Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
1.
Grab one leg, pull it off to the side, and take a sharp knife to the joint that connects
it to the body. Make a clean cut right through the connecting bones of the joint
and you'll have a leg-and-thigh piece.
2.
Find the joint at the top of the leg (drumstick), and with another quick cut at the
connecting bones, you have two pieces, the leg and thigh. Repeat steps 1 and 2
on the other leg.
3.
Next, make a cut up each side through the thinner area at the base of the keel. Cut
along the side until you reach the area where the wing attaches to the body. Find
the joint where the wing attaches and cut between; do this on both sides and you
have removed the breast.
4.
Split the breast by slicing across the keel to separate a large section and a smaller
lower section of breast. Splitting the breast allows it to cook more evenly.
5.
Take the back, cut off the neck, and then bend the back at its midpoint to separate
it into two sections.
Chilling and Freezing
Freshly butchered poultry should be cooled as quickly as possible. It can be stored safely
in a refrigerator set at 40°F (4°C) or colder for several days, no longer. I never store
mine in the refrigerator for longer than two days at that temperature.
If you don't plan to eat your poultry right away, freeze it as quickly as possible to
0°F (−18°C) or lower. When packaged in plastic bags with all the air squeezed out, the
carcass can be kept for two years with little loss of flavor or texture. If storing for long
periods, regularly check that your freezer is operating properly.
If you want to freeze the bird whole, do one final quick rinse with cold, clean water,
and if you want to keep them, stuff the giblets back inside the carcass. Place the birds in
proper freezer bags, mark the date that you butchered them on the bag, and pop them in
the freezer.
Freezing chickens whole can use more freezer space than many people have avail-
able, so you may wish to cut them up beforehand (see steps opposite).
Once the bird is cut into the pieces you desire, quickly place them in the freezer. The
longer you delay, the greater the risk for the meat acquiring bacteria.
I use freezer storage bags with twist ties or a lock and seal for my birds, but any
freezer storage containers will do. For larger birds, you'll need larger bags. These can be
purchased from commercial sources, but usually you have to purchase in bulk. If you're
only butchering a few large birds and can't locate just a few large plastic freezer bags
at a reasonable price, you can always wrap them in freezer paper, which will keep them
fresh for quite some time.
