Butchered first chicken- did I do it right?

[RUNuts]

You can put it in the frig air, but the skin dries out after a day. Not recommended long term. With an ice chest, the air is moist and not dehumidified like the frig.

I've been told to put the meat on a tray or paper above the ice and been known to let it float in the melt water.

Cheers

 

[Parront]

I like to age the birds on the wire racks in the frig, and let the skin get a little dry. They roast nice, and do not absorb a lot of water like a store bird. No big puddle in the roaster with a home grown air aged roaster.
Hand plucking takes longer, you can skin them to speed it up. Some people cut them in half with poultry shears, my hands are not strong enough for that. Your knife stays sharper if you avoid the bones. Just cut the meat between the joints. Avoid the feathers, they don't cut well and dull your knife, too. I hope to never get the amount of practice needed to get the kind of speed rjohns has!