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Gut before or after the cold water?

post #1 of 11
4/18/12 at 5:26pm
Thread Starter 

My family and I were having a discussion about the process of butchering. We are butchering for the first time on Friday. My brother and I say you should gut before you put them in the cold water, and my parents say gut after you cool down. So I figured I should ask my trusted friends on Backyard Chickens. So- do you gut them before the cold water bath or after?

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Proud owner of 1 gold star chicken, 1 rhode island red chicken, 3 Columbian Wyandottes, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 5 Easter Eggers, 3 Speckled Sussex, 3 Welsummers, 3 Blue Andalusians, 3 Black Australorps, a black lab, a red tabby cat, and a ragdoll cat! Follow me at- http://raisingyourown.blogspot.com/ (updated 8/25)

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post #2 of 11
4/18/12 at 5:28pm

I'll put them in cold water after scalding to cool off before plucking, more for my own comfort, and then once finished plucking, I gut. This is the process I use:

 

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-process-chickens-for-meat-tips-pictures

How to process chickens at home! A step by step pictorial on processing chickens at home without lots of tools.

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How to process chickens at home! A step by step pictorial on processing chickens at home without lots of tools.

~No one ever said you had to be perfect to be happy. ~

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post #3 of 11
4/19/12 at 3:41am

I like the cold water first also. I hate the feeling of sticking my hand in a warm cavity, plus it gets the whole cool down process going right away.

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post #4 of 11
4/19/12 at 3:59am

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first.  The order I do it is:

  • Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
  • Pluck
  • Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
  • Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days

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Enjoying my 10-acres of country heaven with 50+ chickens, turkeys and muscovy ducks!

 

Read about my fox attack here

Read a fox attack survival story here

How to build a hoop house in 10 easy steps here

 

Are you from Kansas? (Click to show)

Come and join us on the Consolidated Kansas thread.  Don't try to read it all - just hit "reply", introduce yourself and join in the conversation:...

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post #5 of 11
4/19/12 at 4:03am

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by HEChicken View Post

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first.  The order I do it is:

  • Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
  • Pluck
  • Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
  • Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days

x2

 

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post #6 of 11
4/19/12 at 6:54am

 

Cold water first misses the point of cold water. It is to cool the carcass and avoid pathogens, getting them ready to put in the fridge to age 24 to 48 hours.

 

Cold water before plucking is a head scratcher. The point of the scald is to loosen the feathers. Why would you want to tighten them again before plucking?

 

I guess it would be okay to scald, pluck, cold water, eviscerate, then cold water again, but it isn't the direction I would go.

 

 

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"There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere." --Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

What I'm reading now:  Bullspotting: Finding Facts in the Age of Misinformation, by Loren Collins.

 

 

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post #7 of 11
4/19/12 at 7:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bairo View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by HEChicken View Post

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first.  The order I do it is:
  • Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
  • Pluck
  • Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
  • Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days
x2

X3 here thumbsup.gif

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TIME is the best thing to spend on a child!
Always calibrate your hygrometer before you incubate!!

Home to Black East Indies, Mandarins, Speckled Sussex, Barred Rock, Golden Buffs, Welsummers, Ameraucanas, Black Australorp, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Two Weimaraners, Two beautiful daughters and a great DH who builds whatever I need!

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post #8 of 11
4/19/12 at 10:06am

Scald, pluck, gut, then ice/water. 
 

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If you died tonight, where would you spend eternity?  Please think about it. 

Info we all need to know:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDDGl79x4Pc&feature=my_favorites&list=FLIvzTTPS3Bg-qsbs8VPh__Q


 

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post #9 of 11
4/19/12 at 1:24pm

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by HEChicken View Post

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first.  The order I do it is:

  • Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
  • Pluck
  • Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
  • Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days

 

x3

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post #10 of 11
4/23/12 at 11:38am

Just a comment.  Not all that many years ago (1940's), poultry was sold plucked, period.  You eviscerated it and removed the head and feet when you got it home. As for me, I gut them right after I pluck them.

The obscure we understand eventually. 
The obvious takes a little longer.
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The obscure we understand eventually. 
The obvious takes a little longer.
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