Our October Book of the Month selection is an excellent resource for those interested in raising their poultry from start to finish. And by finish, we mean to the very end. Butchering Chickens by Adam Danforth is a step-by-step guide to all aspects of the home processing of chickens.

Breaking Down Processing Equipment

The book begins with a discussion of knife selection. There may be a range of knives you may want to have on hand during the poultry processing experience, and the author goes to great lengths to give us an overview of what each style of knife is best used for in the steps of poultry processing. He also outlines how to keep your knife collection sharp.

Once you’ve chosen knives, the next pieces of equipment are killing cones, a scalder, a plucker, food-safe tables, and chilling containers. The author gives a detailed description of how each piece of equipment is best used and the features of each to look for when purchasing and using it.

The Butchering Process

The book continues on to give proper sanitation processes to avoid any contamination during processing. Then the author goes into detail about the slaughter preparation and then the slaughtering process itself. There are full-color photographs to help one visually learn the process and a step-by-step written description of the entire process. 

Finally, the book breaks down the butchering process. Many people choose to package some birds whole and then “part out” the remainder of them. There are many photographs to help you learn the entire process of breaking down a whole bird into a standard 8-piece cut-up carcass. There is also a good discussion on how to do special butchering techniques such as spatchcocking, and creating a whole boneless carcass and a half boneless carcass.

Once you’ve learned all about butchering you’ll learn the packaging and freezing processes, with a thorough discussion of the most common methods of freezer packaging for both whole birds and for parts. And even discusses proper thawing procedures when cooking your homegrown and home-processed poultry.

We hope you’ll find Butchering Chickens by Adam Danforth a valuable resource. Don’t forget to use the coupon code BOTM23 at checkout to enjoy 20% off your order of this fantastic book and, in October you’ll receive a free disposable apron with your purchase.