Since we had the poultry processing equipment to do the Thanksgiving turkeys, we decided to process a few chickens also. Our first flock of chickens are now 3 years old, which is pushing the useful life of an egg chicken, plus we prefer to not buy chicken from the store unless absolutely necessary.
So, i cranked up the scalder again and we did 7 chickens by noon. These birds are noticeably smaller and differently shaped than the factory created chickens, but the flavor and nutrition is worlds better. Since these birds are a tad older, we will cook them a bit slower and longer. The cast iron dutch oven does wonders for this situation.
The next processing will probably be the week before Christmas, when we do some more turkeys and chickens.
Follow along our adventure as we make the transition from corporate city life to the world of natural farming. Each day brings a new experience and brings us to a deeper understanding about the life and spirit that made America great. At our farm we do our best to give the animals we raise a natural, free, happy, stressfree lifestyle. Our mission is to learn and share how to manage a farming operation that is both profitable and humane.
UPDATE: we weighed the chickens today (after aging for a day). the results were pretty much as expected. the big ones weighed in at 4.5 lbs, most were 3 to 4 lbs, and hte little kranacop rooster was only 2 lbs.
ReplyDeletethe fat content of these birds was awseome! the bright yellow fat mostly filled the body cavity. the yellow is supposed to signify proper grass feeding, resulting in more of hte "good fat" which makes them yellow and is much healthier.
the meat was good, although we only cooked thenm for a couple hours. to do these older birds justice really requires 4 to 6 hours of slow cooking. most of hte birds we processed were 2 to 3 years old, some perahps older.
the flavor was incredible. its always amazing how farm fresh meat tastes like... meat.. full oif texture and flavor. its a world of difference from the store bought factory produced meat products.