We had a bit of fun managing to catch number three as he must have guessed what we had in store for him. Super fun in the driving sleet.
This time we decided to kill them by hanging them up by their feet over somewhere we didn't mind the blood draining and chopping of their heads with secateurs - or rather big loppers we use for taking branches of trees. We thought it would be quick, it was, but I cannot say I recommend it. They did die pretty quickly when we made the first chop, but unfortunately the loppers (we tried a different pair on each) didn't manage to cut through their necks and there was rather a lot of blood sprayed around as they twitched wildly after death and over us as we were still trying to sever the heads. The rope we tied them up with will never be the same again. At least they died quicker this time.
We are letting the meat rest in the fridge for 36 hours before cooking to see what difference that makes to the meat. Some people on the internet suggest that the meat will be less chewy if you give the rigour mortise time to go away before cooking. We will shrink wrap and freeze the one we don't eat now.
I have always used a hatchet to dispatch my chickens until recently.
ReplyDeleteI read that doing so toughens the skin thus tightening the feathers, making it more difficult removing the feathers. I have found calming the bird in your lap and cutting their juggler with a sharp knife a much humane method.
The recent cockerels taken this way slipped away from this world barely without a fight and I was able to pluck them easily without any hot water.
Thanks for comment! We have another three to do soon so we can try this. They are quite wild, so I am not sure about them calming on our lap. Generally the only way they stop fighting like mad is holding them upside down by their feet. The feathers seemed to pull quite easily without the scalding, so we might try without doing it this time.
ReplyDelete