A butcher's chicken processing set-up

WHO: Ross Nolly, former professional butcher WHERE: Stratford, 40km south of New Plymouth LAND: 1.2ha (3 acres) POULTRY: White Orpingtons, Dorkings, buff Orpington ducks

ROSS NOLLY sets up outdoors when he processes his meat birds. It takes about 10 minutes from the time he humanely kills a bird to putting its clean, processed carcass in a sealed bag in the fridge.

Cleanliness is vital. Ross buys a small plastic tarpaulin to use every time he butchers birds (which he washes and re-uses, but not for butchering). There are a couple of buckets of soapy water for washing his hands and knife, and one that he uses to wash down the table in between birds.

The white 20-litre bucket to the right of the table is for scalding the birds. Ross adds boiling water to it to maintain the temperature (55°C-75°C).

The red bucket on the far right is full of soapy water for handwashing during plucking (which is done just to the right of the table). A freshly-killed carcass is hung by the feet on the washing line, a few metres away.

“I put a large flexi-bin under the bird. That way, the feathers drop straight into it. When I’ve finished plucking, I also give the hanging bird a blast with the hose to wash off any feathers that have stuck to the carcass so I can see if I’ve missed any.”

Every time he needs to touch something new, Ross washes his hands.

He guts birds on the edge of the table and the organs fall into a bucket at his feet, helping to keep the table clean. He has a separate bucket for livers and hearts which he uses for pet food.

Once a bird is processed, it’s rinsed off in cold water and put in a sink of icy water.

Ross vacuum-seals birds in bags for freezing using a ‘redneck water bath.’ Search on YouTube for ‘How to Seal Foods Air-Free Without a Vacuum Sealer’ by the Serious Eats channel.

Read more from Ross Do you have what it takes to raise homekill? thisnzlife.co.nz

Ross’s set-up includes a new, plastic tarpaulin (only used once), buckets of soapy water, buckets for organs and feathers, and his boning knife. You can buy a butcher’s boning knife online for $15-$30+.

This is a small-scale plucking machine. You scald the birds in hot water to loosen the feathers, then place them in the machine, which takes around 30 seconds or so to pluck them. You can also buy plucking attachments for an electric drill.