Butcher Day Halloween - Saturday

flemingfarm(80)

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Kind of appropriate to be butchering birds on Halloween. It really adds to the whole macabre sense and feeling. I went out early and got the scalding pot heating then before 9:00am I was out and lopping heads. The first to go was the asshole rooster that has been raping the ducks, had chased the kids, and was essentially a little ball of hormones. I let the birds out of the coop and forgot about him until I walked over to the chicks hut and saw him where I was able to corner and catch him, tying his leg to the fence till I was ready to butcher.

It only takes 10 minutes to de-headify 6 birds and have them draining. The rooster is in the cart already while the 5 Cornish hung.

Another 20 minutes and the birds have been scalded, plucked, and singed and inside on the table to be gutted. We weighed one before gutting and it was 8 pounds and after gutting was 6 3/4 pounds. Big damn birds with some massive breasts. They are all 12 weeks old so are at the limit of their physical capabilities.

While @stryeyz gutted the first 6 I got a couple bottle of Kahlua made up. I made the sugar and coffee syrup on Friday but had to let it cool overnight. I just had to mix in my bourbon and the vanilla beans then cap em and set them on the shelf for a month until they are ready.

I de-headed another 6 birds, scalded, plucked, singed, then dropped into one of the tubs. @stryeyz kept on the gutting and by 4:00pm all the birds were in the water waiting to get pieced out.

I ended up getting a gnarly head ache in the afternoon and so sat and engaged in the zoom for our local #nanowrimo group from 2 to 3 then watched the Nano interview with Walter Mosely.

The boys got their costumes on and we went up the hill to Anita's where I grew my winter squash and then up the hwy to a trunk of treat. We didn't go many places but the boys seemed okay with it. They got a bit of candy and got to run around in their costumes. They will likely be wearing them all day today.

After the trunk or treat we got home and took one of the freshly butchered birds and got it ready for the oven. Cut a bunch of slices in the meat and filled with a rub, then covered it and baked it for a long while.

@stryeyz washed the birds and worked on the pin feathers and I cut them all up. I have gotten pretty fast at sectioning a bird. Start with the neck, then take the wings. Flip it and slice the skin between the legs and the body. Cut both breasts off and then take each leg cutting the leg from thigh, then take the back and any little bits of meat left around the breast. The little bit left goes to the bucket.

Butcher day 2 is today with 12 more birds but no interruption for taking the boys somewhere. I DO have to write 1700 words for #nanowrimo today so I will be keeping this short and likely the rest of the month my posts may be a bit shorter. Granted this post is over 650 words so maybe it won't be so bad to make my daily goal.