Killing, Plucking, Eviscerating, & Cutting Up Your Chicken - Graphic!

[jaku]

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Detergent- just squirt some in. The amount doesn't really matter much.

If you're cooking the meat during your scald, your water is probably too hot. There isn't ONE temperature, rather a range. I set my thermometer at about 143 degrees, but anywhere from 130 to 160 works- the cooler your water, the longer your dunk will be, but you're less likely to tear the skin or cook the bird.

I don't dunk the feet, but you would need to to skin them.

The cold water is to stop the "cooking" after the scald. I dunk mine in ice water immediately after they go into the hot water to immediately stop any further cooking of the skin beyond loosening up the feathers.

 

[norcal]

How long do you let them bleed out? Time wise?

 

[jaku]

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Haha, til they stop bleeding! Should take a few minutes for all the dripping to stop.

 

[norcal]

I figured that would be the answer. heehee

Hubby just did our problem roo, and he looks kinda blue under the skin, I thought maybe he didn't bleed him long enough. ??

This thread was really helpful, as we didn't know about the glands in the tail.

 

[jaku]

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Could be- how did he kill it?

 

[norcal]

Uh, the axe to the head, and held him upside down for a few minutes. ?? The old fashioned way.

 

[jaku]

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Well, that should have bled him out fine I would have thought. The only thing I can think of is that if you cut the head off, the heart stops beating (besides some electrical movement,) instantly, which leaves a bit of blood behind, whereas cutting the jugular vein allows the bird to bleed out a little better.

 

[norcal]

Do they suffer more by cutting the Jugular? I noticed in this guys post he said to cut the vein and bleed until the chicken expires. That kind of worried me. I want them to "expire" instantaneously. ??

 

[Sunny Side Up]

My birds seem to "pass out" as soon as I slice through their jugular veins. I use a good sharp knife, hold their heads and stretch their necks taut, and make a deep decisive cut right below their jaw bone. They go limp & their eyes close right afterwards. There will be some residual flipping & flapping, but that's just reflexes, I don't think they're conscious of any of it.

I think I hurt my birds more when I tried to chop their heads. I couldn't get a good solid swing to remove their heads with one neat stroke. I've seen men able to do that, but I could not. I also found the carcasses to be bloodier after chopping, but cleaner after slicing.

 

[norcal]

Oh, well. Okay.