How to butcher a chicken at home. How to choose a chicken

Good afternoon, beginner poultry farmers! Today we will explain to you how to hack and butcher. Videos and photos to help you. Growing is not an easy task, which only those who know ground rules, as well as tricks and secrets to make it an economically profitable and non-problematic area of ​​activity.

The final stage in the cultivation of meat chickens is slaughter and processing to obtain a carcass ready for consumption or sale. Experienced poultry farmers have already established this process, as they regularly have to deal with this not the most pleasant thing.

But, beginners often make mistakes due to a lack of knowledge and confidence. For those who do not know how to chop a chicken and what to do with it next - basic tips.

The Belarusian "Company 7" offers to buy a separator for the meat processing industry, successful farmers will always come in handy!

There is a popular but unsubstantiated myth these days that raising chickens for meat at home is no longer profitable. This myth has led to the fact that many began to abandon the content of meat chickens.

But, products bought in stores do not always meet quality requirements, and their cost is much higher than if they are grown at home.

What you need to successfully raise chickens for meat - basic tips below.

1. The first and foremost rule is choice. suitable breed. To date, there are no more profitable birds for meat than broilers. These are hybrids that after 2 months will be completely ready for slaughter, while not requiring huge investments in feed.
2. For getting good results fattening, the poultry farmer is obliged to follow the rules for building a diet for representatives of meat breeds and hybrids. In growing broilers, a special, three-stage fattening technology is used, which allows you to get the maximum weight already at 45-60 days.
3. Before slaughter, it is important to take care of the preparation of the bird in order to get meat carcasses good quality without flaws.

We will describe in detail below how the process of preparing for slaughter in the conditions of a small private farm and what is needed for this.

Preparing the herd for slaughter

After the herd has passed all the stages of fattening, you can proceed to the final stage - preparation for slaughter. Absolutely all the subtleties and nuances should be taken into account, since non-compliance simple rules can lead to a poor result - low quality of the meat product.

So, what is the preparation of livestock for slaughter - further step-by-step tips.

1. First of all, the birds need to be caught, and this is not always easy. Special care is required in order not to harm the birds during capture. Most The best way! Catch one by one by the paws, and not by the wings. Since there is a risk of injury. Do not make sudden movements. Since abrasions and bruises will be visible on the carcass and significantly worsen its commercial qualities. It is desirable to catch chickens per day. In extreme cases, 10-12 hours before slaughter.
2. The second and mandatory step. Resettlement to a clean, separate room where the birds will spend the last hours of their lives. In the event that further use of feathers is planned? It is recommended to buy chickens! To clean the feather cover before slaughter, although this can be done after.
3. During the last day, the birds should not receive any food. Instead, they are drunk with a solution of Siberian salt. To quickly and effectively cleanse the intestines and digestive tract fully.
4. After the digestive tract has cleared? You can proceed to transport to the slaughterhouse, if necessary. Or move on to the next preparatory stage.

If the birds were not isolated and pre-prepared? This will negatively affect the quality meat products. In addition, the remnants of food and litter in the body of a bird can cause rapid spoilage of the meat product.

What is needed to slaughter a bird

It is necessary to prepare in advance not only the feathered herd, but also the place where the slaughter will take place. For those who keep meat chickens on an ongoing basis? Still, it is better to equip a small corner in your household or a separate visit - a mini-slaughterhouse, where everything you need will be at hand.

So, what do you need to prepare before slaughter?

1. The main thing in the process is a sharp tool that should be checked and prepared in advance. Depending on the chosen method of slaughter, the best option is selected.
2. For convenience, poultry farmers use cones - special devices from of stainless steel or plastic, resembling a cone-shaped bucket with a hole in the bottom. The head of the chicken will be placed in this hole, and the device itself will fix it during the slaughter process.
3. If manual plucking is planned, without perforating, then you need to put a large container of water in advance, 30 minutes before slaughter, so that it has time to boil. Scalding will simplify the process of peeling feathers.
4. It is necessary to prepare a large container so that blood flows into it after slaughter.
5. It is important to prepare cutting boards, containers for packaging and storage in advance.
6. You also need to take care of the hygienic condition of the prepared slaughterhouse - if sanitary requirements are violated, the products can be dangerous due to the content of pathogens.

In order to do everything quickly and efficiently, it is necessary to plan the slaughter in advance and allocate for this enough time so as not to be distracted in the process. Delay at certain stages may degrade the quality of the resulting product.

How to slaughter a chicken at home

There is an opinion that killing chickens is easy. In fact, only those who have never done this think so. Those who regularly have to perform this difficult work know what pitfalls await them in this field.

Exist various ways how to chop a chicken and butcher, you should choose based on own experience and convenience. Each scheme is discussed in detail below.

Internal slaughter method

This technique is used in large poultry farms to bleed already stunned birds. The scheme is simple in theory, but in practice it can cause certain difficulties for beginner poultry farmers. Therefore, it is worth practicing only with one hundred percent self-confidence. The essence of the method is as follows:

• birds are stunned;
• in an unconscious state, in cones or without them, they hang upside down;
• a thin knife or special scissors is inserted into the beak;
• with a sharp movement, 2 main veins are cut through, located behind the sky;
• after cutting blood vessels a sharp injection into the cerebellum is carried out, due to which the muscles relax, and bleeding takes 2 times less time.

The main thing is to act quickly and accurately hit the arteries, otherwise the bird will get severe torment, and the killer will have to take longer to deal with this matter. If there is no absolute certainty that everything will work out, it is better to choose another option.

External slaughter method

How to slaughter a chicken using this method easily and quickly? Moreover, no specific knowledge is required. This technique is excellent for slaughtering broilers and other species. poultry. How chickens are slaughtered externally - the diagram below.

1. It is possible to pre-stun the bird, but this is not necessary for this method.
2. Securely fix the torso by hanging it head down in a cone.
3. Cut the jugular vein and carotid artery with a sharp knife - make a small incision on the right side of the neck just below the earlobe and on the left, symmetrically.
4. Leave until completely drained.

Under the cones with hanging carcasses, a large container should be placed to collect blood. Immediately after the vein and artery are cut, the bird will not die in the same second, but will flutter in death convulsions for another 1-5 minutes. If you do not fix the chickens securely, they can fall out and get dirty.

Helpful advice

If it is not possible to purchase special cones industrial production, you can make them from improvised means. Often they use large plastic water bottles - they cut off the bottom and turn it upside down, securely fixing it with a clothesline or wire.

How to hack a chicken with an ax

popular but troublesome way slaughter - cutting off the head with an ax. Why is this method not the best? Firstly, without a developed skill it will be difficult to get exactly where you need to. Many beginners admit that the first time they made a poor animal suffer before they managed to decapitate it.

How to carry out a decapitation, i.e. how to hack a chicken with an ax - all successive steps are described below.

1. Prepare a chopping block - a wooden deck, a strong box or a stool. A wooden deck (stump) is best suited for these purposes.
2. Carefully sharpen the ax - a blunt tool in this matter will certainly lead to undesirable consequences and torment of the bird.
3. Take a bag (polyethylene, durable paper or fabric, for example, from feed). Poke a small hole in the bottom for the head or chicken to go through.
4. Thread the bird into a bag, tie it by the paws.
5. Put your head on the prepared chopping block and fix it. Some farmers hammer 2 large nails with wide hats for this purpose, but not completely so that the bird's neck can be placed between them.
6. With a precise and sharp blow, completely cut off the head, but at the same time hold the torso.
7. Immediately, the carcass must be hung by the legs to bleed it.

After bleeding, you can proceed to standard activities - the primary processing and butchering of the chicken. It is very important to hold the body after cutting off the head, because motor functions are preserved for a while and the bird may even try to “escape”.

Primary processing

After complete bleeding of the carcass, it is necessary to start processing the carcass as soon as possible in order to obtain high-quality meat. At this stage, you should act quickly, as delay will affect the quality of the products. What to do next - a step-by-step plan.

1. The first step is to pluck the chicken. In order to facilitate this process, you should take the carcass by the paws and lower it for 10 seconds into a container of boiling water prepared in advance. It is necessary to start plucking from the back and wings, gradually moving towards the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe abdomen and back.
2. After plucking, remove the remaining feathers by light treatment with fire - hold the carcass over a gas burner.
3. Now to cut the carcass. It is necessary to gut it, if necessary, separate the breast, thighs, wings and pack for freezing.
4. If the subsequent sale of poultry is planned, experienced farmers recommend lowering it into a container with ice water or ice for 1-2 minutes - this will give it a fresh, appetizing presentation.

In progress primary processing the hardest part is peeling the feathers. For poultry farmers, whose meat production is on stream, manufacturers produce special feather-cleaning machines. They are a rotating container - a drum with protrusions inside, into which several carcasses can be lowered at once. The drum rotates, cleaning up to 95% of the feather cover.

Today I have a slightly bloodthirsty post. I want to show you how to cut domestic chicken how to remove unnecessary, unfit for food insides and how to process the ones we need. After all, it is not always sold in the form in which they sell factory chicken.

Before creating a post, I looked at what is on the Internet and did not find similar posts. Therefore, I decided to conduct such a peculiar, slightly bloodthirsty master class. I already wrote.

When you need to cook delicious and rich broth it is better for him to buy from chicken, grown in freedom and on natural feed. The meat of such a chicken is a little tougher than factory chicken, but it has a number of advantages that factory chickens do not have.

Homemade chicken broth is much more nutritious and healthier. And in order to cook the broth, the chicken needs to be disassembled. Indeed, on the market it is sold as a whole, removing only unnecessary insides, and even then not all.

How to butcher a homemade chicken. Master class with step by step photos

Before carving a domestic chicken, it can and even needs to be lightly singed over a fire to remove small remnants of fluff. If you have electric stove, then this procedure can be done with an ordinary lighter.

In order to remove the insides from the chicken, you need to put it with its back on a cutting board, carefully cut along the keel bone (this bone goes along the chicken breast and protrudes upwards).

With a hand, carefully take out the fat, if any, the stomach and liver with the gallbladder. You need to watch to gallbladder do not burst, otherwise the meat will become bitter. Separate the chicken fat.

Chicken fat should not be thrown away, as it can not only add flavor chicken cutlets, for example, but also to saturate your body with useful unsaturated acids, which are necessary for the growth and renewal of cells, as well as for strengthening bones.

From the liver, carefully cut off the gallbladder and everything that you do not like. If suddenly the bile spills, it is better to throw away the liver, anyway it will be spoiled.

The chicken stomach needs to be cleaned.

To do this, you need to tap it on both sides with the flat surface of the knife, and then cut it along the protruding edge and unfold it.

Remove leftover food from it and remove the yellow film.

All, chicken stomach can be washed and boiled in broth.

Cut the skin on the neck lengthwise and remove the esophagus with the pouch and trachea. Thus, we can assume that the insides of the chicken are removed.

How to cut a domestic chicken into pieces

Now the simplest thing left is to cut the homemade chicken into pieces. Of course, it is not like a factory one, but this does not mean that it needs to be cooked as a whole. I am not a professional, but an amateur, so I do not pretend to be correct. I carve the chicken the best I can.

First you need to cut off the neck, wings and legs. Then cut off the legs.

The legs can be cut off the tips, as shown in the photo.

Then remove from the tail the place where the chicken accumulated fat, and cut the carcass in half, separating the tail.

You need to remove the lungs from the breast with your finger, they give a lot of foam during the cooking process and everything that you don’t like, and cut the breast into pieces.

Master class - how to cut a homemade chicken, completed. It remains only to prepare the broth.

Subscribe to updates so you don't miss anything. And for the most impatient, I can advise you to cook homemade chicken over low heat for at least 2 hours.

After you have dealt with slaughter and plucking on your own, the carcass must be prepared for use in culinary purposes. Information on how to properly butcher a chicken will come in handy even if you don’t have your own farmstead. As a rule, by buying a whole carcass, and not portioned pieces, you can save a lot on cutting it.

Preparing the carcass for cutting - gutting

To gut a chicken, you need sharp knife, containers for giblets and waste and a cutting board. Plucked carcass they place their paws up on it and begin the process.

Gutting a chicken can be divided into several successive stages:

1. Removal of paws. This is done by notching the tendons with a sharp knife, which are pre-tensioned by bending the leg at the knee joint. You need to cut with a gentle movement, without pressing.
2. Circular incision around the anus. It is very important to cut through the skin without hitting the internal organs.
3. Dissection of the skin surface along the central line of the abdomen, which runs from the keel of the chicken to the anus. Cut as carefully as possible to the hymen surrounding the intestines. When cutting a chicken, care must be taken not to touch the contents of the abdominal cavity with the tip. If you are not sure of the accuracy of the movements, after dissection, the remaining tissue can be torn with your hands.
4. Pull out the intestines along with the anus and send them to waste.
5. After that, take out the liver and stomach, after cutting them at the junction with the chicken carcass. When manipulating the liver, do not crush the spleen. It is separated after being removed from the carcass and sent to waste. The liver and stomach are still useful for culinary masterpieces.
6. Pull out the goiter. The easiest way is if the chicken was on a starvation diet before slaughter. Then just take out the goiter along with the esophagus. Otherwise, before gutting the chicken, cut the neck. Thoroughly clean the crop. Only then proceed to the next step. The neck will have to be cut even if the slaughter was carried out internally: otherwise the goiter cannot be obtained.
7. In roosters, be sure to remove the testicles from the tail. To do this, it is incised and the yellow glands are carefully removed. The chicken needs to pull out the ovaries, which are located inside.
8. At the last moment, the heart and lungs are removed from the carcass.

The stomach is subjected to additional cleaning: first it is cut, then turned out, then it is cleaned of food debris and the inner rough layer is completely removed. Then the giblets and carcass of the chicken are thoroughly washed. Preferably under running water.

You need to gut the chicken immediately after plucking. So it will be possible to avoid unwanted processes, which, as a rule, begin in the intestines, esophagus or goiter and provoke meat spoilage. After gutting, you can cut the carcass.

Cutting chicken into portions

Of course, the carcass does not have to be cut into pieces. It can also be prepared as a whole. For example, bake with golden crust. However, if cut into pieces, the scope for creativity will be much wider.

You can split the chicken different ways. Everyone chooses the most convenient for himself. No one forbids improving the cutting schemes for their specific needs. It is important to do this immediately after gutting, and then use the fresh bird for cooking or freezing.

It takes experience and a steady hand to carve a chicken properly. Over time, the process will be brought to automatism.

One of the common ways to cut a chicken into portions will require the following recommendations to be followed in sequence:

1. Place the chicken carcass upside down on a cutting board. Alternately, each of them is pressed against a cutting board, and deep cuts are made at the place of articulation with the body. Then the legs are turned outward with the joint out. If you cut the tendon, you get big chunks that need to be divided further.
2. Put the legs on the table and cut into pieces: separately the lower leg, separately the thigh. To do this, you need to unbend, feel for the fold and cut along it to the junction of the bones.
3. The wings are separated in the same way. They must be bent, find the junction with the shoulder girdle with your hand and cut along it.
4. After that, cut the chicken carcass into two equal parts: first along the spine, then along the breast.
5. On final stage it is necessary to cut the resulting parts again lengthwise in order to finally separate the breast and back.

After you have managed to cut the chicken into pieces, be sure to rinse all parts under running water.

How to separate meat from bones

The aerobatics of cutting a chicken is to separate the bones from the meat and at the same time preserve an attractive appearance carcasses or portioned pieces. Even if you can’t cut it beautifully the first time, the resulting parts can be put into minced meat or chopped cutlets.

Cutting a chicken in this way will require a sharp knife, scissors and a board. Step by step, this process can be represented as follows:

1. Put the carcass on your stomach.
2. Cut the skin along the spine on both sides. In this case, it is necessary to clean off the muscle tissue as much as possible.
3. Cut through the connective tissue that holds the bones of the sternum and spine together. In addition, it is necessary to cut the cartilages of the shoulder and femoral girdle. You can use scissors for this. To facilitate the process, the leg or shoulder is gently twisted, exposing the cartilage tissue.
4. Carefully remove the spine. In this case, it is necessary to carefully cut off the remains of muscle fibers from the surface.
5. The bones of the legs are taken one by one, starting with the femur. Cut the fabrics at the junction. You can pull them out with a knife, gradually cleaning the bones and helping yourself with your hands.
6. Cut off the wings from the chicken carcass. There are too few muscles on them, so it makes no sense to separate them from the bones.
7. Rinse the cut carcass under running water.

Of course, it is much easier to separate the meat from the bones when the chicken carcass is already cut into pieces. However, the kitchen is a place of constant experimentation and the birth of new masterpieces and ideas. Even the banal chicken fillet you can cook for guests so that they will remember your dish for a lifetime.

For cutting chicken at first, you will have to make a lot of effort. However, armed with the necessary knowledge, you can master this art with minimal loss, showing off the perfect pieces in your culinary masterpieces. domestic chicken has a special taste, after tasting which you are unlikely to return to store carcasses, having once and for all made a choice for yourself in favor of natural farming.

We all often cook chicken dishes. Moreover, the meat of this bird is suitable for first and second courses, and for salads, and for baking, and for barbecue. Just let your imagination run wild using different pieces. But few people risk buying whole carcasses. And in vain. Having learned how to cut them correctly, everyone will easily receive the ingredients for cooking. variety of dishes. How to butcher a carcass, we will tell below.

How to choose a chicken

It is best to choose chilled carcasses. In this case, you will pay only for the meat itself: negligent suppliers pump the bird with water before freezing to increase the weight. In addition, the quality of chilled meat is easier to establish.

Did you know? Chicken is the main meat consumed in Israel (67.9 kg per person), Antigua (58 kg per person) and Saint Lucia (56.9 kg per person).

Express diagnostics of the chilled product:

1. Examine the carcass. If wounds or bruises are visible on it, there are damages or dark yellow spots on the skin, it is better not to buy such a chicken.
2. Focus on hue. The age of the bird is determined by the color of the skin. In young hens, it is pale pink, with clear streaks. Adult chickens have thick, yellowish skin.
3. Feel the chicken. After pressing a finger on the breast, the flesh will quickly return to its original shape. If, as a result of touching, a hole remains, this is an indicator of a poor-quality product.
4. Smell it. Fresh chicken smells like normal raw meat. Those carcasses that emit the aroma of medicines or other side odors should not be chosen.

Video: how to choose a chicken

How to butcher a chicken

To quickly and easily cut the carcass into pieces, you should adhere to the following plan:

1. First cut off the wings. The carcass is placed with the brisket up and the place where the wing fits is felt. An incision is made here with a knife and the cartilage that binds the bones is located. Knowing this secret, butchering a chicken will be much easier. The other wing is separated in the same way. If this part of the chicken is going to be fried, then the wing tips are cut off and used for broths. And the wings themselves are divided by membranes.
   
2. When the wings are separated, you can proceed to the legs. To do this, easily, without pressing, the skin is cut through in the area where the leg connects to the brisket.
   
3. Putting the knife aside, twist the leg with your hands and break it. This is done only until the tip of the thigh bone appears. As soon as the bone is separated from the breast, the meat is cut to the end with a knife.
   
4. The same manipulation is done with the second leg. Now we have separate pieces for preparing delicious dishes.

   Did you know? For the first time, about three thousand years ago, a chicken was domesticated in the territory of modern Ethiopia.

5. If there is a desire, the leg can be divided into a lower leg and a thigh. To do this correctly, the leg is placed in such a way that its front side (it has more skin on it) is turned down. On the inside of the leg, a shallow depression is noticeable, which divides the two muscles of the leg - the tibia and the femur. It is along this line that the incision is made - the bones are connected there.
   
6. Next, cut the breast. An incision is made along the thoracic spine, pressing the knife against the frame. Using your fingers, carefully cut the meat from the bones. First on one side, and then on the other.
   
7. The frame can be broken apart for easy storage.

Important! When you fill your hand, the process of cutting the carcass will take 5-10 minutes.

As a result, we get the components for various dishes:

• fillet, thighs, drumsticks, wings - for cooking, frying, baking, stewing;
• ribs, back, wingtips - for soups;
• fat - can be left for frying.

How to cut chicken fillet

Fillet is the best the best part Chicken. The process of its separation at first glance seems complicated. Many people think that getting a beautiful piece is quite difficult. However, the instructions for separating the fillet will help in this difficult matter. And if you fill your hand, then the process itself will take a little time.

So, take the breast and do the following:

If the fillet is needed for stuffing, cut off excess pieces of meat, leaving only smooth flesh.

How to separate a chicken from the bones

Chicken roll rightfully considered a real decoration holiday table. By adding branded ingredients to this dish, you can amaze guests and loved ones with culinary talents. However, many inexperienced housewives It's the separation of the chicken from the bones that scares me. Indeed, in order to leave the carcass intact, you need to have skills, make a lot of effort and show skill.

Important condition to obtain the desired result - a sharp knife. When cutting, you will have to make numerous cuts, therefore, with an insufficiently sharpened tool, a lot of strength and nerves will be spent.

So, the process of separating the bones is as follows:

The frame can be left for broths, and the chopped chicken can be stuffed or put on rolls.

Video: cutting chicken into a roll

For those who choose chicken on store shelves, I advise you to choose chilled chickens, but not frozen ones. The fact is that the shelf life of chilled chickens is 3-5 days. If the chicken is not bought by this time, then it is frozen, which significantly extends its shelf life. But we know that now this chicken is not the first, but the second freshness. In addition, chilled chicken can then be frozen independently in the freezer. And if the chicken is first thawed, cut, and then re-frozen, then it taste qualities worsen significantly.

Let's start with the legs. The leg must be pulled towards the body and the skin cut with a knife, and then the meat to the knee joint.

Next, the thigh must be turned to the side so that the two bones are separated. Cut off the leg from the body. Repeat the same with the other leg. Now you need to separate the thigh from the lower leg, straightening each leg and cutting it at the junction of the bones.

The result should be the first 4 pieces.

Using a knife, cut the ribs halfway through and separate the breast and wings from the bottom of the chicken. A guideline for the incision site can be a fatty vein in the form of a line that visually separates the back and breast.

Where this vein ends, we act "by eye" and by touch. As a result, we should get two parts: breast and back (from the “ass” to the neck inclusive)

Some housewives also serve the back on the table, but I advise you not to waste time on trifles. This part of the chicken is too bony, it is unlikely that any of the guests will be very happy if he gets this piece. It is better to boil the back and get a wonderful chicken broth.

Put the breast on a cutting board skin side up and cut off the skin around the neck.

Now the breast needs to be cut into two halves.

At the same time, with the help of a knife and fingers, I take out the cartilage that goes in the center and add it to the back in " soup set". There also goes part of the upper ribs.