Butchered bird storage

[mythkat]

Hi all,

I just butchered two roosters. They are in the cooler with ice and salt and I was just going to clean them. How long can they stay in there before cleaning? There's a storm and my well pump just went out so no running water. They can't fix it till tomorrow.

 

[mythkat]

What about cleaning them? I have no water with the pump out. Will it matter if they go back in the cooler without being washed off?

 

[mythkat]

It's the vertical snow kind.

I just finished and they're in the cooler. Thanks for your help.

 

[greathorse]

I know that we all are taught to get the innards out asap, but for many years the preferrred way of taking fowl of the farm and to fine dining restaraunts was to leave the innards in and the chefs would remove. Remember the inside of a bird is sterile until we make a cut into it.

I dont like handling cold guts myself, but I really don't think it is a safety issue at all.

Game birds are often hung for a few days with the innards in them for aging purposes.

 

[cassie]

I am old enough to remember when dressed poultry meant that the feathers were removed. Period. MY WWII cookbook gives detailed instructions on how to clean a chicken, because back then when you brought the chicken home from the market you had to clean it yourself. Just chill the darn thing and it will be fine.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Serious???!!! Wow, that is great news! So does cutting off the head count as "cutting into it?"

That would sure help my back out if I could just kill a few and finish it up inside. It's getting cold out there!

 

[jaku]

Well, lets also remember what food safety standards were in the times that those things were acceptable. The reason our food is safer now is that we KNOW the things that cause sickness, whereas we didn't in pre-WWII times. Just because you "probably won't die," doesn't mean it's a good idea to do something.

Bodies start to break down IMMEDIATELY at the point of death, and the internal organs are where this process starts most drastically. Always clean and dress an animal as soon as possible after killing it. I know some people will gut and eat deer the day after killing it, and other animals long after they're dead- good luck with that. Do everything possible to ensure that your birds are gutted and chilled to 40 degrees within an hour after death.