can i just skin my chickens?

[chooniecat]

I am having a hard time with figuring out processing my chickens for eating. all the pics and text don't cut it for me(questions i have aren't answered) my neighbor has agreed to show me how he did it as a kid($ a HUGE issue) and given i don't want to eat the skin anyhow can I just leave the boiling water part out? know how to kill them and have knives. just don't know if I HAVE to pluck them if I don't want the skin.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Matt A NC]

We haven't plucked a chicken in years. We skin them all.

If you plan to use one to bake whole, then you need the skin to keep it from drying out.

Matt

 

[Jades Chickens]

You can totally just skin them with out removing the feathers. We have done it many times. The only disadvantage with skining is if you are freezing them they will get freezer burnt faster. The skin kind of protects the meat for a longer time. I like skinning them better than plucking. If your neighbor can show you that would definatly help. You might want to plan on just doing a couple of them at first that way you don't feel rushed. Once you do it a few times you will realize it isn't as complicated as it sounds. Well hope it goes goes good for you.

 

[chooniecat]

i am not the brightest of stars but now that you mention it i WILL have to freeze a large part of them so leaving the skin on would be a good idea for that. have NEVER killed one for food(the only one we've killed was 1 of 2 roosters we had because they started fierce fighting) and i hated to waste the meat but had NO clue how to process him then. the 1st one i will do here soon is the remaining rooster and i will just skin him until i have figured out the cheapest way to pluck(carpel tunnel is also an issue so will HAVE to do bulk of it with plucker)I ramble. thanks again.

 

[Davaroo]

Look up dipsy doodle doo, here on BYC. Lisa is a bona-fide expert at "peeling" chickens.

 

[Teach97]

to help cut down on freezer burn with skinned birds you can go ahead and debone and vaccum pack them...another trick is to freeze them in water. Been doing that with quail and dove forever and it works with chickens as well...I use gallon milk jugs...use half gallon for quail and dove

 

[jjparke]

I have never plucked a chicken and never plan to. Skinning is just too easy. I make one cut from belly to neck (I cut heads off) then one cut down each side just behind wing. Then skin peels off in 2 pieces. Good luck.

 

[halo]

Oohhh....being a visual person, Id love to see a picture of that process. Sounds waaaaay too easy.

 

[jaku]

Depending on what you're looking for, there's a ridiculously simple way I use to skin them. You lose the wings, but I'm ok with that for some of my birds. You don't need to pluck, gut, or do any cleanup.

Lay the dead, bled out bird on its back, and pinch a small piece of breast skin between your two fingers. Make a slice big enough to get a couple of fingers in, but don't cut any meat (that's why you pinched the skin up.) Put your knife down and put fingers from both hands in the hole you just cut. Rip the skin so that you're pulling it towards the head and feet. In an instant, with little effort, the clean, skinless breasts will be exposed, and the skin will be halfway down the legs as well.

Next, fillet off both breasts- use a sharp knife, a knowledge of chicken anatomy and some fillet skills here, and you'll be fine. Now you have two boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

After that, and this part takes a little more effort, pull the skin down the legs, one leg at a time. This will be a little harder to do, but just take your time. When you get past the "knee," slice through the joint (not through the bone!!) and the foot is free of the meat, but still attached to the skin. Be sure to pull PAST the knee, or when you cut the joint, you'll be cutting a bunch of feathers, and you'll be left with them on your meat.

Next, bend the leg/thigh out, away from the body. With the legs spread, slice some of the skin in the "crotch" area. This will allow the ball & socket joint to come free easier. Now, holding near the hip, continue to spread the leg so that you dislocate the hip joint. If you break the femur, you either were holding too close to the knee, or you didn't cut enough "crotchskin" to loosen the joint.

Now that the hip is dislocated, you can cut the tissue that holds the thigh to the body- again, DON'T cut through any bone! Repeat on the other side. You are left with skinless legs.

The remaining carcass has all the guts, feet, head, and feathers still attached. I burn mine, but you can do whatever you want with it.

You give up a little meat this way, but you save a TON of time, and still get most of the meat. I'm going to be making some videos next week when I process the rest of my birds. Maybe I'll post a video of that method, if anyone would be interested.

 

[Bailey1234]

I'd like to see that video jaku. Mine are only 4wks. right now but I'm thinking.