FEATHER PLUCK vs SKINNING?

[MissPrissy]

I skin extra roos when I have too many roos and not enough time to do a proper pluck.

For roasting chicken the skin is a must. If you only have one you skinned and want to roast it then wrap it in bacon. Lots of bacon. To keep it moist.

 

[smith2]

Quote:
Ditto! You and I think alike. I love my canned chicken and so does my husband. I have to keep him out of it or he uses it for everything you can think of and then I am OUT!

 

[cloudlet]

Hi,

For those of you who skin, do you ever save the feathers for things such as fly tying? I have rooster (who was supposed to be a hen.) I'd considered keeping him around to make chicklets, but he's more aggressive than I think the hens want and he crows all day long. So far the neighbors haven't said anything, but I'd rather not cause a hubbub, so we're strongly considering dispatching him. He's 20 weeks, though. Is that too old? He's a Wyandotte. His feathers are beautiful and I and a good friend, both tie flys, so I'd love to use them, but I don't know about how you treat the skin. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[njredneckgirl]

We just butchered 23 red broilers today in 1 hour. We have been eating our own chickens for 5 years now and have found the best way to process is to scald, pluck with a featherman, cut off wing tips and feet to discard, then cut off wings and legs keeping the skin on. Then filet each breast off the bone. Then cut through the ribs to get the heart and liver out. If I need some backs for stock I will eviserate but normally I don't.

We like to make buffalo wings, we like to roast legs for two hours with yummy skin on, and the breast we like to pound thin to quick cook for chicken parm, francese, piccata, or just plain. So this method saves freezer space and we make the most out of the meat. We found that when roasting a whole chicken the breast would be perfect but the wings and legs were gummy and not cooked enough to be tender and we wouldn't eat them. Also they take up tons of freezer space.

 

[jvls1942]

this is going to be a hit and miss reply.. I can't remember who said what.. I am going by memory and it is short..

so pick out what you want ....LOL

freezing without skin should make no difference in the length of time frozen, because you are not going to keep it frozen long enough to make any difference..

to the flytiers.. after the chicken is dead, take a scissors and give him a "haircut"... after you have the feathers you want, then scald and pluck him....

canned meat does not need skin ..

My cardiologist recommends to not eat the skin..(but fried crispy it still tastes sooo good) LOL

If you want to kill a bird and eat just the breast, do it.. If you want to save every scrap of meat, liver, heart, neck etc etc,,do it.. I have said that someday I am going to buy a watermelon and eat just the heart out of it.... I better do it soon before my next heart attack.LOL
My kids were teenagers before they knew there was a heart in the watermelon. I would cut a slice and eat the heart and give the kids the seedy part.. they didn't know the difference..LOL

My point is, you raised it, do what you want with it.. If somebody criticizes you for it, cut off the parts you want and give the rest to that person..(or throw it away and tell them you did) It is your bird,,,your choice..

 

[mirecipes]

What if I want to use the feathers for a pillow..
I'm thinking using scissors (like a previous person said) would make the tips kind of sharp instead of rounded..
And scalding seems like it would totally ruin the feathers for pillow purposes..

Any ideas?

 

[jvls1942]

you can scald the feathers off and then put them into a sack like a pillow slip and tumble them in a dryer to dry them on low heat..

don;t forget to tie the sack shut..

 

[mirecipes]

We don't own a dryer

I normally just hang clothes to dry..

Quote:

 

[jvls1942]

We don't own a dryer

I normally just hang clothes to dry..

Quote: take them to a laundromat and spend a buck on a dryer ..

 

[ConcreteThumb]

I slaughtered my first bird the other day. I did the scaling water thing and plucked the feathers.
That took forever it seemed. Thing is, especially on the wings, there is this muck in the feather pores that i have to pop out like a zit. To make it go a bit faster, i scrape the skin with the soft side of a blade, but ive torn the skin in some places by doing this.

Im assuming this is bits of dust and stuff.

I see other pics of plucked birds and ive not seen this. What can i do about this? There are still bunches of these dots on the bird.