Butchering This and That

11. Butchering beef was rare and a community event;   butchering pigs was a yearly event for every family;  butchering chickens was common. Everybody did that weekly – at least in the summer months-- although less often in winter. Lest anyone wonder why consider this.

In spring new life sprang  from everything-  from  dandelions to cows.  In this scheme hens hatched their broods on a weekly schedule if planned by the owners. Some found a way to surreptitiously build nests in some secret hideaway. But in spring baby chicks  filled the chicken yard. Without scientific intervention (which then and there was not an option) baby chicks were fifty percent male, fifty percent female. Consider the subsistence farmer and his needs.  He needed meat; he needed eggs. Those baby chicks on maturity had one of two destinies—1) hang around and produce eggs or 2) grace the table to a good dinner.  Guess who got  eaten!!!

Chicken butchering in the subsistence farm setting is not hard if you have the will and discipline to do it. Consider the process:

Catch a chicken.

Kill the chicken (if it’s male) by wringing its neck or chopping off its head.

Dunk the chicken into boiling water.

Pluck out feathers.

With flame singe pen feathers and hairs.

Open abdominal cavity—remove all entrails.

Clean gizzard and remove bile sac from liver (put aside).

Wash carcass.     You  are ready to cook a chicken.

Pig butchering was a bit more involved;  beef butchering was an EVENT.