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Across the Fence:  "Processed" my first live bird today  |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 07 2011 : 6:22:05 PM
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Been talking about doing it for a while, but today opportunity knocked. I connected with a gal that had 8 drakes tearing up the only 3 girls she got in the mixed duckling box way back when.
We decided it would ultimately be easier to do in a duck we didn't know for our first time, and it really wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Even plucked easily.
He's in the oven just now, slathered with olive oil and with rosemary sprigs tucked under the skin, halved and roasting "confit" style.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. ~Will Rogers |
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rubyleesmom
Zapped Profile
190 Posts
190 Posts |
Posted - Dec 07 2011 : 7:09:16 PM
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Good for you! It took quite a bit of courage when my sister in law and I "processed" a chicken for the first time. I think once you get past the mental part and just do it, it really isnt that bad. It sounds like it will be delicious!
"Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway" - John Wayne |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2011 : 04:15:55 AM
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You are my hero.
It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.-Charlie Brown |
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farmmilkmama
True Blue Farmgirl
2027 Posts
Amy
Central MN
USA
2027 Posts |
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sherrye
True Blue Farmgirl
3775 Posts
sherry
bend in the high desert
oregon
USA
3775 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2011 : 06:52:50 AM
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good job the first ones were hard for me too. now i am doing rabbits. they were hard at first since they are so cute. i can do it now. i hope it tasted good??? happy eats for you sherrye
the learn as we go silk purse farm
farm girl #1014
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1143 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1143 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2011 : 07:44:22 AM
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Way to go. I cried when I butchered my first tom turkey. Chickens...not so much (just the regular ol' cornish x's). :0)
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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Montrose Girl
Farmgirl Legend/Schoolmarm
1360 Posts
Laurie
Montrose
CO
1360 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2011 : 08:48:22 AM
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Good for you. We are so separated from our food it was brave of you to step up and be a part of the process.
Laurie
http://www.inntheorchardbnb.com/ |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2011 : 6:13:49 PM
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oooooo he was a tasty duck! Extremely lean, and nowhere near as fatty as the store bought ducks I've made. Very rich gamey flavor. More tender than I expected for a super fresh duck. Although because he was so lean, I'll cook the next ones differently... I think I'll skin the next one and cook him in some kind of sauce. We fed 3 adults and 2 kiddos on one little rouen drake, but I'd do 2 for a dinner next time now that I know those guys are tasty and we know what we're doin. 9 ducks left to send to freezer camp!! It's gonna be a great winter :D
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. ~Will Rogers |
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Beverley
True Blue Farmgirl
2707 Posts
Beverley
atlanta
Michigan
USA
2707 Posts |
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acairnsmom
True Blue Farmgirl
1319 Posts
audrey
cheyenne
wy
1319 Posts |
Posted - Dec 10 2011 : 9:22:33 PM
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Ah, brave girl! Glad to hear he was tasty and worth the effort. When I'm ready to do my first one sometime next year I'll come get you and you can show me the ropes!
Audrey
.jpg) Good boy Hobbs! I love and miss you. |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Dec 10 2011 : 9:59:05 PM
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I'd take a video, but PETA would probably picket my home if I put something like that up on youtube... It's kind of freaky... just figures that the most humane method to kill a bird (hatchet to the neck)is the least pleasant for the human.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. ~Will Rogers |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Dec 15 2011 : 6:14:30 PM
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Woot! we did 2 more and I plucked and butchered one on my own without help from hubby! I'm on my way!
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. ~Will Rogers |
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homsteddinmom
True Blue Farmgirl
441 Posts
Brandee
bullard
tx
USA
441 Posts |
Posted - Dec 16 2011 : 05:39:39 AM
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WTG!!! I havent done a duck yet but would like too, it does get easier the more times you do it! I have done chickens, rabbits and hogs. Now i am gonna do a goat and a lamb! I figure if i can do a hog i can do a goat..lol. Good luck with the rest of them.
Ok so which did you prefer doing?? I skin my chickens i dont pluck. I have never cooked a duck or ate one either so dont know if i would need the skin or not??
Homesteading Mom in East Texas. Raising chickens, Rabbits and goats here on my farm! |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
Posted - Dec 16 2011 : 10:19:41 AM
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You guys are funny.
I remember my mom wringing a chicken's neck and I also remember the axe method. We didn't do either more than a couple of times as my dad got moose every year.
So when I got married, to save $$ I bought a whole chicken to cut up and fry. Even following the pictures in Better Homes and Gardens, the bird looked as though I had used a chainsaw! The next time my mother came over to show me as she had done many, many in her life. I still couldn't get it. So now I buy my "chicken" as a package of thighs.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Dec 16 2011 : 3:35:14 PM
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LOL Loyce!
The "secret" is a pair of good kitchen shears with a bone breaker.
Brandee, our first one we dry plucked and I cooked it skin on, but there were too many fuzzy feather fibers left to eat the skin, but at least the bird was kept moist. The second one I suggested hubby skin to save time and he didn't know the best method so it took quite a while-- I had mine fully dry plucked before he was finished. I was going to singe the feather fibers off on that one, but it got dark and I had to get it into the fridge and I would NOT singe in the house so I skinned the naked bird in the kitchen sink anyway.
So far, I like dry plucking, the feathers come out really quickly and its easy to process the down and feathers for other purposes if you don't wax dip (I'm hoarding the down to surprise hubby with a pillow!) I've heard that experienced dry pluckers can get a duck naked in 5 minutes. Next time I won't have appointments in town to keep me busy half the day so I'll have light to singe the bird and keep the skin on. Skinning it loses all the fat, and saving the grease for other projects is half the reason to cook duck in the first place!
My most efficient time saver is butterflying the bird open to get the innards out most efficiently, and then when it's cooked it will sit very nicely on a bed of rice or stuffing.
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. ~Will Rogers |
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FarmDream
True Blue Farmgirl
1085 Posts
Julie
TX
USA
1085 Posts |
Posted - Dec 16 2011 : 5:34:50 PM
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Haha @ Loyce!
My first birds were dove and that was quite a few years back now. I think I might have a tough time with a duck. I might rather do a chicken. But for now we just got 2 rabbits and are expecting a third next week. The first is only big enough to make an appetizer out of and the second was already close to getting his death row papers. We're hoping to stave off any rabbicide till spring since we're still just learning. I've watched several videos and have chosen what looks to be the easiest/most humane way to get the job done quickly. Hopefully I'll have a similar post as this to report my success. Congrats to you ladies for learning that skill!
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
http://naturaljulie.etsy.com
http://julie-rants.blogspot.com |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Dec 17 2011 : 5:10:25 PM
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Julie,
DH and I had the opportunity to buy a large group of drakes that had been fed well, but the owner was desperate to get rid of, and it was MUCH easier to do in a bird I did not "know" for the first few times.
I suggest keeping an eye on craigslist for a "stranger" bird or bunny-- and if you can't, order some Cornish cross broiler chicks. They are fast growing and get so fat that forcing them to live and walk that heavy is more cruel than eating them. I've heard from "chicken" people that that helps assuage the first time guilts.
The only birds from my original flock I am going to do are a pair of aggressive females I suspect are hermaphrodites. They don't lay, they harass all my other ducks, they are large, and they have squeaky high pitched voices that don't really match either drake or hen "voices".
I'll be a pro by the time I get to them!
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
http://silvermoonfarm.blogspot.com/
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. ~Will Rogers |
Edited by - Dusky Beauty on Dec 17 2011 5:12:51 PM |
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Across the Fence: "Processed" my first live bird today |
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"Processed" my first live bird today
