Pin feathers

[KenK]

I just killed a 10 week old game chicken stag. Scalded and picked it but I still have a good many black pin feathers, most of them appear to be completely under the skin. I don't know that they would even be particularly noticeable on a white chicken.

Before I cook it I may give tweezers a try. Have noted "pinning" knives but really not sure how they are supposed to operate.

Haven't cleaned a chicken in years, just got back into it this spring, and always just skinned them in the past. I really don't want to skin this bird.

 

[booker81]

Try to let it rest for a day or two, and then pull it out and use a butter knife blade and "shave" the chicken against the grain of the feathers, but with a little more pressure than you'd normally use shaving. I find that letting them rest and then going at the pins really gets them to slide out, even the little bitty ones that seem more like ingrown hairs than feathers

As long as the scald wasn't too hot, you shouldn't run much of a risk of cutting the skin with the butter knife.

 

[KenK]

Thanks booker, they did come out a little easier after chilling for 32 or so hours but it was still a PITA. I used forceps and the butter knife and finally got them all out. The delicious crispy skin was worth the effort.

 

[booker81]

Yup, a lot of people skin for the ease of feather removal, but I haven't found much that beats crispy baked chicken skin....well, bacon, but that's a a given. Chicken skin is the bacon of a chicken.