Filling Our Freezer | Butchering Meat Chickens

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[@brucewitcpalek5120]

I love how it really doesn’t matter what you are doing, cutting and splitting the wood, building a barn, butchering the chickens ect ect ect, you do it together !! That’s what makes your homestead thrive in my opinion !! Love you both ❤🙂👏👏✌🏼😎

[@jimseals8659]

It has been 67 years since I watched my Mother process chickens and I can still recall the smell of them as the feathers are scalded off. Good on Y'all for providing for yourself!

[@patrickjohnson1629]

This is awesome! Keeping traditions alive.

[@AudiophileTubes]

I'll never forget visiting my Grandmother (back in the 70's) at her remote mountain village in Greece, and they totally lived off the grid even then. Some homes had electricity, but hers did not. She chose to stay off the grid, and as a 16 year old kid, she showed me how to dispatch a chicken for our meal the next day! What a sight it was, watching the chicken run around with no head for a little bit, before it dropped! She passed several years ago at age 98 after she emigrated to the U.S. Her beautiful house, now 120 years old and built by hand with cut stone, and cut wooden floors, is still standing! And the ceramic roof, last replaced in the 1950's, is still perfect! The house has been empty now for many years, but a local old man there still cleans the cobwebs for us, and dusts off the furniture every now and then. The place is now a time capsule for us, with old vintage photos of my grandparents and great grandparents still lining the hallways there! And there is still wine from decades ago in the intact wine cellar under the house! I took my daughter there recently for her 'Sweet 16' birthday for the first time in order to show her 'her roots'! It was a trip of a lifetime! Anyway, great channel you have! Very admirable life! Keep up the great work!

[@joelboloten2844]

NOT YOUR EVERY DAY FAMILY VIDEO But great of you to have the courage to post this. Many of us have no idea on what does happen from farm to table. It is almost a miracle for us to get our food with out the knowledge of what is required to accomplish this task. Even myself felt squeamish at first but once the procedure continued it became easier to maintain focus on the reality of what we need to do to exist. Keep up the good work and let us see what this thing called life really is.

[@michaelferguson7735]

Katie I can't believe how much you have grown in this off grid life so proud of you Greg is just a boss that man is always in beast mode, really a great job guys I'm from Jamaica we did this all the time growing up

[@ld5714]

You guys did a good job processing those very health birds, especially as you are still new at it. A good set of butchering knives will make a big difference for you. The knives and additional experience will make it quicker and easier each time. Katie, you always amaze me young lady 👍. You guys have a great week. Larry, Central Valley, Ca.

[@shar3449]

Yes it’s sharp set of knives that make things go better. That way you don’t have to saw through when cutting

[@janpcs]

@@shar3449 The kind of steel used for the knives is very important. You need a high carbon steel that kees an edge for a long time. The downside is that it takes a long time to sharpen them.There is a lot of information on the internet about this.

[@bobflores]

Brought back a lot of memories of working alongside of my mom and dad butchering chickens, turkeys and rabbits. Lots of rewarding work. You guys do need to upgrade your knives. It'll make quick and easier butchering. Thanks for the video.

[@mirandat1055]

Thanks for the heads up, I chose to fast forward it to the end so gratitude to being informative regardless. Still love watching you guys evolve with your homestead.

[@leslietarboxjr4287]

Brings back memories of growing up on the farm. We butchered pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys and deer. If we couldn't butcher it, kill it, grow it or catch it we would have starved to death some years. Most people have no idea where their food comes from or how it is raised, they just think it is magic and you pick it up at the grocery store. If the Canadian and US governments keep going the way they are a lot of people will be starving to death when we go into another government induced depression. Love the way you two do everything together, it makes for stronger relationships. Great video.

[@user-rq8lo2bd2s]

Tip: heavy hand pruners make short work removing head/neck and wing tips. Made for cutting small branches, they don't dull like knives.

[@alleyoop916]

WOW!! That's a tough job especially with critters you've raised. My hat's off to you both.

[@jeffmcauliff5315]

Great job ! We used to have butcher day on the ranch where we would do 100 chickens and 75 rabbits on the same day . 5 of us sun up to sun down. We so enjoy your journey brings back memories from the 80s .

[@frankhocker1724]

bringing back memories' ounce again, one year my wife and I wanted to do this, so I got some friends into it. we raised 250 Cornish cross for 8 weeks they dressed out at 8.5 lbs. five couples did this the feed store let us use the chicken Plucker for free since that is where I purchased them and bought the feed.

[@ErikSanders]

You raised them, you what they have eaten and how they lived. That is important. And humans have done this for centuries and I think the respect you show and have for these chickens is good. And this shows more respect for you food than those big chicken farms. So props to you.

[@yancyhebert9937]

Thanks for teaching perks of being grown ups. Lots of meat for winter and you have time with each other. Gratefulness is a acquired for survival

[@brucewitcpalek5120]

You treat your animals like some people treat their children, which I mean is very nice indeed. I’m the same way. However when it’s time to do what was the reason you bought them for, you do it in the most humane way possible. It’s a tough situation 🫤🫤. I get it !! ❤❤❤

[@kristenbatlle3119]

Nice work! No worries; be proud of the wonderful life you gave these meat birds. ❤

[@rachbuckingham1701]

Well done guys! Hats off to you both for being able to do this, especially when you’ve reared them. This video was very informative and interesting 👍 Lots of love from the uk 🇬🇧 👋 xx

[@jrae5085]

Great video. Thanks for making it. The editing was well done. Don’t worry about being sad. Butchering isn’t heartless. You do it with respect and sadness is part of that respect for something living that is now dead.

[@nazneenabbas9119]

Definitely I agree 👍

[@davidpayne2880]

I have watched your videos for a while and enjoy them. While growing up we let our meat birds free range. When Mom wanted chicken for a meal she told Dad how many. He took his .22 single shot bolt action rife and the required number of cartridges. After that we would bleed out the birds. Then Dad would hang them them with twine string from a nail. He then cut the skin between the leg and body. Then he would pull the skin and feathers off all at once leaving a naked bird to be cleaned and cut up to be fried for us to eat. It is much quicker than plucking to do many birds this way. No pin feathers or fine hairs to burn off with alcohol flame. Good luck!

[@lynettescott682]

I give you guys credit you guys raise really healthy fat chickens 👍😊

[@brucesteidle6625]

You guys are living the same way our ancestors lived for years. That's the way our ancestors lived there's no harm.

[@pastureworks3773]

Did Gregg make that pot your scalding your birds in?😂😂😂. Good job you guys! Katie your a BEAST for plucking those by hand. Birds looked great! Have a great winter!

[@ThisOffGridLife]

It's our neighbors big pity, but it's really nice! Looks DIY

[@Mfullen09]

Thanks for doing this video. Not that I will probably ever do this but it’s great to see. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

[@arlisscott3455]

See if you can borrow a feather plucker sometimes for exchange of a couple of chickens and that would be helpful. It really helps if there is lots of birds to do. Other than that, you two have done an excellent job and well filmed. Brings back memories for me too! It's a part of self sustaining living that you're living up too!

[@berniepenner3352]

You are amazing Katie. You have it all together. Tender yet strong.

[@terrancepowell7371]

I think you're missing out by not saving the hearts and livers. They're really good eating. Great video again! :)

[@p.k.3988]

Livers are a delicious part in sauce Bolognese, fine chopped.

[@LastChanceTinyHouse]

Thank you for this. I watch a fair amount of off girders and when they arrive at butcher day they never show the entire process. When my wife and I finally get to where you two are, I'll be playing this video over and over again.

[@ilonakatalindako-tolman5545]

Wow you took me back to very young years with my mom....we did the same together...and I cried always...not easy...but it was certainly a good way, her food was always delicious

[@janeising3585]

Good tools makes every job easier and faster. I have never done this. Great to watch.

[@garyrrobinson9068]

I want to offer a suggestion for sharpening, Worksharp offers a couple of electric knife and tool sharpeners. I use the first model they produced. It works even on cheap knives, the belts for sharpening are a little expensive. I use mine when we make sausage. I also have two strops for touch ups. Usually after washing I"ll determine what needs to be done, almost every time, depending on your usage a stropping for touchup is enough.

[@KodiakCraveAtv]

This video is living the real off grid! There's no bull**** here. Amazing video guys! This can be exhausting to do, but you will be set for winter. People need to learn this, because one day the chicken in grocery stores will be to over priced. Thank you for teaching us.

[@hombredeacero3131]

Quite the little disassembly line you have there. Learned something today I didn’t know about allowing the the chicken to rest prior to packaging.

[@shar3449]

You should always allow your chickens after you butcher them to rest in cold water overnight before you package them up to freeze

[@johnthielke982]

There are scissors specifically made for cutting through bone and cartilage. Pruners can be used too. Your knife is getting dull because you are using it on a metal table. Put a towel(wet) down under your cutting board to keep it from sliding around

[@rkins100]

TIP: You fill the baggie with whatever and then lower the baggie into either a big pot full of water or even a sink. As you lower it into the water you'll see that the baggie starts clinging to the contents. I usually start the zipper and close it all but an inch in the middle. As you lower the baggie into the water air is pushed out and you lower the bag unti the zipper is just above the water - all air should be out of the baggie now. Then finish zippering the bag closed. It's almost like vacuum bagging.

[@Marcel-fo2cb]

What a great idea thank you

[@bradleyschneider3871]

When I was a young lad over to my neighbor's they cleaned them in the barn,they would open up the barn door on top and just wack em over the top of the open barn door then put them on a block of wood and then use the axe, my dad used two nails at an angle so there head would be stuck on the nails,you could even stretch em at bit the chop there heads off,someone had to hold the legs to get ready to throw the bird cause its bouncing all over the place afterwards! Good times.we always raised ducks,geese and chickens every year!

[@PeterNaysmith]

❤ your video. greg and katie the teamwork was great and very informative. you have a great process for butchering and cleaning your fowl

[@leonasimmons162]

Thank you for sharing Katie.❤

[@TheHavasu_77]

I’m not gonna lie, I got sad, but you guys are very humane about it. They had a very good life, they had a happy home, and they were taken out with love and appreciation. ❤

[@sondraharper3176]

If you put a damp paper towel under the cutting board it will not slide around. Love your channel. Keep up the good work.❤

[@rafton3048]

It's been a long time since I gutted a chicken but I don't remember doing it so well. Thank you for these little extras

[@rikkifrenkel3584]

Thank you for posting this video. I avoided Yom Kippur this year but I feel like this was my atonement.

[@lizdavies7970]

Thanks for doing this video. Very educational and I'm sure others will benefit from it.

[@jersincl]

Fantastic episode ! I just wanna eat every delicious bird. Each one you processed looked supermarket ready to buy ! Excellent preparation.

[@michaelking9254]

A good method for catching chooks is to form a hook at the end of a wire coat hanger, then use this to catch the chooks round the legs.

[@lucvidon1740]

Your offgrid life is not always easy. You are very courageous 👍👍👍

[@meanderingmanat7038]

👍 thanks I’ll be doing this sometime in the future. Good to see how it’s done.

[@kermitfrog8340]

We use to do it much like you do of course a actual plucker does a great job so there is fae less plucking and its way faster. We use to use a stump with two nails to fit the neck between and a very sharp axe.

[@kathydaniels1754]

I used to help my mom she would catch the chicken put it under a tub and take one at a time out ring the neck and the use old card board boxes , newspapers or some papers and light fire to it do what they called since with fire and pull out feathers then boil and cut up, but you must understand this was in the 50’s and 60’s now you can get automatic pluckers and various other stuff, it was really a lot of work for them, but it was how they feed us .😊

[@LudoTheGreat]

I might have missed if you mentioned, but if you are cutting them up and don't eat the skin, why not just skin them instead of plucking them? I did that with mine and it was so much easier and quicker.

[@brucewitcpalek5120]

Exactly 😊🤔

[@LudoTheGreat]

This is a legit question, not a statement. I've only done it a couple of times and mostly when I was very young and not really interested in the process or why we did what we did.

[@ThisOffGridLife]

The skin is nice on the dark meat so we leave it on. The breast meat is either way but boiling the carcas for soup - skin is not so nice

[@MB-gc5fe]

If you place a wet dish towel under your cutting board (this works for both outside when butchering and in the kitchen) it will prevent it from slipping/sliding and give you a secure safe surface. If you don't like eating the skin, you can render it down for schmaltz which has a number of uses, including a spread, an oil replacement in baking (haven't tried that), as well as flavouring for soups and roasts. I do something similar with duck skin which yields a very neutral softer lard like fat when done.

[@lauriebauer6909]

Easiest way to pluck is to hang chicken by legs after dipping in hot water. This allows you to strip the feathers straight onto the ground or into a bucket.

[@cmore7140]

One of my most favorite videos. Thx for sharing the finer details! I drooled when I saw the chicken liver! Having grown up with 4 siblings, mom would always fry up 2 chickens and us siblings would always fight over the liver (and gizzard).😅

[@henryknight7876]

you can boil the organs, heart, liver, and gizzard and feed them to the dogs they will love them, and you can freeze and mix with thier food.

[@carlosalvarez9521]

Katie that is the life in the farm, I just saw killing chicken, goose, turkey, guinea chicken, goats, pork, lambs even cows and butcher all of them and was lke a feast all the women in the family cleaning cuttng and preparing the meat for almost the whole year, the even cook and made chorizos and blood sausage, and I was a kid and was a party.

[@StevenCreek-q2h]

great video If you are going to continue to process chickens I would recommend a chicken plucker makes that job much better and allows much faster plucking. keep up the good work

[@stephentisdell2698]

Great job you guys . Love living off the land. Here in oz our meat birds are white & in 16 weeks can weigh around 4 kilos each. Love watching you guys.

[@ThisOffGridLife]

Cornish cross hens are what most of the world grows for food. We love these mistrial gris, they are more tender and a great bird for a roast!

[@JDSFML]

Watch those shrink bags in the freezer. they break really easy and they tend to freezer burn the food alot faster than vac bags do. Cleaned alot of birds in my life time and it always sucked , hated it when i was a kid and more when i grew up!😁

[@billmcdonald9115]

Start looking for a used half dead washing machine. Take the top off and purchase the very strong rubber fingers that you drill into the washer bowl. Just after taking the carcass out of the hot water you drop into the washer and hit the spin button. Great for plucking a dozen birds or so. I totally support your channel and today's video. It's not cheap to raise a couple dozen meat birds but rewarding all year with taste and the satisfaction that you raised your food.

[@johnkirby6547]

Great video you guy's ❤ Enjoyed watching the difference in preparation between cut up and whole chicken bagged. I think someone is going to send you a good knife set for doing this job easier and hopefully a few sets.. Looking forward to seeing the next processing video.

[@wadeprior5203]

Good morning how are you guys doing today hope everything is fine hope you get the house done as soon as possible I guess all right and the pack in the back patio I guess all right God bless you guys❤

[@carlahubbard7561]

My daddy always had a beef cow, we were not allowed to pet it or name it.He usually bought one as a calf and fattened it up! And baby calves are adorable!We never had chickens, but, I helped my brothers skin rabbits and squirrels to eat. It’s just part of life when you’re at the top of the food chain. You’ll have meat in the freezer for winter! That’s a must! Of course, I’m nearly 63 yrs old, so we’re talking 50 yrs ago! Lol Go watch Country Road Cure, they just processed their meat chickens and they had a machine that plucked all the feathers very neatly! It’s worth looking into, they said it cut their processing time in half!

[@nazneenabbas9119]

Yes ,good advice plucking feathers machine is good.

[@jackgemmer6268]

very interesting. thanks for showing how it's done.

[@dennismutz8221]

Just a tip and a little comment. A pair of pruning shears will speed up removing the head. Your going to get all kinds of comments about the whole idea of processing your own birds. They need to realize, this is the same way the big processing plants do it. Have a few layers to cull myself soon.

[@wesley4978]

I use a damp dish rag under my cutting board and it helps keep it in place.

[@Bealle66]

Memories,, and the smell of chicken guts and wet newspaper never ever forget it for as long as I live. , as a kid, we used to do 30 to 40 birds a year,, good times 👨🏼‍🌾🤪 farmers rule💪🏼 good stuff!

[@robertlaing5502]

You will save a bit of work if you have a pair of garden secateurs handy for cutting off legs and neck and it will save blunting your knives. Good practical video. Well done.

[@bay9876]

Having a roast chicken once a week with the chicken stock for soups and other meals will make the vegetables harvested into delicious meals throughout the same week. A nice pig or two for ham and bacon would be nice, too. They, like the chickens get all the food scraps and the wind falls from the fruit trees.

[@brucewitcpalek5120]

They raise their own pigs 🐷 too.

[@username3183]

SO MUCH WORK! I wish that I knew more about knives. It seems that the knife makes an enormous difference.

[@bay9876]

After several years use of the Wellstar, Wusthof and Cuisinart knives the one I reach or the most is the German made, high hardness and stainless steal Wellstar knives. Amazon sells them.

[@ronaldfrancis3628]

Katie, Greg, Love seeing your homestead and everything else develop. Re: sucking the air out of the chicken bags, uhh!, if you have a vacuum cleaner or other suction device, attach to bag , job done! Do you put the feathers on the compost pile?. I hope you treat yourself to an auto feather plucker, so much quicker. Your love of the other animals is so endearing. There is nothing you cant do Katie!. Looking forward to all Vids, God bless you both.

[@scotttatroe7282]

Great video on how to do it you guys rock ❤

[@buddyreed2623]

Hello Kati and Greg. Cooking the chicken with the skin on will help to keep moisture in until done. The skin can always be removed then. But like all things, folks have their preferences. Good eating and Have good days!

[@paulrutledge6994]

You're doing a great job. My favourite parts as a child were the stomach, feet and unlayed eggs in soup, as well as the thigh and legs.

[@debbietrebilcoe9441]

Well done guys not easy for you but you did it .you did great job showing and explaining.

[@1MartinWaite]

Very interesting and tanks for showing me. Greg looks like he was wanting his skillsaw when chopping the birds up. Lol 😂😂😂😂😂

[@RobertClark-cq6iv]

Very informative, thanks!

[@MrRutabager]

Really enjoy yall's videos. Always helpful and entertaining, You mentioned no fuel for torch to singe feathers....we always lit rolled up newspaper to singe ours (just a thought if you don't have fuel). Thanks again and yall have a real Blessed Day!

[@royboss6525]

Talk about going home again. That reminded me of my childhood days, we didn't kill many chickens or turkeys at one time to hard to keep when you only have an icebox but a little latter on when it got colder we would have hog kill days to go in the smokehouse and salt barrow, thanks for posting.

[@donaldmiller9030]

Great video. A pair of secateurs makes quick work of cutting neck and suspending the chicken from one leg speeds up plucking.

[@bobbyrodriguez3742]

Pruning shears are great for the breaking down of the carcass

[@johnwoody4905]

Good video and job glad you showed this lots of work. my grandma used to put 90% alcohol in a pie pan to Ching them take care be safe and well.

[@Re5ist_ance]

Man .. this video reminded me of my childhood. Grew up on a farm. the chicken innards are the best part 😂

[@jameschupp2230]

Good Job! Yea my Grandpa had a Automated system back in the 1960's... And it was gross to me then and still is now... Which is kind of keeping from having chickens, but I did learn of some processors around that will do them for about $5 per chicken.

[@Tanks-Link]

PS use a pair of tree trimmers handheld works really good for some of the things you’re trying to do with a knife It’s quick and easy also it’s easy to use one of them electric dirt, turkey cutters that people use for cutting turkeys at Thanksgiving etc. just trying to give you some ideas.

[@heiditaylor5896]

When we were kids my dad would use the ax with a log and we would run after the chicken until it would drop to the ground, usually it was multiple chickens we were running after but the best tasting chicken is the one you raise😊

[@michaelollier7724]

Well done on this video on butchering day you both done a good job Kate your explanation of what you where doing was fine

[@1944chevytruck]

OMG! BABIES!!!!! ...GOOD JOB U2!

[@janpcs]

If I remember correctly when we butchered chickens whith our parents we didn't use boiling water and didn't pluck the feathers. We took off the entire skin with the feathers. still on.

[@richardwhite4277]

we back on the midweek schedule ? we love the midweek videos !!!!!!!!!

[@drjcwardjr]

Necessary skill developing off grid sustainability going from strive to thrive! You got this…and a lot more! 👍

[@Randommmrii48rjriri3jejidjjd]

Hey, chef here, you both mentioned you don't like & don't need the chicken skin on your birds when eating & doing the soup. Something to consider is that the skin is highly nutritious and lends a ton of flavour when roasting or searing while starting your soup. I understand if the process has shaken your tastes and it might be too much for you to work with. I may have missed it ,and you are both crafty so I wouldn't imagine the skin is going to waste, but just want to make sure you are feeding it to your animals or using it for fertilizer 👍🏻 Keep up the fantastic work you 2!!

[@private15]

We did our singeing with a small candle or a match or a long thin candle made to fit in the candle lighting apparatus from the church. I wonder what those were called? The liver and heart and gizzard were cooked up and fed to the dogs.

[@JR-xw5dk]

If you put a towel under the cutting board that should keep it from sliding around. I have always used a dry towel, I'm not sure how a wet one would work.

[@davidstoddard9160]

When I was young I just held on to the chicken's head by my foot holding it to the ground and pull the head off and let it jump around for a while. I did a lot of chickens and that works great.

[@flowerstone]

This is where a nice vinyl apron would be nice. 😊

[@MartinWilsey]

Also, Get a waterproof butchers apron!!

[@LissaFlatt-gq8ov]

I think you both did a good job of butchering the meat chickens. I do hope you can get some really good knives for the next time you do this. And I can remember my Gram killing chickens,she used a small hatchet. You might want to think about trying it. One chop and the head was off. Fresh chicken will taste so delicious this winter. Nothing like it and fresh eggs so good. 💖💖

[@garysuderman174]

I watch every video you two put out. This one didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I raised two turkeys and helped a friend with very little of the butchering but I gave him one of them for it. Have you ever used the feet for stock. We save all our bones in the freezer just for making it. After boiling the meat off the bones we strain off the broth and usable meat but we continue to boil the bones until it's total boil time is 4 or 5 hours to get all of the health benefits. Thanks for the video

[@TonyMoss-u3k]

Leaving the thy on with the leg is called leg quarters

[@PoorMansHomesteadCanadaBC1961]

Wow out of all the videos I've watched of butchering birds chickens and turkeys you've done the best job at showing how to cut around the vent and everything pull out the guts good to go holyLiver and hearts get fed back to the chickens but they don't get the gizzard I like the gizzard found that out from eating turkey gizzard really good I just pull it off the liver gallbladder whatever it is and then Pete delivered to the chickens