Tags
This is for all of us that eat meat. Chicken in particular.
Roast chicken and grilled eggplant lasagne
I’ve taken a few picks of the change from feathered bird to meal on a plate. Something of which is missing in the process of purchasing a chicken pre-packaged at a supermarket. Hopefully it not too disturbing for the people that constantly donate birds to me.
One day when I finally own my little farm I shall raise my own flock of chooks and ducks and every now and then I will dispatch a bunch and fill up my freezer.
By the way, I think I’ll pop this one in the book. Only two more recipes to go.
The meal.
A tattooed portly man holding the raw materials. In this case an un-named unwanted male cock.
The killing cone. It’s all done in a second. Laser sharp knife to the jugular, and a break of the neck.
It’s gory. This is the stuff you don’t see when you bite into a chicken Subway. But you did it. Just indirectly.
Whole Larder Love 
hey Ro, I’m intigued – why break the neck AND slit the throat ( sorry I was trying to find another way of putting it but couldn”t think of one that didnt sound as brutal)? I didnt think chooks needed to be bled?
I think that we all need to be more aware of where our food comes from and part of that is the how as well. I would rather my chook was dispatched in this way – and would rather that you did it for me too ;-)
you need to get the blood out (if I’m not mistaken).
I like to make sure the job is done. I’m doubling my chances of it being quick I guess. I slit the throat first then a snap. I let them bleed for a few minutes that it. They tend to wriggle a bit too. And no I don’t let them run around the yard with the head off! I’ve heard stories of that and although it might SOUND funny I’m not sure it’s treating the bird with any sort of respect. And yes that sounds odd coming from the man that just killed them. But it makes sense in my head. Did it make sense to you Sue?
The not getting the job done properly is and would be my biggest fear which is why I have never attempted it. I dont think having respect for what you are about to kill and eat sounds odd at all – I would see that as a sign of a person that has respect for life in general.
As for the running around like a headless chook – I have witnessed this! Not a deliberate act, but one of my best friends at school came from a Chinese background and her grandmother lived a fairly traditional life. One day as she was preparing the dinner – quite literally, it got away from her and ran flapping around the backyard – the proverbial headless chook.
Good post Ro. It’s refreshing to come across someone who’s not in denial about the source of their food. It’s one thing to buy free range chicken, but few people realise what happens to all the unwanted male chicks. At least this young bird had a decent life and I’ll bet he tasted superb! We dispatched a few Dorking roosters a couple of years ago. Unlike store bought birds, ours had a nice layer of yellow fat under the skin, which kept the meat moist, succulent and very morish.
Awesome. Thank you for posting this. We are far too disconnected from our food.
Just now I had the 2nd of 3 meals we get out of one of our birds. Murgh Mukhal tonight, a delicious north indian dish, real mild with spuds and pumpkin. Last night an 80’s flashback with chicken wrapped in filo and there’s a pot of soup with celeriac, carrot, garlic, herbs and lemon on the stove for tomorrow’s lunch.
A cheap chook from the supermarket is easy to be frivolous with and besides after a couple of mouthfuls of flabby tastelessness I’d rather not eat the rest. As much as I don’t enjoy killing and cleaning a chicken I appreciate the whole story of how the meal got to the plate and I like to make sure the bird didn’t die in vain.
Living in Los Angeles, the only part of receiving directly from a chicken that I witnessed was when a friend of mine owned 2 in her backyard. I’ve never seen a chicken dispatched in person, but I have a lot of respect for the whole event. I cringed a little seeing the photos because I am very disconnected from the whole farm to the table journey.
Froser, I loved your second paragraph. I really never thought about it, probably because the likelihood of me dispatching a chicken is almost null, but I’m sure that if I did one day, I would put in extra effort to make the meal worthy of it’s life and death.
I didn’t explain that well. We had the eggs that my friend’s chickens laid.
always good to see someone getting in touch with where your food comes from. Also this reminds me of two things from home, some roasted up supposedlly young roosters from my folks farm. With out a doubt one of the worst feeds of chicken I have ever had. And more on a positive note, plucking geese and ducks with Dad as a kid, great fun helping out and throwing feathers. I remember those tasting better than the roosters
Hey Ro, great post. We’ve done the dispatch a couple of times now and for some reason, it never occurred to us to slit the throat AND break the neck. We saw it as an either or, and we thought we were more likely to do it properly with the knife.
I don’t think I’d do it again, only because I can’t seem to get the knife sharp enough, and I’m not convinced the bird doesn’t suffer. But then we live in the middle of Sydney, and I’m sure many neighbours would think it’s illegal. We also find it a struggle what to tell the kids next door – kids should know where their food comes from but at the same time, we feel we need to respect the parent’s prerogative as to how they want to raise their kids. After all, they’re the ones who would need to deal with a four-year old squeamish vegetarian.
Like Joel Salatin says “those animals have had a really great life, they just had one bad day.”
hey Ro what’s that funnel thing nailed to the wall?
I didn’t have a problem killing the one rooster we were going to eat, it was the de-feathering that did me in! Any tips there?
Scalding water. Dunk the carcase a few times, but don’t parboil the blessed thing. Makes it easier to clean up the feathers, and it’s a cleaner job.
i can not wait for your book !! x your photos make everything beautiful
I love this post! I think that it is wonderful that you show all aspects of food and a lot of people really do need some education on where their produce and meat comes from so that they can make better informed decisions when it comes to their food. I am lucky enough to have grown up with a Dad who whole heartedly believes in being as self sufficient as possible so we regularly witnessed the whole process of from blade to plate. Thank you for sharing!
‘the killing cone’ sounds so…snowtown!!
This is a wonderful post, and that knife picture is amazing. somewhat bone chilling.
In a perfect world, we would all kill the animals we eat.
It drives me mad when people say they don’t like handing raw meat because it’s too “sad” and it makes them grossed out that it was once animal. It should feel like you have taken a life…because you have! Appreciate it, and enjoy your meal. Everyone ought to spend time on a farm, things don’t grow in plastic wrap like you see them at the grocery store and the meat you eat was once alive…I can’t believe these concepts are so disconnected these days. It’s simply not right.
Yes, yes, put it in the book. Please
I love it that you took the time (and the risk) to post these photos. It is exactly what I’ve been trying to convey to friends who just don’t care about the entire food process. One day they’ll see that cheaper is way more expensive in so many more ways that they could ever imagine.
Personally, I spent the summers in my uncle’s farm in Chile while growing up, and I was the official chicken plucker, there it was just part of life–and death…so the photos don’t bother me.
I have been reading your blog religiously since you did a guest posting in another blog (sorry, can’t remember which one) and I feel your pics are absolute eye candy, even if they involve stuff most of us would rather not see.
Thank you for making my day each time you have a new post!
Yes the whole dispatching a life for a meal dosent sit easily with me but I think that’s a good thing as it means I appreciate the full ‘cost ‘the meal had and respect it. and as you say if the food lived a good life and was killed as painlessly and respectfully as possible then I find peace in that.
Excellent post as the others have said to demonstrate where food comes from.
Brings back memories of my grandmother, if you wanted chicken for dinner well…
love this post. I’ve often wondered whether I would end up vegetarian if I had to regularly do the deed myself. I think if I’m willing to eat the bird I should be willing to give it a go though.
Great pictures.
I looked, and it wasn’t too bad! I’m cooking my boy tomorrow in the slow cooker. Wish me luck!
Rach x
Great post about things a lot of people don’t want to know about. I find your pictures very appropriate – they’re not disturbing, but natural! Although, I couldn’t do this, I think…
Great post, I think it’s really important to know how our food gets to our table…that includes the how the animal died as well as how it lived. Never seen a killing cone before…interesting contraption…what’s inside?
NO QUESTION THESE ARE THE POSTS I LOVE.
Thanks for keeping it real. Great photos!