Hi Guys and Girls...
Recently posted this on the Blackberry Bushcraft Group and it was suggested that I put it on here also. So, for those of you who dont know how to prep a bird for cooking, this is just my take on it.
Take one cleanly killed bird...
I like to let mine hang for a minimum of 3 days just to mature the gamey flavour, but if you are happy to not develop this you can actually prep straight after shooting it. If its summer, make sure its hung somewhere cool otherwise it will literally go off. This time of year I just let mine hand outdoors...
Then locate the weak joint in the wing. You will feel this between you thumb and forefinger, then simply run the knife through it and it should come off without too much force.
Then move up to the head. This sounds obvious but i have found the closer you cut to the body the more difficult it is to cut the head off cleanly. I tend to cut a good inch above the crop/crown like so...
Then I move back to the feet. I learnt a trick here from my old man. Run the blade around the foot joint. What this does is helps to release the tendon that runs the length of the leg and enables it to be pulled straight out when the foot is removed. If you leave it in it can make for chewy eating...
At this point the wings are off, head is removed and the feet are off. Now to removed the innards. Simply feel for the abdominal gap between the crown and the rest of the carcass like so...
...and make an horizontal slice taking care not to damage the innards. To do this simply pinch the skin away from the body and slice like so...
Then for the messy bit. Hand in, up to the throat and pull down in one swift motion. The innards simply pull away intact. These can be used for pate, stock or the dogs can have them. Someone once told me to look for 'yellowing' of the kidneys as this can be the sign of an ill bird but I am yet to see this and i dont exactly know what it represents (if anyone does know i'd like to hear why this is).
The simply pluck or skin the bird. People often say if you skin it then roast it the meat can be dry, but you can overcome this by simply boiling for 6-8 minutes in a stock or cover in pancetta before roasting. I find it makes a world of difference - but then plucking is no hardship.
Then cook as desired...
...hope someone finds this useful. I know a lot of folk probably know or have their own take on this, but i find this method the easiest.
Bon Appetito...
Recently posted this on the Blackberry Bushcraft Group and it was suggested that I put it on here also. So, for those of you who dont know how to prep a bird for cooking, this is just my take on it.
Take one cleanly killed bird...
I like to let mine hang for a minimum of 3 days just to mature the gamey flavour, but if you are happy to not develop this you can actually prep straight after shooting it. If its summer, make sure its hung somewhere cool otherwise it will literally go off. This time of year I just let mine hand outdoors...
Then locate the weak joint in the wing. You will feel this between you thumb and forefinger, then simply run the knife through it and it should come off without too much force.
Then move up to the head. This sounds obvious but i have found the closer you cut to the body the more difficult it is to cut the head off cleanly. I tend to cut a good inch above the crop/crown like so...
Then I move back to the feet. I learnt a trick here from my old man. Run the blade around the foot joint. What this does is helps to release the tendon that runs the length of the leg and enables it to be pulled straight out when the foot is removed. If you leave it in it can make for chewy eating...
At this point the wings are off, head is removed and the feet are off. Now to removed the innards. Simply feel for the abdominal gap between the crown and the rest of the carcass like so...
...and make an horizontal slice taking care not to damage the innards. To do this simply pinch the skin away from the body and slice like so...
Then for the messy bit. Hand in, up to the throat and pull down in one swift motion. The innards simply pull away intact. These can be used for pate, stock or the dogs can have them. Someone once told me to look for 'yellowing' of the kidneys as this can be the sign of an ill bird but I am yet to see this and i dont exactly know what it represents (if anyone does know i'd like to hear why this is).
The simply pluck or skin the bird. People often say if you skin it then roast it the meat can be dry, but you can overcome this by simply boiling for 6-8 minutes in a stock or cover in pancetta before roasting. I find it makes a world of difference - but then plucking is no hardship.
Then cook as desired...
...hope someone finds this useful. I know a lot of folk probably know or have their own take on this, but i find this method the easiest.
Bon Appetito...
