Butchering Chickens: A Guide to Humane, Small-Scale Processing by Adam Danforth

Butchering Chickens: A Guide to Humane, Small-Scale Processing

by Adam Danforth

The space, setup, and equipment required to raise and process poultry are minimal when compared to other types of livestock, which is part of what makes chickens such an appealing choice for small-scale meat producers. Expert butcher and teacher Adam Danforth covers the entire slaughtering and butchering process in this photographic guide specifically geared toward backyard chicken keepers and small-farm operations invested in raising meat responsibly. With step-by-step photos, detailed instructions, and chapters dedicated to necessary tools and equipment, essential food safety measures, how to prepare for slaughter and process the birds quickly and humanely, how to break down the carcasses into cuts, and how to package and freeze the cuts to ensure freshness, this comprehensive handbook gives poultry raisers the information they need to make the most of their meat.

Reviewed by annieb123 on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Butchering Chickens is a practical guide to processing and safe handling of chickens especially aimed at the smallholder interested in being more self-sufficient. Due out 3rd March 2020 from Storey Publishing, it's 176 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

Self sufficiency and food security are important themes today. Additionally, many people are choosing to take more active responsibility for the quality and management of the food they raise themselves. I remember being a youngster and hearing my grandmother say that store-bought chickens had no taste and frankly the situation hasn't improved in the intervening 40+ years since I was a kid.

This is an accessible and responsibly written guide to safely butcher and process chickens for home use. The introduction and first chapter cover safety, accessibility, tools, handling, maintenance (very important!), tool selection, etc. The following chapters provide step by step tutorials for food safety, setups for processing, actual slaughtering, butchering (preparing the slaughtered chickens safely and efficiently), and packaging and freezing.

The author does an admirable job of not pushing one brand of equipment over another. There is no obvious product placement involved and there are a wide variety of brands included. The photography is superlative and very clear and illustrates each step in the tutorials. There is no doubt that a determined reader, using only the illustrated tutorials in this book could successfully and safely process and butcher a chicken. I always recommend getting help (especially for beginners), but failing that, this book would provide sufficient instruction to perform the task humanely and well.

There's also a glossary, pretty solid resource links list, and good bibliography for further reading.

Five stars. This is a good book for the smallholder's library and will undoubtedly become a classic. It's short enough to be accessible and not overwhelming, and thorough enough to be safe and responsible.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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  • 16 February, 2020: Reviewed