| Chicken might be an economical ingredient and, if you | | | | rinse the body with water. |
| enjoy making an oven fried chicken recipe now and | | | | Wash the organs with water and put them in a |
| then, that can only be a good thing. However, there is | | | | container. Use a paring knife and your thumb to |
| an even cheaper way to get chicken and that is to | | | | remove any quill ends or stubborn feathers. The bird |
| butcher and process your own. If you are squeamish, | | | | should now resemble one that you find in the store. |
| learning how to raise chickens might not be for you | | | | Put the chick in a gallon Ziploc bag and cover it with |
| but, if not, read on for some helpful tips for butchering | | | | water. Add a teaspoon of salt and seal the bag, |
| and processing your poultry. | | | | making sure all the air is out. The salt will pull out any |
| The first thing to do is to hang several twenty inch long | | | | blood, which remains in the chicken. You can |
| strings from a board and form slipknots at one end to | | | | refrigerate the chick and cook it within two days or |
| hang the chicks from. You will need chicks that are at | | | | freeze it for up to six months. |
| least six weeks old. Working with one chicken at a | | | | Preparing the Bird for Cooking |
| time, swing it back and forth. This calms the bird down | | | | Use your processed meat just as you would use it if |
| and tranquilizes it. Hang the chick from the slipknot. | | | | you had bought if from the store. Before you cook it, |
| Bring a big pot of water to a boil. | | | | rinse it well to remove any small bits that you might |
| Cut the head off the chick with a very sharp butcher's | | | | have missed before. Pat it dry with paper towels and |
| knife and add it to a garbage sack. Let the bird bleed | | | | put it on the cutting board with the wings spread out |
| out for five minutes. Do not worry if it twitches after | | | | and the breast facing upwards. |
| you have taken the head off - this is natural. Dip the | | | | Slide a knife from the wishbone to the cavity opening |
| bird into the boiling water for about six seconds. This | | | | and separate the meat from the ribcage. Put the meat |
| makes the feathers easier to pluck. | | | | in a clean container. Extend the wing and cut through |
| Use your thumb and fingers to pluck out the feathers | | | | the joint to separate the drumette from the wing. Do |
| and add them to the garbage sack. Cut into the lower | | | | this again at the shoulder to get the drumette off. |
| body and take out the guts. You can keep the liver, | | | | Pull the drumstick away from the bird. Press the bird at |
| gizzards, and heart for fishing bait or for cooking. Cut | | | | the hip and dislocate the joint to get the "oyster" of the |
| each leg above the joint. | | | | thigh (a very succulent cut). Keep the carcass to |
| If you are butchering more than one chicken, you | | | | make broth and use the meat to make fried chicken |
| should put the fresh meat on ice as you work on the | | | | or any other recipe you want. |
| other birds. Cut the craw out of the chick's neck and | | | | |