The Old Folks Home

[Alaskan]

Any one butchered a duck?

Yep...i have dry plucked, to keep the down, takes forever, but whatever, it works.

We have also taken out the down and then skinned the duck........so much faster.


I have also partly skinned, taken out the legs and breasts, and left the rest ...wasteful, but we had a bunch to do, and at least that is the majority of the meat.


But yes, if you want a pretty bird, you are supposed to use some soap to get the water under the feathers, so that you can scald it properly. A waterproof and heat proof glove (like a BBQ glove) can be helpful so that you can ruffle all of the feathers when you dunk the duck.

 

[ronott1]

Yep...i have dry plucked, to keep the down, takes forever, but whatever, it works.

We have also taken out the down and then skinned the duck........so much faster.


I have also partly skinned, taken out the legs and breasts, and left the rest ...wasteful, but we had a bunch to do, and at least that is the majority of the meat.


But yes, if you want a pretty bird, you are supposed to use some soap to get the water under the feathers, so that you can scald it properly. A waterproof and heat proof glove (like a BBQ glove) can be helpful so that you can ruffle all of the feathers when you dunk the duck.

pithing is supposed to help the feathers release.

Has anyone used this method?

 

[vehve]

Here are my experiences:

Dry plucking a goose: Took ages (it was the first bird I ever did, with two of us working it took us maybe close to an hour, at least half an hour).

Skinning gamebirds: Super easy, good videos on youtube showing you how to do it. Let's a lot of the taste escape though during preparation.

Chicken plucking: First we quickly rinse the guys. Then we rub them down with a proper amount of soap (we use a pine based soap usually used for washing carpets around here, it breaks down in the nature). Then rinse the bird properly again, and rub it a bit to get the soap off. Then dunk it in 65 C / 150 F water, keep dunking it up and down in the hot water for about a minute. After that the feathers come off easily, and the soap treatment really keeps the smell in check. After plucking, we properly rinse the bird again before continuing with the processing.

If there are any small feathers left, you can singe them off with one of those gas torches meant for making creme brulée.

 

[casportpony]

Yep...i have dry plucked, to keep the down, takes forever, but whatever, it works.


We have also taken out the down and then skinned the duck........so much faster.



I have also partly skinned, taken out the legs and breasts, and left the rest ...wasteful, but we had a bunch to do, and at least that is the majority of the meat.



But yes, if you want a pretty bird, you are supposed to use some soap to get the water under the feathers, so that you can scald it properly. A waterproof and heat proof glove (like a BBQ glove) can be helpful so that you can ruffle all of the feathers when you dunk the duck.

pithing is supposed to help the feathers release.

Has anyone used this method?

I found this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/883053/pithing-what-am-i-doing-wrong

-Kathy

 

[hennible]

Thank you everyone.... Darn it vehve I forgot about the smell

 

[vehve]

hennible, with the soap I really haven't noticed it.

 

[hennible]

You ever use it with chickens?

 

[vehve]

Only with chickens so far. Every time I've had my shotgun ready, the geese have been flying high. Maybe I'll get one tomorrow morning, we're spending the night at the cottage.

 

[Alaskan]

Thank you everyone.... Darn it vehve I forgot about the smell

yep......that is the problem with slaughter in the winter....do you do it outside, fast enough so that your fingers don't freeze solid? Or.....do you bring it in the house??????

 

[vehve]

You can do the plucking and killing outside, if you do the scalding it will warm your fingers a bit, especially if you wear rubber gloves. If you do the soap thing, the processing part really doesn't produce much of a smell.