Nothing like butchering a chicken to get your kids to eat their salad.
Today after work I got to enjoy, for the first time, butchering and cleaning a chicken. Well, two chickens, actually. And Sadie, Ezra, Jude and Violet helped. Well, watched. And cried a little. At first. Thanks to some wonderful friends at Cornerstone church who had a few unlucky roosters, I found myself scouring the internet for a straight-forward guide. Sara found this: http://www.butcherachicken.blogspot.com/ What a great site!!! Here are the victims: 
We spent a few minutes prepping the kids what to expect, and gave them each a chance to say a few last words to Cluck and Doodle. Violet had an instant connection with this one. 
Jude wasn't so sure whether Daddy knew what he was doing. "We can't eat that chicken, daddy, that would kill it!" And after I had cut the neck: "Oh no, we're all doomed!" 
Boiling water bath to facilitate de-feathering and skinning: [in case your wondering, Sara refused to snap any photos that depicted any 'gore', blood, etc. so only a few snapshots of the process are recorded for posterity]. 
Sadie and Ezra look on, critiquing Daddy's questionable abilities. 
This member of the family desperately wanted to be involved in the process, and let us hear about it from across the yard where we had her tied up. 
Well, 40 minutes and two chickens later: 
Sara put together some yummy seasoning, carrots and onions and TADA: 
Now for the panel of judges to make their final decision. As you can discern from the photos below, Dad is scoring around a 75% with this family project.
We spent a few minutes prepping the kids what to expect, and gave them each a chance to say a few last words to Cluck and Doodle. Violet had an instant connection with this one. 
Jude wasn't so sure whether Daddy knew what he was doing. "We can't eat that chicken, daddy, that would kill it!" And after I had cut the neck: "Oh no, we're all doomed!" 
Boiling water bath to facilitate de-feathering and skinning: [in case your wondering, Sara refused to snap any photos that depicted any 'gore', blood, etc. so only a few snapshots of the process are recorded for posterity]. 
Sadie and Ezra look on, critiquing Daddy's questionable abilities. 
This member of the family desperately wanted to be involved in the process, and let us hear about it from across the yard where we had her tied up. 
Well, 40 minutes and two chickens later: 
Sara put together some yummy seasoning, carrots and onions and TADA: 
Now for the panel of judges to make their final decision. As you can discern from the photos below, Dad is scoring around a 75% with this family project.
6 comments:
I love Violet's reaction!...the last picture.
That looks like a great time was had by (almost) all. Maybe Jonathan could get a part-time job with a butcher?
Very funnY
hmmm..... weird. Kinda creepy. Mostly weird. I am surprised that this took place as Jan has eluded to Sara's distaste for touching raw meat.
LOL, Alissa. I actually didn't touch any raw chickens, dead or alive. Jonathan did all the work and I hovered in the background occasionally snapping a photo, or retreating to the house. When he had finished cleaning them, he brought them in, washed them off and put them in the pan. I sprinkled all the spices on from a good distance above.
It was kind of gross and creepy. But the chicken we eat from the store is killed, gutted, and cleaned in a similar fashion...it just feels more sanitized when we don't have to see it....or bury the guts, lol.
Absolutely hilarious! My family kept a chicken pen for eggs and meat when I was a kid, and I remember the whole process quite well--starting with the incubation of eggs, playing with baby chicks, catching runaways with the help of our sheep dog and later the exciting climax: the chosen chicken running around with his head cut off before we threw him in the boilig pot and Grandma plucked its feathers. I'm glad your children had this memorable experience.
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