BUTCHER IN THE BARNYARD

Though we never raised pigs on my home farm after I was born, I’m sure, if we had, fall would have been hog butchering time. As it was, we designated spring and fall to chicken butchering and it was a dreaded day. All those cute, fluffy chicks we raised each spring, grew into potential menu items being prepped for our table. It was hard not to get attached to them as we fed them and watched them grow. We even named many of them and considered them pets.

Never mind that, life on the farm meant we had a barnyard to table policy. Raise, kill, eat. That simple. So, on a lovely fall Saturday, when we couldn’t take refuge in school, Dad would snag a dozen roosters and place them in a crate. One by one, he’d stretch their necks on a stump and, holding their legs in one hand and an axe in the other, dealt a swift blow, cleanly chopping their heads off. It was a gruesome sight to witness all that blood as the bodies flopped around on the grass. Next, came the boiling water dunk. A five gallon pail of water was bubbling in the firepit and the birds were dipped in head(less) first to prepare for the plucking crew. That was me and my brothers. We picked handfuls of the soggy feathers before Mom, wielding a very large and very sharp butcher knife (was that tool named for the chore or the profession?), cut an opening between the legs of each chicken large enough to insert a hand into to remove the entrails. We all took our turns at this too because, despite that smell which I will NEVER forget, it was downright fascinating. Intestines, gizzards, liver, hearts, kidneys, the crop, it was sobering but morbidly educational. Lastly, the feet were broken off after cutting around the joint. Those we chose not to eat though I have tried them. Once was enough for that.

The final chore before the bodies hit the oven or freezer was to singe the pin feathers with a wooden match. Then, guess what we had for dinner? You got it. Company! That was the one redeeming part of the whole day.

COMPANY’S COMING FRIED CHICKEN

2 fryer chickens, cut up

1 quart plus 1/4 cup buttermilk

5 cups flour

3 tablespoons seasoned salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 cup milk

Canola oil for frying

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Soak chicken in one quart buttermilk overnight. When ready to prepare, mix breading ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, seasoned salt, pepper, thyme, paprika and cayenne. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup buttermilk and milk. Pour into flour mixture combine till slightly lumpy. Heat 1-1/2 inches oil in a deep skillet until it reaches 365 degrees on a thermometer. Lower heat slightly. Working in batches, coat each piece of chicken in breading. Add chicken to hot oil, cover pan and fry 5 to 7 minutes. Turn pieces over and fry 3 to 5 minutes more. Keep oil at stable temperature. Remove chicken from oil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

4 cups flour

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup cold butter, cut in pieces

1-1/4 cups buttermilk

In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. With a pastry blender, cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in buttermilk and mix gently with a fork until just combined. Lightly flour a clean surface. Turn dough out of bowl and roll to a 1/3 to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter and place on baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 11 to 14 minutes until golden brown.

FALL (FLAT) APPLE PIE

5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons flour

Juice of half a lemon

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pie crust

6 tablespoons butter

In a large bowl,  stir together apples, flour, lemon juice and sugars and salt. Set aside. Roll out 2 pie crusts into large circles. Place on baking sheets. Place half of the apple mixture on each crust. Fold the edge of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apples. Dot the top of each pie with butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and bubbly. Slice into wedges.