Skinning vs plucking

[McChooky]

I agree, it took me a bit to get fast at it. I pluck in about 30 minutes.
The time it takes to get the water set up and heated up, the cleaning of the scalding pot, and the tear down time are what annoy me most. And the smell. I hate the smell of the scalding water - it gets into all my clothing and hair, and nasal passages for like three days afterwards. I love the taste of crispy chicken skin, and make it a point to process some of my smaller more tender birds with skin on for roasting, but most of the time I avoid plucking because it's a hassle and I don't like the scalding water smell. A silly reason perhaps, with all the other smells one must deal with to process a chicken, but it's a big one for me.

That's one smell I've never gotten used to.I'm surprised more people aren't put off by it.

 

[McChooky]

THis is my go to video on skinning one

 

[Tex452]

The only time I skin is when there’s too many pen feathers, the darker colored birds are always the worst, I like raising white chickens for butchering.

 

[McChooky]

Everyone loves the taste of the skin but dunking and plucking one means putting up with that smell for days. No thanks!

 

[cassie]

I save half an hour of processing time by skinning instead of plucking. Skinning takes me 1.5 hrs and plucking takes me 2 hrs from live bird to finished carcass. Setup time for the water bath is also reduced.

Sometimes I part out the bird, sometimes I leave it as a whole carcass after skinning (for those I need to pressure cook). For the whole carcass, I put it in an icebath for 2-3 days (simulates the fridge), or I can bag the carcass and the parted bird (separately) and put them in the fridge, laid out individually (not stacked up) to cool as fast as possible.

You can also freeze the carcass directly after skinning or parting, but you will still need the meat to sit in the fridge for 3+ days to get past rigor mortis after you thaw it and before you cook it. When the joints move easily, you know rigor mortis is over and it's ready to be cooked. I've had birds take a day or two, and some take a week or more to get thru rigor mortis. Don't really know why, but moving the joint easily is always accurate for when things are ready to cook.

Are you talking 2 hours per bird?

 

[Altairsky]

Chicken skin and feet are extremely rich in collagene. I always try to eat as much of the skin as I can because eating collagene helps prevent osteoporosis and arthritis.
So yeah, plucking is hard work but to me it's totally worth it. Even if I don't eat the skin or feet directly, I use them to make collagene rich bone broth.

 

[McChooky]

The only time I skin is when there’s too many pen feathers, the darker colored birds are always the worst, I like raising white chickens for butchering.

I don't recall anyone commenting on the best way to process chickens if you're allergic to chicken dander.It causes me to have shortness of breath, whelps, rashes, sneezing and coughing

 

[Tex452]

Chicken skin and feet are extremely rich in collagene. I always try to eat as much of the skin as I can because eating collagene helps prevent osteoporosis and arthritis.
So yeah, plucking is hard work but to me it's totally worth it. Even if I don't eat the skin or feet directly, I use them to make collagene rich bone broth.

I don’t see where picking is hard, I get the most of the feathers off in a matter of minutes, I put the chicken under a water hose I have hanging up and rub the rest of the feathers off, I butchered four a few weeks ago and had them on ice in 30 minutes.

 

[Penpal]

Skin not only has collagen, but Vitamin K. Plus, it's nature's plastic wrap.

 

[FunClucks]

Are you talking 2 hours per bird?

Yes. Many folks do this much faster. I work by myself without an optimal setup, and am a bit slow. Plus setup and cleanup time.