Is this Gelly like stuff between the skin and meat normal???

[FuzzFaceFarm]

I do have a question about processing birds for you all. In between the skin and the meat there is this clear kind of gelatinous stuff that you can pull away. What is that? Is that like fascial or myofascial tissue or the birds water stores or something because it wasn't fat or anything like that. It just felt kind of clear, soft, and squishy like a jellyfish. Thanks for any answers!

I have read on some other pages and online forums that it's normal especially if you soak a bird in water during the processing of the bird but I haven't found an explanation of exactly what it is and this is the first bird I have ever processed so I have nothing to really compare to.

I have read through some posts on here and some members have explained it as: " It's just the mucus membranes between the skin and muscle, they swell up with water sometimes, when being soaked, it's a condition of the bird not being fully hydrated when alive." and another person said "The only time I've seen a gel under the skin was with some broilers who developed breast blisters on the keel bone. The fluid is how you describe it, it comes from heavy breeds resting on the keel bone from small roosts or wet conditions" She was a kind of heavy breed and she did soak in cold water for at least half an hour before cutting her up since we weren't ready for processing prior to starting her.

I am just wanting to know what it is and I want to make sure that it's safe to eat. A bunch of people have apparently eaten birds that have had this and said they tasted fine but I want to make sure before I stew her. She was a Golden Laced Wyandotte hen that was about 7 months old.

 

[Pork Pie]

I don't know what it is, but I have noted that it's quite common in butchery-bought broilers where I live. I'm sure that such birds are safe to eat - I'm still alive, at least

 

[FuzzFaceFarm]

Ok great!!!

And thank you so much for the super fast reply because I wanted to let her rest until tomorrow and then cook her since I butchered her today. She was one of my 7 month old layers who had an unfortunate encounter with one of my American Bulldogs so I thought it most humane to stop her suffering ASAP and since she was a full grown dual purpose bird (one of my Golden Laced Wyandottes) I thought it best not to let her death go to waste. The meat and everything looks great and I have had plenty of freshly home butchered meat but I was young at the time and hadn't taken part in the butchering process that I remember so I just wanted some opinions from people that have experience before we eat her....just for the peace of mind. =) I asked my mom who grew up on a farm and always butchered the chickens with my grandfather but she didn't remember.

 

[cactusrota]

Rabbits have that too. Not sure what else, but I'm sure I've seen it in other animals. In veterinary, they sometimes give fluids by "sub cutaneous" or "subQ" by injecting the fluids under the skin into that layer. It's a way to give fluids that allows the body to absorb it more slowly than intravenous "I.V." I could never find out what that stuff was called, and have found that if you rinse or use any water while butchering it gets worse... and annoying.

 

[Maeschak]

Yeah, I have seen that stuff in both chickens and deer. It grosses me out, but is harmless and seems to go away after the carcass dries a bit. I see it in chicken that has gotten too wet during/after processing. In deer, it is most visible around the gun shot wound as blood coagulates in this mucous. Anyway, I usually try to pull it off to no avail- it goes away on its own while resting in the fridge (I think it is just dehydrating a bit).

 

[Christine The Shopper]

The goo between the layer of Chicken Skin and Meat is a product of plumping that usually happens at the butcher. Plumping, also referred to as “enhancing” or “injecting,” is the process by which some poultry companies inject raw chicken meat with saltwater, chicken stock, seaweed extract, sodium, other additives or some combination thereof. The solution contains a long list of ingredients that can account for up to 15%-30%, or more, of the chicken's weight. It's usually injected in the fascia between the chicken skin and meat.

Plumping is widely practiced since the 1970's and FDA approved. Plumping costs U.S. shoppers at least $2 billion dollars a year at the cash register. While the industry says that plumping makes chicken taste better, internally it is well known that besides boosting profits, plumping is also done to remove the chlorine taste. Chicken is soaked in chlorine to remove all the pathogens that form in the often unsanitary conditions of chicken plants.

Prolong periods of injecting plumped chickens can cause health problems such as: high blood pressure, and heart disease.

They started to plump organic chickens too.

Extra reading material: https://www.livingtosmile.com/chicken-plumping/

 

[Geena]

It's fascia, a thin clear connective tissue that surrounds muscles, perfectly normal.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It can also be silverskin. Both show up in excess in rabbits and it's normal connective tissue in almost any animal, including chickens. It usually dehydrates away in the fridge.