Preparing poultry, step by step
Interactive lesson: from the bird in the yard to the bag in the freezer — place and equipment, humane killing, scalding, evisceration, checking, chilling and packing.
Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Preparing poultry module. Already bought? Unlock
This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.
The whole lesson as text
1. Plan, place and equipment
Preparing poultry takes one day, and it decides months of meat in the freezer.
- A cool day — An early morning in late summer, autumn or early winter. In heat and with flies about, meat spoils faster and the work is harder.
- Start small — The first time, take 2–3 birds, not ten.
- Dirty and clean zones — In the dirty zone you kill, scald and pluck; in the clean zone you eviscerate, chill and pack. The bird only moves from dirty to clean, never back.
- Equipment to hand — Killing cone and blood bucket, a 20–30 L pot on a burner, a thermometer up to 100 °C (212 °F), two knives and buckets of ice, 1–2 kg (2–4 lb) per bird.
Why: Within an hour it is decided whether the meat will be tasty and safe or spread salmonella around the whole kitchen. So plan the day ahead: cool weather, separate zones and the equipment to hand.
- A beginner needs 30–45 minutes per bird, an experienced pair 10–15 minutes.
- Make a killing cone from a 10–20 L plastic bucket with the bottom cut off: the head passes through, the shoulders do not.
2. Preparing the birds
A good carcass starts the evening before killing.
- Healthy birds only — A bird that has been ill or has had medicine is not killed until the withdrawal period your vet gave you has passed.
- No feed for 8–12 h — Take the feed away in the evening and leave the water until the end.
- Separate the birds — Put the birds for killing in a clean crate or pen. In the evening, sharpen the knives and set up the cone and the pot.
- Calm catching — Catch them in the evening on the perch or in the half-dark of early morning, with both hands around the wings, close to the body. Do not carry a bird by its legs for long.
Why: A full crop and a full gut tear easily during evisceration and soil the meat. A frightened bird has more blood left in the meat, poorer quality, and suffers for no reason.
- Longer than 12 hours without feed is not needed: the bird loses weight and the gut becomes fragile.
- Keep children and dogs away, and agree who does what.
3. Humane killing · Locked
Buy the Preparing poultry module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.
4. Scalding and plucking · Locked
Buy the Preparing poultry module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.
5. Evisceration and checking · Locked
Buy the Preparing poultry module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.
6. Chilling and freezing · Locked
Buy the Preparing poultry module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.