Meat in fridge??

[Stephanie_SAS]

Hi! I feel horrible, but we butchered our first ever batch of chickens on Saturday. And I haven't had a chance yet to get the feet peeled? (Just found out about blanching and peeling them the day before butchering). I really want to be able to use all parts of the bird...especially the feet in broth! Is it too late to blanch, peel, and freeze them today?? So...from Saturday to Wednesday?? (They've been in my refrigerator since butchering)

 

[Chaos18]

No it's not to late. When I butcher chickens I always let them rest for a couple days (even up to a week) in the fridge before freezing them. In the freezer I have some feet that are peeled and some that aren't. The ones that aren't peeled will get peeled when they get used.

 

[Chaos18]

 

[Beer can]

You should be able to freeze them skin on if you want, can't see why not. They sell them in stores skin on.
I always let my birds 'rest' in the fridge for two days sometimes three before freezing, allows the rigormortus to get out of them, makes them more tender.
Sat to Wed on the feet? Humm, should be OK, just think of how long they'd sit in the store.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree, it's not too late. If the meat is still good then the feet are.

Have you ever blanched and peeled them before? People tend to overcook them when they blanche them which causes the skin to tear extremely easily and make them a pain to peel. I generally blanche younger chicken's feet for about 15 seconds, older chickens never more than 20 seconds. I don't know how long is the right amount of time for yours that have aged in the fridge and will be cold when you put them in the water, but don't overdo it.

The reason I peel mine and twist off the toenails is that I know where the feet have been. Since I do it the day I butcher the feet can still be dirty, peeling talks care of that. If they feet are clean enough for you after soaking and aging that long, you maybe don't absolutely have to peel them. The skin could add a bit to the broth. But of course that is up to you.

 

[Stephanie_SAS]

Thank you everyone! I had a crazy busy day yesterday, so I just went ahead and put it in our freezer.

 

[Stephanie_SAS]

I agree, it's not too late. If the meat is still good then the feet are.

Have you ever blanched and peeled them before? People tend to overcook them when they blanche them which causes the skin to tear extremely easily and make them a pain to peel. I generally blanche younger chicken's feet for about 15 seconds, older chickens never more than 20 seconds. I don't know how long is the right amount of time for yours that have aged in the fridge and will be cold when you put them in the water, but don't overdo it.

The reason I peel mine and twist off the toenails is that I know where the feet have been. Since I do it the day I butcher the feet can still be dirty, peeling talks care of that. If they feet are clean enough for you after soaking and aging that long, you maybe don't absolutely have to peel them. The skin could add a bit to the broth. But of course that is up to you.

Hi! I've never done anything (or seen) chicken feet before we got ours lol! We had Cornish cross broilers. And we butchered at 8 weeks. I'll try to blanche them the shorter times first! Do you use boiling water? Or is it better not that hot?

 

[Nupe]

You only need to scald them like you scald the rest of the bird in order to remove the feathers. You can scald the feet while processing and peel them later. You just may get a few that didn't get quite get enough and won't peel completely. I toss those to the dogs.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I bring water to a boil and toss the feet in for a few seconds. If you use a lower temperature the exposure time will be longer. You may need some trial and error to get it right.

 

[Stephanie_SAS]

You only need to scald them like you scald the rest of the bird in order to remove the feathers. You can scald the feet while processing and peel them later. You just may get a few that didn't get quite get enough and won't peel completely. I toss those to the dogs.

Ok! Thank you! I wish we did them during the process. But the dipper that held the chickens didn't get the feet in the water. I'm going to try and rig it up differently next time.