I'm Not A Pheasant Plucker

Friday 22nd December 2017
I'm Not A Pheasant Plucker
I have previously made my thoughts about shooting perfectly clear. I'll just say wannabe aristocrats terrifying and blasting a helpless quarry! That should give you some idea!
I wouldn't be allowed to rear my sheep only to release them into a strange woodland, have them chased out into the open and then shot so that a few people can have a right old jolly in the countryside. So why is this an acceptable way to slaughter gamebirds?
A few genuinely wild birds taken to supplement a country dweller's diet might be more open to debate, but that is not what we are talking about.

Anyway, the people who do the shooting can't even be bothered to show enough respect to their 'quarry' to actually take the time to prepare it and eat it. And so, every year, a load of pheasants come my way and I am very happy to accept the free and tasty meat which they provide. In no way does my accepting this gift promote or support the shooters, but at least the birds didn't die for nothing.

Sue is in charge of skinning and taking off the heads and feet. We had a dozen brace to process and this is by far the quickest way to do it.
Once they are processed this far, they begin to look like supermarket carcasses, but they are not yet cleaned.















It is then my turn to finish the processing. I take off the legs and the breasts. Doing it this way means that you don't need to take out the insides, which is a messy and smelly business. Hardly any meat is wasted as the wings are really not worth processing and Arthur is most willing to accept any scraps which I pull off the processed carcass.



Saturday 23rd December 2017
Get Stuffed!
The year has come round so quickly, for on 23rd December 2016 I was writing about how we went to see Santa to show us how to bone out and truss a turkey.
Well guess what.



Paul is a veteran butcher who is always happy to share his time and his skills. He is brave too, for going within several feet of Sue when she is wielding a freshly sharpened knife is not for the feint-hearted.
Paul was involved in the smallholding movement way before The Good Life was screened and is a goldmine of information. Time spent with him and his wife is always most pleasurable and enlightening.