Cleaning chickens

[MrHobblyfarm]

I'm brand new to this and I'm Hobbley Farms Hubby. Is there an easier way to clean a chicken. My wife down loaded instructions on how to clean a chicken I believe from this this site. In the instructions it required me to cut a hole just below the diaphram large enough to to insert my hand and pull out the inards. Well, I'm a rather large guy and it was rather difficult inserting my hand in the hole I made and pulling out the inards which I must say were quite slippery and had MUCH difficulty. Remember I'm new at this chicken cleaning thing, only one under my belt. My question; Can't I just take some tin snips/ meat scissors and cut through the center of the breast bone, pull it apart, and pull the inards out that way???? It seems a lot easier and I don't really care what the end product looks like I just want to eat it. Any suggestion or opinions appreciated. thanks

 

[Chickenfortress]

I don't have much trouble, but I can see your point. When cleaning doves or quail I use a gut hook. Maybe the difference in hand size would make it necessary for you to use one on your birds. It happens to be the right season to get hold of one. They are available at any place that sells hunting equipment, usually in the form of a folder/pocketknife. You may also be able to get one from a butchers supply such as Hobart.

 

[Richard]

I am new to this alos and by no means an expert but I have the same problem but was still able to do it but you can split the breast but I would use poultry shears instead and be carefully not to break or cut the intestines open

 

[MrHobblyfarm]

My main problem was getting the lungs out, would a gut hook help with that or should'nt I even worry about it, just get out what I can and cook the rest. I also had trouble getting the neck out, any suggestions for that? Thanks for the help.

 

[Richard]

Quote:
order a lung scraper tool thats what I did . I am going to use it on saturday for the first time I have 51 cornishXcross to do

 

[miss_jayne]

i scrape the lungs out with my fingers. rub across the ribs.
also, i use a powerful stream of water to blast out lung junk too.

as for the neck, i cut down into it with a really sharp knife from top and bottom, then i break it of. works awesome.

if your hands are large, try cutting the hole in a triangle shape, the top being at the base of the breast. that will give you a little room.

 

[MrHobblyfarm]

Thanks for the replies, I still have a few weeks before I have more than 1 chicken to clean, we have 5 cornish getting close to cleaning age so I'm trying to get my stuff together before then.

 

[jvls1942]

If you are not going to keep the chicken whole anyway, cut down both sides and remove the back from the breast. then you can remove the guts without squishing them to pieces.. to really get the bits and pieces out of the two halves, use a high pressure water hose.. I use a pressure washer for this and also on my deer after it is skinned and halved from neck to tail down the spine.. I use either a meat saw for that job, but I have also used a sawzall..

we do not freeze our chickens whole anymore.. it takes up too much freezer space.. and you can roast the halves and/or pieces just like you would a whole bird..

....jiminwisc..........

 

[jaku]

A simple way I found is to fillet them. Make a slice in the breast skin, then tear the skin away from the breasts. Now fillet off both breasts. Peel the skin back off of the legs down to where "knee" is (where the leg ends and the foot begins.) Unhinge the hip joint and cut the legs off with the thighs. You can probably do a similar process on the wings, but I didn't even bother with them when I did mine this way. It wastes very little meat, and eliminates gutting, as well as most skinning and ALL plucking. You're left with a fully intact but mostly meatless carcass.

 

[Hobbley_Farm]

Quote:
order a lung scraper tool thats what I did . I am going to use it on saturday for the first time I have 51 cornishXcross to do

I looked at our local Army Navy store which is Hunting/fishing heavy...and they hadn't even heard of such a thing. Where did you order yours? We might need to order one as well...