How do you slaughter a chicken?

Question

We have plans for a BBQ and a friend of mine got 6 chickens from his uncle...

Answer 1

Take the chickens off feed for 12 hours before slaughtering them.

Make sure that the kitchen counter and sink are clean and clear of dishes so that after the birds are killed, you can bring them in the kitchen and finish cleaning and prepping them to cook.

Fill a big pot with water and bring it to a boil.

Fill one side of the sink with cold water.

Kill the chicken by wringing its neck, or by chopping it off with a hatchet or ax. Attach the bird's feet to a rope and hang it from a tree branch to bleed out for a few minutes.

Dip the chicken in the boiling water for a few seconds, then dip it in the cold water in the sink. This will allow you to pull the feathers out easily.

After plucking the feathers, remove the oil gland, just above the tail. Be sure to remove all the yellow stuff around the oil gland, as well. (It tastes nasty!)

With the chicken laying on its back, make a slit with a sharp knife from the breastbone to the vent. Remove the guts thru this hole, including cutting the vent completely free from the rest of the chicken.

If you want to keep the liver, make sure to remove the bile sac without letting the green liquid bile get on the part that you're going to eat. The bile tastes very bitter.

After removing the testicles (or egg yolks), the heart, the windpipe, the crop, and the neck, wash the chicken thoroughly by holding it under cold, running water. Put in a plastic bag and refrigerate or cook immediately. Leaving the chicken at room temp will give an opportunity for salmonella bacteria to grow.

Answer 2

You will get better control of the chicken if you break it's neck before cutting off the head. All you have to do is grab it by the head and spin it in a circle. The centrifugal force will break the neck. Carefully chop the head off. It's easier if you have a block of wood on the ground.. put your foot on the head.. and give a carefully aimed swing. Let the chicken go after that.. it may run a few yards before it stops. As for the plucking.. you can do the above mentioned advise where you dip in boiling water.. or you can actually skin it with far less trouble. If you do end up plucking it.. use a blow torch.. or lighter to burn off the hair when you're done. The feathers aren't too much trouble.. but you can't pull all the hairs underneath.
At the base of the breast, between the legs, there's a piece of skin that needs to be cut. Don't cut too deep.. or you'll hit the guts. Just cut it open about an inch.. then stick your fingers in and peel it open. It will rip open easily as you fold it in half.. the back of the neck towards the butt. You now have a big open cavity where you'll see the lungs, heart.. and guts. With your index and middle finger.. reach up around the lungs.. and scoop your way down to the guts.. pulling everything out. It sounds pretty sick.. but it's really not that bad. Get some rubber med gloves if you're squeamish.
The wings and legs have to be cut off.. usually before plucking.. always before skinning if that's what you choose to do. Imagine the wing is your hand. Pull it out and look at it. The part in the center that kind of resembles the piece of skin between your pointer and thumb.. needs to be cut down to the joint (the second joint from the wing tip). Then snap the wing backwards and twist to remove. You can also ax this off.. but since the bones shatter when broken.. it's a lot cleaner to just rip it off. The legs can be done the same way.. you can also use wire cutters, sheers, heavy kitchen scissors etc to cut them off at the joint.
I know it sounds like a lot of work.. but once you do a couple.. you'll be able to do the whole process in under 10 minutes per bird.. and that's if you're plucking. If you're just skinning.. you can get them out in about 4 to 5 minutes easy.
Keep a 5 gallon bucket full of cold water for cleaning out the insides after you get the guts out. It's easier if you use an old toothbrush as well for scrubbing. The kidneys and lungs like to stick a bit. The heart can be kept for frying up.. baking.. whatever.. and are actually pretty good.

I know it sounds a little hard / disgusting.. but you'll feel allot better about yourself and a lil more self sufficient once you get this down. It's well worth learning.

Answer 3

Cut it's head off with a small hand axe or hatchet..But watch out it's gonna squirt blood everywhere! Be sure and do this outside..Then dip the body into a large pot of boiling water for about 3 minutes holding it upside down by it's feet and start plucking feathers. The hot water will make the feathers come out easier...I can tell you this. After this experience you'll have a whole new appreciation for Frank Purdue already prepared chicken products! If you survive this you get to graduate to a Turkey.LOL

Answer 4

I cant add much since everyone here seems to have done it. I do it most like Aaron.

However, after plucking six birds from hot water, you will remember the smell of wet chicken feathers for a long time.Just hope these aren't laying hens. If they are you'll be able to patch tires with their skins and your teeth will bounce off the meat. However, you may get some of the absolute freshest eggs possible, right from the innards.

Answer 5

I've only had to help once when I was a little girl and it totally grossed me out.

First, grab the chicken by the neck and swing in a ring. In other words, ring it's neck.

Have ready a cauldron of hot boiling water. Dip dead chicken in hot boiling water.

When you pull the dead chicken out of the water, you begin to grab out big hands full of feathers.

*gag*

continue pulling feathers.
Pull more feathers.
Even more feathers to pull, continue.

they smell bad, *gag*

Once you have all the fluffy feathers pulled off and trying to shake them off your hands, there are tiny little nubby things, these are called pin feathers.

Pull out all the little nubby pin feathers.
This can also take a while...

Once you have the chicken de-feathered, not to be confused with de-flowering, which may be a more pleasant activity...

You can cut off it's head if you haven't already.

The next part I wasn't able to stay around to watch, but basically you go about gutting and pulling out all the chicken's inside goodies, keeping any specific goodie you care to include in the cooking of said chicken.

Once you have it completely cleaned you have to wash all the gross yucky stuff that comes for a chicken's insides and outsides off the chicken you plan to eat.

BTW, since it does take time you may want to start a few hours early to make time for plucking the chicken.

Also, you may want to make a time allowance for taking a shower once you get finished with all this nasty work...

Bonn Appetite!

Answer 6

This is the way my family does it. Put two nails in one board about 1 to 1 1/2'' apart. Stick the higher end of the chickens neck in it and it will be tight enough to hold it for cuttin. After you do cut it, put what you can into a 5 gallon bucket to bleed it out. Hold its feet because the nerves will still be going crazy. After it quits floppin and the blood is drained, pluck it, gut it and cook it!

Answer 7

tekastm does it about the way I was taught...with slight variations....my Great Grandmother used to hold two chickens in her left hand , with their necks between her fingers, and slice two heads off with one motion....my grandma used to brag about it when she was teaching us young'uns...I kinda liked taking my pistol and shooting them in the heads,while they were running around the pen, and Grandma would be yelling" Quick grab'em!! Don't let them flop around and bruise the meat!!!"...you ever try to grab a chicken with it's head blown off? with 30-40 other chickens runnin around?......ah those are some good memories...just do it like tex said......

Answer 8

chop its stinking head off!

but don let it go it might bite n run away even after u chop

Answer 9

Cut its head off.Thats how my Grandmother does it.