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How to Kill & Process Chicken

Anyone raising and butchering chickens for the first time is bound to be a little nervous, and that's perfectly understandable. You're taking the life of another creature, and you want the process to be as painless as possible. There's also the practical aspect; you want it to be as simple as it can be, too. There are many ways to kill and process a chicken, including the following proven method.

Things You'll Need

Butcher's knife
Twine or thin cord
Large pot of hot water

Instructions

- 1
  Tuck the chicken under your left arm --- or your right arm if you're left-handed. You want to hold the wings against the bird's body, and if your forearm holds its legs against its body as well, it will be calmer.
- 2
  Cross your right arm across your body and firmly grasp the chicken's neck so your thumb and first finger make a ring around it about two inches behind the head.
- 3
  Quickly swing your right arm across your body, releasing the grip of your left arm. Snap your hand as if you were holding the handle of a whip. The chicken's neck will break.
- 4
  Cut the chicken's throat, or simply cut off the head completely. Tie the chicken's legs and hang it upside down to let the blood drain.
- 5
  Submerge the body in the pot of hot water for 15 to 30 seconds to loosen the feathers. Remove the bird from the water and immediately pluck the feathers.
- 6
  Remove the feet from the bird. You can do this by bending the leg joint backwards and cutting through the remaining tendons.
- 7
  Remove the skin from the neck, and loosen the esophagus, crop, and trachea.
- 8
  Slice the loose skin of the bird from sternum to cloaca (the "hole" through which chickens eliminate waste). Don't cut too deeply or you'll slice open the digestive system and make a mess; be sure to cut especially carefully around the cloaca.
- 9
  Reach your hand inside the abdominal cavity and loosely, but firmly, pull out the internal organs. One way is to gently slide your fingers completely around the edges of the body cavity, loosening all the organs and removing them in one fell swoop. The esophagus and crop will come along with the other organs.
- 10
  Separate the liver, gizzard and heart if you want to save them. Discard the rest of the internal organs.
- 11
  Rinse the bird and put it in ice water, or directly into the fridge.

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