HOMESTEAD HELP GUIDE

I've shared our process in other groups. Thought I'd share here too...

Processing our own chickens doesn't stop at the meat. Our 70 meat (Cornish Cross) chickens yielded a freezer full of meat, 60 jars of chicken broth, 20 jars of chicken stock, 8 jars of chicken fat, 100 lbs of dog food and 140 dog treats. It's a lot of work, but we love knowing that nothing went to waste and we saved a lot of money.

Our process -

Dispatch and clean the chickens. Keep livers, gizzards, hearts, necks and feet. Heads, entrails and feathers go in the compost.
Feet are dipped in boiling water, peeled and then put on the dehydrator for four days until beyond brittle. They will crumble when the dogs eat these treats. They love them!
We piece out our meat into leg quarters, wings and breasts. Take the backs and roast them in the oven for 30 mins on 350°. Brings out flavor.
Next, cook the roasted backs in a pressure cooker with vegetables (stock) or without (broth). If making dog food, do not use onions in the stock.
When done cooking, strain the liquid into canning jars. This is your broth/stock. Let set in cool place until fat forms on top. Scoop off fat and place in canning jars (great on roasted vegetables!). Pressure can all jars and store in cool place.
Take scraps, bones from the pressure cooker and run it through a grinder. The bones are very soft, almost mushy from pressure cooking. This is for the dog food.
Dog food - Take the ground scraps/bones from the grinder and mix it with rice, carrots, peas, etc. I mix half ground meat with half rice and add veggies later since my dogs have different diets. Shape into patties with a tuna fish can. Freeze individually on cookie sheets (keeps from sticking together) and then place into bags to store.