We just butchered our first one

[eKo_birdies]

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this is a matter of personal opinion. as Sunny said.. they shouldn't NEED to be soaked at all. i have found (in my experience) that when soaking a chicken in brine it absorbs too much of the liquid and the meat gets almost "mushy."

but again, to each their own...age some in brine and others in a pan and see which suits YOUR taste!!!

 

[cattleman999]

What are the advantages or disadvantages of skinning versus plucking? I am planning on starting to raise my own meat birds and would prefer to skin them I think but wanted some feedback please.

 

[mrsp523]

I think I will try some in a brine, and some without. As Eko states everyone has a way of doing things...so I think I will try everyones and see what we prefer

We still have 4 weeks to wait with the little fellows. This has been the best site to fill my brain with new ideas.

 

[kfchickenlady]

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I want to do this too, since I skin chicken from the store anyway, Im thinking whats the diff? As long as it doesnt dry out, also, dont want to deal w/ plucking, etc. Im wondering if anyone else has done this?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

This is a great video showing an easy way to skin chickens:

It also shows a great method of cleaning out the carcasses.

I found that skinning had its own challenges and took about as long as plucking. I guess I don't have enough arm strength to tear it off as easily as that guy in the video does. It's like prying a tight snow suit off a fat little kid. I had to especially struggle to get the skin off the ends of the drumsticks and off the wings. Plucking takes me about 5 minutes to get most of the feathers off a chicken.

Once I plucked a young dual-purpose cockerel who turned out to have a LOT of nasty black pinfeathers pricking up out of his skin. I ended up skinning him AND plucking him.

 

[harleyjo]

Our process went pretty good. We were going to give the rest of them a week but when I was just out there to water it looks like at least one more is about going down in the legs. I will keep an eye on her. I had to do the gutting because my hubby's hands are too big. I read in a book later and wondered about the testicles and eggs. Honestly I just pulled all the insides out, scraped it good inside with a knife and washed it out. If there were testicles or eggs that I missed along the back we sure didn't see them. I even pulled it back out of the fridg. to check again. I am keeping my birds whole to freeze them.

 

[Ibicella]

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I want to do this too, since I skin chicken from the store anyway, Im thinking whats the diff? As long as it doesnt dry out, also, dont want to deal w/ plucking, etc. Im wondering if anyone else has done this?

Skinning you just pull everything off and toss it and don't have to deal with plucking. You don't save a lot of time at first, but when you get the knack for it it goes quicker and you can just cut and zip it right off the carcass and you're done.

The disadvantage is you miss out on all that wonderful tasty skin! It's great for adding flavor to stocks, and it's my favorite part when I roast a chicken! All that nice crispy skin with butter and herbs....

 

[hitnspit]

After doing my first bird i took it to work and grilled it there 24 hours later. dd not sit it in anything but a bunch of icy water then the frig overnight. Came out wonderful....No brine nothing. Was told by a guy at work maybe it i feed them hot peppers i will get spicy chicken....IF ONLY THAT WORKED....LOL....jim

 

[kfchickenlady]

Quote:
I want to do this too, since I skin chicken from the store anyway, Im thinking whats the diff? As long as it doesnt dry out, also, dont want to deal w/ plucking, etc. Im wondering if anyone else has done this?

Skinning you just pull everything off and toss it and don't have to deal with plucking. You don't save a lot of time at first, but when you get the knack for it it goes quicker and you can just cut and zip it right off the carcass and you're done.

The disadvantage is you miss out on all that wonderful tasty skin! It's great for adding flavor to stocks, and it's my favorite part when I roast a chicken! All that nice crispy skin with butter and herbs....

oh great, my DH just read that!!!

 

[dancingbear]

I like skin, so I pluck. I tried skinning a couple of times, and it was a PITA to me. I like the wings, so I'm not about to cut them off, and it was hard to get the skin peeled off of them. Besides, with wings, half the reason I like them so much is the skin!

If you like to roast or bake chicken, the skin helps keep it from drying out, too.

With a very young bird like that one, I'd just rest it in the fridge in a plastic bag. Set the bag in a bowl or pan in case it leaks. I age mine several days. I only brine old birds, like over 6 months old. Even then, half the time I don't bother anymore. It does help keep the meat from drying out so much when they're cooked. (crock pot, on low, for as long as it takes to get fall-off-the-bone-tender)