- Thread starter
- #11
Kabouter
In the Brooder
- Apr 25, 2017
- 9
- 5
- 17
So I realized I never really discussed my processing here. I think my process was pretty standard but here it is:
1. Killing cone, slit throat, hang for 90 seconds
2. Scald, I have a 20 gallon pot filled with water and a bit of dish soap, 155 degrees for ducks and scalded for about 40 seconds
3. Plucker, toss them into the EZ plucker and hit them with the hose, maybe 15ish seconds
4. Hand pluck and remaining feathers
5. Duck wax, I heated duck wax in an old five gallon bucket set in a big pot over a propane burner, dip the duck, then into an ice bath, peel off the duck wax and the bird looked almost perfect
6. Evisceration table, eviscerate the ducks, saving hearts, gizzards, and in tact livers (some were huge!)
7. Rinse with fresh water
8. Air chill, I have my chest freezer setup with a temperature controller (for brewing and general usefulness) set to 33 degrees. I made some scrap wood supports and zip-tied the chickens up to hang and chill. I aged them for 3 days. Note: spray the freezer down with sanitizer or a diluted bleach solution. I used Iodophor which is a high quality food grade iodine based sanitizer, I also use Starsan regularly.
9. Bag, after aging the birds, I cut off feet, torched off any remaining feather fuzz with a blowtorch, and bagged them using hot water. It worked really well, and the birds looked professional after I got the hang of it (first 4 birds looked a little wonky).
It seems like very few around here air chill their birds. The benefits seem significant to me and it really didn't add any work. My birds were down to 35 degrees within an hour and a half (checked with my Thermapen thermometer). Here is a picture of the birds hanging in the freezer:
This is the temperature controller I use, it isn't the cheapest option, but it works well and requires no work: http://www.northernbrewer.com/therm...9qaoss7F8Sl32MWQ0mhgZn8l6dXrkgKwaAtt2EALw_wcB
1. Killing cone, slit throat, hang for 90 seconds
2. Scald, I have a 20 gallon pot filled with water and a bit of dish soap, 155 degrees for ducks and scalded for about 40 seconds
3. Plucker, toss them into the EZ plucker and hit them with the hose, maybe 15ish seconds
4. Hand pluck and remaining feathers
5. Duck wax, I heated duck wax in an old five gallon bucket set in a big pot over a propane burner, dip the duck, then into an ice bath, peel off the duck wax and the bird looked almost perfect
6. Evisceration table, eviscerate the ducks, saving hearts, gizzards, and in tact livers (some were huge!)
7. Rinse with fresh water
8. Air chill, I have my chest freezer setup with a temperature controller (for brewing and general usefulness) set to 33 degrees. I made some scrap wood supports and zip-tied the chickens up to hang and chill. I aged them for 3 days. Note: spray the freezer down with sanitizer or a diluted bleach solution. I used Iodophor which is a high quality food grade iodine based sanitizer, I also use Starsan regularly.
9. Bag, after aging the birds, I cut off feet, torched off any remaining feather fuzz with a blowtorch, and bagged them using hot water. It worked really well, and the birds looked professional after I got the hang of it (first 4 birds looked a little wonky).
It seems like very few around here air chill their birds. The benefits seem significant to me and it really didn't add any work. My birds were down to 35 degrees within an hour and a half (checked with my Thermapen thermometer). Here is a picture of the birds hanging in the freezer:
This is the temperature controller I use, it isn't the cheapest option, but it works well and requires no work: http://www.northernbrewer.com/therm...9qaoss7F8Sl32MWQ0mhgZn8l6dXrkgKwaAtt2EALw_wcB
