# Processing chickens after slaughter...resting before freezing?



## hippygirl

It has been a LONG time since I processed a chicken, so having made that clear...

I, personally, have never processed a bird for the freezer, only for the frying pan (butcher, scald/pluck/singe, cut up and then straight into the pan). This weekend, however, I intend to dispatch a HUGE Buff Orpington rooster and freeze.

Will someone please clarify something for me? At which point in the process do I chill/rest so rigor can come and go? 

What I "think" should happen is this...butcher>scald>pluck>singe>eviscerate>chill/rest>cut/freeze.

BUT, can I do it this way...butcher>scald>pluck>singe>chill/rest>eviscerate>cut/freeze?

OR even this way...butcher>scald>pluck>singe>eviscerate>cut>chill/rest>freeze?

Thanks!


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## Awnry Abe

method 1. I don't know if method 3 would be any different. Method 2 just sounds nasty.


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## Awnry Abe

I just re-read. Actually, we chill then eviscerate, because birds queue up at evisceration in the assembly line. If you are doing one, you can eviscerate right away.


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## froebeli

We just butchered 13 yesterday and we killed, plucked, eviscerated, chilled then finished cleaning and cut up. They are resting in the cooler covered in heavily salted ice water for a day or two (probably two) then into the freezer. Has worked great for rabbits this way too.


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## Umble

Not to hijack, but this brings a very stupid n00b question to mind. What's with the hanging/resting thing? I know what rigor is, but why do you have to wait for it to pass? Can't you just butcher, package, and freeze/preserve by some other method? I've never butchered an animal before, but I expect I'll be doing it on the soonish side, so I guess this is something I will need to have a better understanding of.


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## hippygirl

Thanks for the replies!

A couple more questions...

How long does it generally take for rigor to come and go?

Is the salt necessary and, if so, how much salt? I'm assuming that the addition of the salt is to further cool the ice water rather than salting the meat, right?


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## Awnry Abe

I salt wild game, but not poultry. I honestly couldn't tell you why. 

The reason you want the rigor to pass is that you will have the absolutely toughest chicken you can imagine if you don't. I'm talking bite-with-all-your-might-and-barely-leave-teethmarks tough.

24-48 hours. I am too much of a wimp to tempt fate and rest them longer. I really don't know how long it takes, but I know I can tell by poking around at them in the fridge.


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## Reb

Soaking in salt water pulls most of the blood from the small veins that won't flow out like the big ones. I personally salt all butchered meat, it seems to tenderize it a little. Good luck, Reb


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## Copperhead

If it was me: Slaughter, Wait 3-12 hours, Process, Age 24 hours in Fridge. However, I don't pluck/singe -- instead, I fillet the breast and quarter the leg/thigh. 

Before you assemble a firing squad for allowing a fine chicken to turn into contaminated, hazardous waste . . . keep a scenario in mind:

Couple days ago, I killed a wild turkey on National Forest. I killed the turkey at 8:30 am, but I left the truck and starting climbing the mountain to get to the ridge where I hoped the turkey might be at 6 am. Having killed the turkey, filled my tag, and placed it in a blaze orange laundry sack for safety, I decided to take an alternate route back to the truck. I did not "field dress" the turkey. Around 10:30am, my laundry sack ripped and the turkey fell out so I tied a cord around its legs and blessed it for being in complete rigor as I fought my way through the brush and downed trees. By noon, I arrived at the truck and placed the turkey in the back to transport it to the check-in station. By about 1:30, I finally began to process the bird. I spent about 5 minutes filleting the breast off the bone and cutting the leg/thigh quarter off the hip bone. At this time, the bird had passed through rigor and the breast was already tender and the legs already flexible. The daytime temperature was mid-70's.

I did leave the meat in the fridge for 24 hours before freezing.


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## Ladyhen

CrownRanch said:


> The reason you want the rigor to pass is that you will have the absolutely toughest chicken you can imagine if you don't. I'm talking bite-with-all-your-might-and-barely-leave-teethmarks tough.


I have only butchered once - 13 or so years ago. I hadn't ever heard about the resting rule, so we threw those birds directly on the BBQ grill and let me tell you! They were inedible. A total waste  

Planning to get some meat birds in six months or so and I think I may take them to a processor...


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## Buckhuntr

DW and I butchered a batch last September. We killed, bled, skinned, evicerated, cut up, chilled overnight in the fridge, and froze 
(vacuum packed). Turned out as tender as heritage birds can be.


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## the1honeycomb

Today my DH and I procesed 4 chickens today one got skinned, put right in the pot. I have the feet making stock and 3 birds resting in salt water in a large cooler filled with ice water. I will put them in freezer camp in the am. The birds are Cornish Cross and this is the first time I used them.


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## Umble

So a couple of people say they've gone from slaughter to cooking, no rest. At least one other says doing it that way lead to a tough dinner. If you're slaughtering for dinner, what's the verdict? Do it in the morning and it'll be ready by evening? Or should I count on leaving it in a cooler (of...salt water?) overnight?


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## irregardless

I'll add my experience that killing straight to cooking was less than awesome...


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## Awnry Abe

We always eat at least one the day following processing to get that fresh/never frozen experience. They are amazing. I do think one could probably take one of the first processed in the AM and enjoy it in the evening. If you try it, let us know how it works out. The main reason I wait a day is that I am generally sickened by the whole affair and need a days rest myself.


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## Mulegirl

Cutting and chilling/resting can be done either way--we tend to cut up before chilling just so we don't have to get things too messy again.

The older the bird, the longer it probably needs to rest. We gave our last batch, a mixed bunch of 20-week-old Buff Orps, Australorps, and Wyandottes, about 72 hours in the fridge. The previous batch were 16 week olds, and didn't need as long. We have CornishX growing right now, and I'm going to start testing the joints at 24 hours with them. When you can actually wiggle the joints again without feeling like you're about to make the muscles burst, you're good to go.

Interesting idea about salting . . . I may have to try that with the next batch of older heritage birds. We're not getting CornishX again after this batch--they are just sad, sad animals.


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## Dazlin

I processed 11 broilers yesterday, for my first time. Hubby has done it with a friend many times, so he was the guide. We slaughtered, bled out, dipped in 145-150 degree hot water, whiz bang, then hold in ice/salted water until they were completly cleaned out and detailed. Then, placed in a cooler of fresh salted ice water, until bagged. We do this as soon as the whole processing is finished. I would say we were all done and cleaned up in about 3 hrs. I plan on leaving them to rest in refidg for 2 days. Then I'll section a few for separate legs/ breasts, and bag and freeze imediately after. My friend keeps his to rest in fridg for 3 days.
Honestly, don't know if I'll be able to eat them......first time, ya know.


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## viper125

Well the wife learned the hard way. The first fresh chickens she baked were less then 24 hours after butchering. Had soaked in salt water to clean blood completely out for 12 hours. The rest of the time it was waiting in refrigerator.
I come in and she is Baking it. LOL! Also had guests coming. The chicken was served. Well we ended up ordering pizza yuck! We couldn't bite into it at all. Took a knife and a lot of chewing to try to. 
Rigor does strange things. 

So now we soak in salt water at least 3-4 hours to help with blood
Then in fridge for 24 -36 hours sealed in a plastic bag
Then to the freezer. 

I do like to get the heat shrink poultry bags. A quick dip in to a pan of hot water and its like vacuum packed. A simple wire tie and into freezer or refrigerator.


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## J.T.M.

I need a rest period for my butchered poultry also but the Cubans who bought from me wasted no time , from live to frying pan in less then 3 min. 
~ icky ~


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## chickenista

Umble said:


> Not to hijack, but this brings a very stupid n00b question to mind. What's with the hanging/resting thing? I know what rigor is, but why do you have to wait for it to pass? Can't you just butcher, package, and freeze/preserve by some other method? I've never butchered an animal before, but I expect I'll be doing it on the soonish side, so I guess this is something I will need to have a better understanding of.


 
If you don't wait for rigor to pass it will be like trying to chew through a tire.
The fibers in the meat are tight if you don't wait for them to relax.


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## fishhead

I used to have my birds butchered. I would drop them off one day and pick up the next. They were already flash frozen as hard as a rock.

I never noticed any toughness except maybe in the legs and that I attributed to letting them run around the yard.


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## ccfarm11

If I may chime in here a bit. I'm no expert but in my experience resting before chilling doesn't really affect the meat when dealing with broilers. When broilers are processed the average age is 6-8 weeks. So it's already young and tender.That being said I've been raising roughly 2,500 broilers a year for a few years. I use to work at a poultry slaughterhouse and now own my own. 
Rigor Mortis is the break down of tissue. Basically when you hang something and age it you are essentially allowing the meat to break down its cross links in the muscle. In retrospect the meat is rotting. I know it's gross but also true. We do this with beef because when you process a cow it's age is roughly 18 months. So the muscle has a lot more time to build up cross links and tighten up.


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## jennigrey

If you're a quick butcher, the chicken can go straight from the yard to the skillet with no resting. But you have to be fast and get it in the pan (or in the oven, etc.) BEFORE rigor sets in. I'm not that fast, so I let the bird rest in the fridge for 3 days before freezing or cooking. I bleed, scald, pluck, gut, singe (if necessary) and then chill. Then after three days I freeze or cook.


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## Marilyn

I also let them "rest" for three days after processing. Just pile them into the huge s/s stockpot, put the lid on and deal with them later, as instructed by the young couple that trained us.

Background could have something to do with this choice: raised in the city, never processed a chicken until 3 years ago. I need a little down time before ever thinking about consumption 

*Mulegirl:* I agree that Cornish X are just sad. Another HT member introduced me to Freedom Rangers, another meat breed, but much more active and "chicken-like". Very tasty, too.


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## CAjerseychick

Well this is interesting, our pup killed a hen 2 days ago, didnt know what to do with her besides put her in a paper bag in the trash (grounds froze) I will bet she is still frozen....(sadly trash was taken away today)....
At the time I was too upset to think about eating her (a Jersey Giant too )....
Hoping there wont be a next time, but this does give me thoughts to ponder...


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## moxiegal62

Good topic! My husband and I are new to chicken keeping also. We are raising dual purpose birds. For eggs and table. We just accomplished our 3rd processing day about 2 weeks ago. It is all learning as we go, even though we have read and watched videos of the whole thing.

I agree. Our birds needed the rest before cooking and eating. As they were older cockerels, about 7 months, I let them rest int the fridge for 4 days. The they went to the freezer. One was too big for the bag, so I cut him in half and we ate him for supper that night.

Our process is; 
1] separate out 24 hrs before slaughter
give only fresh water and greens

2] butcher

3] bleed out

4] scald -water temps 150F

5] pluck

6] eviscerate

7] toss in cooler, filled with cold water

8] go to next bird

9] drain birds and put in pans in fridgerator

10] let rest for 4 days. The weigh, bag and freeze

That has worked good so far, and the birds were quite edible!


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## pcdreams

viper125 said:


> So now we soak in salt water at least 3-4 hours to help with blood
> Then in fridge for 24 -36 hours sealed in a plastic bag
> Then to the freezer.
> 
> I do like to get the heat shrink poultry bags. A quick dip in to a pan of hot water and its like vacuum packed. A simple wire tie and into freezer or refrigerator.


Sorry to revive an old thread but I just saw this.

We will be processing birds for the first time in a few months and I wanted to clarify. We will be using these shrink bags as well. So do we want to wait till rigor passes before shrinking them? Or are you saying you shrink them then keep them in the fridge for a few days after shrinking them?


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## chickenista

Let them rest before shrinking them.

I take mine out of the fridge, give them a final rinse and a going over for the last of the ankle feathers etc..
I also loosen the joints and muscles a bit with some 'stretching' etc.. before I bag them.


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## Skandi

Never done chickens but lots of wild rabbits. With rigor, you can go before or after. So if you get it killed paunched defurred and into the pan before it goes cold, it's fine. if it's gone cold and hard then you have to wait about 12 hours before cooking.


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## Westvalleyfarm

Let them chill at least four hours before packaging and freezing with our birds.

If you're doing older stewing birds letting them sit for a few days does help, but you still have to cook low and long.


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## moonwolf

After plucking, I cool down in fridge temp for a day before
freezing. If the skin is on, I freeze the birds whole. If I 
have to skin the odd rooster, or too cold outside to fool with
The plucker setup, I cut int pieces for the freezer, but always cool down for a day before.


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## Alder

After pluck and cleaning, I pile them all in roasters, canners, stock-pots - whatever will hold them, cover with plastic wrap and leave them sit in the fridge for 24-48 hours. Then I bag and freeze.

Like somebody else said - the commercial processors can get them in the bags so fast, they can immediately flash freeze them, or when Grandma went out to the chicken yard for Sunday dinner, she killed, plucked and dressed that bird and had it ready for the oven in 15 minutes. Much more than that, and you'd better let them sit in the fridge for a couple of days first.


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## Strange Bear

chickenista said:


> Let them rest before shrinking them.
> 
> I take mine out of the fridge, give them a final rinse and a going over for the last of the ankle feathers etc..
> I also loosen the joints and muscles a bit with some 'stretching' etc.. before I bag them.


chicken yoga, love it!


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## Malena

I am curious how much salt you put in the water?

Also, would it work to leave them on ice in coolers while resting?


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## froebeli

I use ice in coolers for my resting... the salt is "a generous amount" I don't measure. Cover with water and salt liberally. Don't know that any amount will be good or bad.


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## samm

we processed our chickens on Tuesday, put them in the ice box and today friday I checked them to see how flexable they are....how exactly do I tell if they have "rested" enough ? the legs seems to move easly at the joint...and the breast is tendery feeling ......I don't want to mess up the meat, I would hate to waste the birds and the time put into processing them...any advice is welcome...thank you


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## Bearfootfarm

5-7 days should be fine as long as they were kept cold the entire time.


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## Alder

I kill/bleed them, pluck, gut and then toss them in a tub of cold running water before going to the next one. Don't leave the guts in any longer than you have to. Before freezing, they sit in the fridge for at least 48 hours. Good luck with an old Buff Orp rooster. Even getting him plucked or skinned will be a chore.


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## aart

Older larger birds could do better with longer rest time.
12-16wo cockerels I go 2-3 days.
Old(2-4yr) hens/cocks 3-4 days.
Turkeys 5-6 days before butchering into parts.


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## big rockpile

Alder said:


> I kill/bleed them, pluck, gut and then toss them in a tub of cold running water before going to the next one. Don't leave the guts in any longer than you have to. Before freezing, they sit in the fridge for at least 48 hours. Good luck with an old Buff Orp rooster. Even getting him plucked or skinned will be a chore.


With even Wild Turkeys, soon as I kill them I pull the Guts out. Skin and cut them up when I get home. Get 6 messes for me and my wife.

big rockpile


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