I think I scalded too hot`HELP PLEASE NOT SURE IF OKAY TO EAT!

[zrachie]

Hi All,

Just butchered my chickens...did I ruin them? I dunked them in boiling water for about 30 seconds. The feathers pulled out nice, but the skin looks cooked as does the first layer of meat. are they still okay to eat? Thanks in advance!

 

[TimG]

I think they should be cooked for more than 30 seconds before eating.

 

[LindseyM12]

TimG, I think zrachie is talking about dunking them in hot water to get the feathers out so they can cook them.

 

[crj]

Boiling water for 30 seconds??
140-150 degree water for 1 minute or less is all you need.
They should be fine to eat providing you took all the right steps such as chilling etc....
I think you just messed up the skin. You could always skin them and cut them up into pieces.

 

[zrachie]

I dunked them in boiling water for 30 seconds then did an ice bath for plucking...ugh..first time, I read scalding and did boiling.

 

[stanglover2001]

I think they will be fine, we've done the same thing before. Just stick them in the fridge, make sure to cook them really well

and from now on the scald temp should be 140-150 degree F, and some people do the dunking in the ice bath and I find it to be a useless step that wastes ice cubes but thats just my opinion.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Consider dry plucking. It smells much better. No feathers sticking to your fingers either. Sorry about the skin thing. I would eat them though. I can't see that any harm will come. Just overlook the way it looks now and give it a try.

 

[ChIck3n]

As long as they were chilled after plucking they should be fine to eat. Think about it, you basically flashcooked the skin. You can eat leftover reheated cooked chicken, so the "cooked" skin will have no ill effects (in fact, the boiling may have killed off a few more bacteria than normal). A few seconds of raised internal temperature will not make the bacteria grow much faster. Just cook them like usual and you will be fine. The worst that could happen is you have a tougher outer layer of meat after you cook them.