Dirty chicken

[Hopeful homesteader]

Yesterday we processed 2 chickens and my husband dropped one in the dirt. They're skinned, not plucked but there's dirt stuck on a clear membrane that was really hard to clean off, the wings weren't worth saving so we just cut them off. I sat at the sink pinching at this clear membrane and pulling it off the get the dirt off for over an hr. Aside from the obvious "don't drop the chicken" are there any suggestions you guys have for future use that would make it easier to clean dirt off without ruining the meat?

 

[Isadora]

That membrane is ridiculously sticky, isn't it?
We didn't skin the majority of our birds and the dirt is pretty easy to rinse off of them. But I have gotten dirt on the membrane before when we've been cutting them up and it's not easy to remove. I would suggest taking a sharp knife and trimming off the membrane.

 

[3KillerBs]

My first thought would be blasting it with running water.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

My first thought would be blasting it with running water.

He immediately started spraying it down with the hose and the bulk of it rinsed off but finer dirt didn't budge. Then he put it in a 5 gallon bucket of water he'd made up to cool it down hoping the soak would help but made no difference so I took it to the kitchen, was really a pain in the butt. Thinking of putting out milk crates so instead of holding them out over the ground to rinse during processing he can lay it on the crate and not worry about dropping any.

 

[Painted Calls]

Try dropping a deer ham in the dirt and leaves. No amount of scrubbing will get debris off that membrane. Best to use a knife and gently peel it away. Wipe on a dry paper towel before going back in for more.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't have any great easy suggestions. Usually when this happens is when I get careless rinsing off my work table and knock some chicken to the ground. Or I don't have a good grip on it when I'm rinsing it off with the hose. Pure carelessness. That stuff does not rinse off or soak off. I do what you probably did, rinse off what I can, trim off what membrane I can, and just pick at the rest. It is a pain and really upsets my schedule. If it is a less desirable piece of meat, say a wing, I may toss it.

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

Try dropping a deer ham in the dirt and leaves. No amount of scrubbing will get debris off that membrane. Best to use a knife and gently peel it away. Wipe on a dry paper towel before going back in for more.

I couldn't imagine, processing a deer alone is nearly a whole days work, I'd probably cry if this happened and that membrane is much stickier than chicken. I'm upset just thinking about this lol

 

[Painted Calls]

I couldn't imagine, processing a deer alone is nearly a whole days work, I'd probably cry if this happened and that membrane is much stickier than chicken. I'm upset just thinking about this lol

It adds so much more time to the process.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Thats why I leave skin on...plucking is quicker then skinning.

 

[Isadora]

Thats why I leave skin on...plucking is quicker then skinning.

And the skin is delicious!