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Poultry Processing Workshop at Binksberry Hollow

• Tuesday, August 15, 2023, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
• Wednesday, August 16, 2023, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
• Thursday, August 17, 2023, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM

When: August 15th, 16th and 17th 2023 4:00-9:00 pm

Where: Binksberry Hollow 4250 Chestnut Rd Wilson NY 14172 (Main Butcher Shop and Abbitoir)

Hosts: Chef Steven Binks and The Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Education Team

Rain Or Shine

Binksberry Hollow staff will walk you through the process of processing chickens from the field to the freezer.

This will be an absolute beast of a presentation. You will learn every aspect of handling, processing and butchering pastured poultry.

Participants will learn food safety, butchering techniques, and how to break down the carcass. This is workshop will be a combination of a presentation and hands-on experiences.

Everyone will actively participate in the process from start to finish and you will take home chicken that you’ve processed.

All course materials are included in the workshop fee of $375.00 per person.

Registration is required and limited.

This workshop is designed for adults age 18+.

No kids or pets allowed

Here’s a brief outline of the activities that will be happening each evening.

Tuesday, August 15th- we will cover food safety and humane animal handling and go over every aspect of the workflow for efficiently humanely processing poultry on the farm. At Binksberry Hollow, we pride ourselves on our methods of humanely handling birds throughout their life cycle. We take this job very seriously and will share with you all of our tricks and tips to keep the animals calm comfortable and relaxed. We will also go through every part of the process in our abattoir a day in advance so you know what to expect and can decide what to participate in or opt out of on processing day. There is no judgment here. We only want you to participate in what you are comfortable doing.

Wednesday, August 16th- we will be processing 100 birds on Wednesday everything from humanely dispatching scalding plucking evisceration, and proper safe food handling when chilling and storing will be covered. I will repeat what I said above, you do not have to participate in any activity that you do not feel comfortable doing and there will be no judgment if you decide to opt out of a certain part of the process. However, we will create a rotating system where every person will have a chance to participate in every aspect of poultry processing.

Thursday, August 17th- with the birds chilled it’s time to move on to basic poultry butchering techniques. We will share with you how to not only break down chicken, fillet chicken breasts, and make spatchcock chicken but we will go over the proper tools and techniques necessary for a successful continuation of your culinary adventure at home. You will also learn how to shrink wrap and vacuum seal you’re finished product for maximum shelf life and minimal waste. If we have time I will prepare some of the chicken for us to try. Everyone will take home chicken regardless of what part of the process they take part in.

I want to share with you a parting message on our philosophy here at Binksberry Hollow.

We absolutely love raising and being around farm animals. They bring us great joy and happiness.

We take no joy in processing day.

In fact it’s one of our least favorite parts of the entire farming experience for us. This is the reason we are so serious and efficient about the way we handle the birds at the end of their life cycle. Our birds are not confined to a tight space and then shipped hours away in a dark truck to be processed. They are very quickly moved from their natural environment to the dispatching area to absolutely minimize stress on the birds. We are culinarians at heart and get great enjoyment out of raising our animals for food. If you decide to join us you will see and experience the tremendous quality that can be achieved when animals are put in the right environment and treated with respect.

One final note on safety, we are a state-inspected and licensed poultry abattoir and butcher shop. Also, we have a Niagara county health permit for our food preparation area. Throughout the entire three days, we will be strictly enforcing all health codes when it comes to safe food handling. In my personal opinion, these food safety techniques are worth the price of admission in itself. With almost 40 years of experience as professional chefs, we are insanely rigid when it comes to food safety and always maintaining a sanitary environment. These skills will translate directly into your home kitchen and will help you maintain a safe food environment for you and your family for the rest of your life. Think of it as a bonus mini-course on food safety woven into all three days.

Pay online at this link:

 

Fee

$375.00/ person

Location

Binksberry Hollow
4250 Chestnut Road
Wilson, NY 14172

Last updated March 20, 2023