shredded chicken meat for canning and stock. However, DH doesn't feel that way.

I see throwing out the main carcass (minus the legs, thighs, breast, and tenderloins which have been removed) as a waste.

DH sees the time and effort required to prep the whole bird (plucking and/or gutting) as a waste of time for what "little" is actually gained.

I guess it all comes down to preferences. I am not sure how we will find a happy medium.

 

[aart]

Rather than just taking legs, thighs, and breast, I think we should skin and gut then just put the whole bird in the pot.

I've done this a few times, when I only had one or two to do and didn't feel like hauling out the scalding equipment.
Up to you, if you want stock/broth you'll want the bones.

 

[Molpet]

Depends on freezer space.
I have a bunch of backs and such for stock. So right now I just harvest the legs and breasts