Gut before or after the cold water?

[Anna_MN]

My family and I were having a discussion about the process of butchering. We are butchering for the first time on Friday. My brother and I say you should gut before you put them in the cold water, and my parents say gut after you cool down. So I figured I should ask my trusted friends on Backyard Chickens. So- do you gut them before the cold water bath or after?

 

[booker81]

I'll put them in cold water after scalding to cool off before plucking, more for my own comfort, and then once finished plucking, I gut. This is the process I use:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-raise-process-chickens-for-meat-tips-pictures

 

[DanIndiana]

I like the cold water first also. I hate the feeling of sticking my hand in a warm cavity, plus it gets the whole cool down process going right away.

 

[HEChicken]

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first. The order I do it is:

• Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
• Pluck
• Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
• Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days

 

[bairo]

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first. The order I do it is:

• Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
• Pluck
• Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
• Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days

x2

 

[Buster52]

Cold water first misses the point of cold water. It is to cool the carcass and avoid pathogens, getting them ready to put in the fridge to age 24 to 48 hours.

Cold water before plucking is a head scratcher. The point of the scald is to loosen the feathers. Why would you want to tighten them again before plucking?

I guess it would be okay to scald, pluck, cold water, eviscerate, then cold water again, but it isn't the direction I would go.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first.  The order I do it is:

• Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
• Pluck
• Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
• Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days

x2

X3 here

 

[Beekissed]

Scald, pluck, gut, then ice/water.

 

[bluere11e]

Hmmmm....it never even occurred to me to do the cold water first. The order I do it is:

• Dunk in hot water to allow for easier plucking
• Pluck
• Eviscerate (with cold running water nearby, I can rinse/fill the cavity as I go, which helps to wash residual blood away while eviscerating)
• Place in a stock pot of cold water in the fridge for a couple of days

x3

 

[cassie]

Just a comment. Not all that many years ago (1940's), poultry was sold plucked, period. You eviscerated it and removed the head and feet when you got it home. As for me, I gut them right after I pluck them.