Hi, I harvested the last of my CX, and have a few questions: Once I have pulled out all of the easy to remove insides, like guts gizzard and heart, do I really need to scrape out the rest? Like lungs, and whatever dark thing along spine? I like to eat as much offal as I can safely, so if I can leave it in and cook it with the rest, I'd like to. Also, when I took them in to wash after skinning, a weird clear water logged layer of flesh kept forming. I would try to rub and wash it off, but another would form. Is this normal?
I don't think it's necessary to remove the lungs if you want to eat them with the rest of the chicken, but many people don't. They're quite difficult to completely remove with slippery hands - some people use melon ballers to scrape them out, but all of the ones I've found lack a serrated edge, so I'm going to try a tomato corer. Could it have been air, rather than water, trapped in the skin? I wouldn't be too concerned about either, but haven't seen what you described to date.
Every chicken I have processed usually has that clear bubble thing. It has an official name that I can't remember right now, but it's normal. It has a crazy texture and I would say it is very possible even though you were popping it, that it was resealing and filling back up with water.
That clear thing is some kind of membrane between the skin and meat. Totally normal. Congratulations on your harvest!
