In remembrance of Zack, the chicken

Last night I got carried away listing all the foods, and I forgot to mention who was in the soup. Zack was the second in command in the chicken flock, the beta male, always battling for first with Jake. He always got second choice, after Jake and Alex (his hench-chicken) were done picking the compost for worms.

I raised five roosters in my backyard. In order of status: Jake, Zack, Alex, Itsy and Bitsy. I butchered them when mom told me they were getting too big and loud, and that they were ruining the back yard. I brought them to my friend and mentor Tim van Valen, who showed me how to butcher them.

Butchering them was easier than I thought it would be. I killed them by chopping their heads off. It wasn't very hard to kill them, I always told myself I couldn't get attached, since I was going to eat them. Everyone knows what dead chickens do after you chop their heads off, and these were no exception. I still can't quite believe how they landed some of the flips they did. After they stopped bleeding, I dunked them in a pot with boiling water and plucked all the feathers off. This was surprisingly easy. After plucking all five chickens, all I had to do is take the insides out and freeze them.

And just so everyone knows, Zack made a delicious soup.