ok so i think we have the butcher mostly down. last year,by accident we got 2 cornishx chicks,did some research,butchered them and fixed them for dinner. well this year we want to try it out on a larger #of chicks. what im having trouble with is what to do after the butchering. 1. we bought a plucker that is used with a drill,didnt work so well,but the instuctions said to have dry feathers.found out they where water foul instructions. so does anyone use this type of plucker? will it work? how?? 2.after the chickens are dead, so we wait to cut them up? is there an amount of time before they go from fridge to freezer? 3. what is brining,do we have to do it? i know all this info is here somewhere,but the more i look the more i get confused lol. i have about 5 weeks until they birds are ready so i need to get prepared!!!
1) I'm not too sure about the plucker, but I would say you should scald the birds first. It loosens the feathers. 2) You don't have to wait to chop them up. I've heard you should let them rest a day before you freeze them, to let the muscles relax. 3) Brining is soaking meat in a salt-water bath. You don't need to do it. If you do, you do it just before cooking. It helps keep the meat moist when you cook it.
Quote:thanks, i tried the plucker this weekend on 5 birds we had that where ready,never used one and just went by the directions,LOL. i emailed the company and they said ,it can be used for chickens,they dont market it for chickens,what ever that is supposed to mean. but they also suggested i scald them first. i wonder if there is a better plusker out there? or are they all equal? 3 of the 5 had to be skinned,because of ripping with the plucker,so i plan on marinating them,and the other 2 i plan on maybe rosting,but not brinning,just because im not 100 percent on how to do it,or if i really need to
On the top right of this page in search type in "how to brine". That will bring up all you ever wanted to know about it.... As for the plucker's...They have some great machines out there that can remove the feathers in a matter of secs to minutes. If you have the cash....they have the plucker for you....Good Luck!! Edited because I left out a point.
If you scald them you can hand pull the feathers. 150 degree water for several seconds -- they are ready if wing feathers come out easily. Probably the safest way to save the skin. If you don't brine they will be much tougher. Store bought birds (Cornish X) are brined, or else injected, which works in a similar way. After researching here, I plan to brine for 12-24 hours in 3/4 cup kosher salt to about 1 gallon of water, or enough to cover one bird. But there are many formulas for this, as another poster said. You should not wait between killing and refrigerating, to avoid bacterial growth. Pluck, drop in ice water, then remove and gut and cut up, then put in brine in refrigerator. Cook or freeze after brining. Can hold in refrigerator out of the brine a while as well. Resting in refrigerator for about 24 hours without brining will also help some in reducing toughness, but not as much as brining will. If you kill, process, then go directly to freezer or oven, rigor mortis will still be present. These are the conclusions I have drawn after researching here for some hours. I have processed birds, but not a lot of them.
This last go round I experimanted with out plucker on a drill. 1. It will not dry pluck when mounted on a drill. 2. you really need to scald the birds, 45 seconds to 55 seconds at 140 to 150 degrees. 3. The direction the drill turns makes a big difference. the correct order is. 1. Kill 2. Pluck, either by scalding then wet plicking or dry plucking 3. remove the guts, feet ect. and other parts. 4. Wash inside and outside of the bird. Using cold water to help cool down the birds. 5 Rest the meat 12 to 24 hours, at a tempature of 40 to 32 degrees. Generally speaking between the Kill and starting the chill down, step 1 and 5, I usually about 1 hours. During this rest period you can. brine soak in water marinate We do not brine with salt we soak in plain cold water for 48 hours, and it has the same effect. The iodine in table salt , makes using for this of little to no usefullness except for taste. Salt used in brining in commercial birds is mostly for taste. If you think you meat will be to tough, us pineapple juice this is the best known meat tenderiser. Tom
Wait 24 hours before cutting them up or freezing them. You can cut them up right away, but they just don't look as pretty if you do it before rigor is gone.
