Well I was not planning on butchering any birds today, but the time is near and I had one starting to look gimpy and not walking around normally so I decided it was time for her to go. Last year when we did the scalding (our first time) I was cautious and used Gail Damerow's suggested temp of 135 degrees. I thought it went okay but sure did take a long time. How was I to know though? We did have beautiful birds with nice looking skin even though there were a few feathers I gave up on. SO then my DBF finished up the last few while I was away and he said that he did it a little hotter, like 140 deg. and they went much quicker with the finished product still looking nice.
So then today, granted I only did the one bird, I scalded at 150 degrees. The feathers practically just rubbed off, I think I was done in like five mins tops and I was not trying to hurry at all. I loved that temp for getting feathers out, especially the wing feathers, but the yellowey coating to the skin came off as well. This resulted in a rough looking bird, which I don't mind for my table but I think it would be much more appealing to customers to not have a peeling sunburn look to the bird. Also I wonder if that coating has something to do with the crispiness of the skin when roasted, as our birds from last year were simply fantastic- crispy, perfect roast birds.
What have all have you used for a scalding temp? I like things about each one I have tried so far, but don't want to keep experimenting until I find the best balance of quick feather removal and leaving the coating on the skin. Please share your stories with us all!
Also the bird I did today had eaten because I was not planning on butchering, I found that the bird did not seem to bleed out as easily with a large full crop. I knew I was going to just break the birds neck to kill it, so I thought I would hold it upside down for awhile to calm it down. I think that all the blood that went to its head made it harder to snap its neck and I actually tore its head clean off quite by accident. I have used that method many times to cull birds quickly, and it was always a clear dislocation without any trouble at all; this was weird. Most likely it was my error, but I had to see because that never happened on a bird that was not upside down for any longer than it took to pick it up. Just an observation but I don't think the bird bled out as well because the head was not cleanly removed.
So then today, granted I only did the one bird, I scalded at 150 degrees. The feathers practically just rubbed off, I think I was done in like five mins tops and I was not trying to hurry at all. I loved that temp for getting feathers out, especially the wing feathers, but the yellowey coating to the skin came off as well. This resulted in a rough looking bird, which I don't mind for my table but I think it would be much more appealing to customers to not have a peeling sunburn look to the bird. Also I wonder if that coating has something to do with the crispiness of the skin when roasted, as our birds from last year were simply fantastic- crispy, perfect roast birds.
What have all have you used for a scalding temp? I like things about each one I have tried so far, but don't want to keep experimenting until I find the best balance of quick feather removal and leaving the coating on the skin. Please share your stories with us all!
Also the bird I did today had eaten because I was not planning on butchering, I found that the bird did not seem to bleed out as easily with a large full crop. I knew I was going to just break the birds neck to kill it, so I thought I would hold it upside down for awhile to calm it down. I think that all the blood that went to its head made it harder to snap its neck and I actually tore its head clean off quite by accident. I have used that method many times to cull birds quickly, and it was always a clear dislocation without any trouble at all; this was weird. Most likely it was my error, but I had to see because that never happened on a bird that was not upside down for any longer than it took to pick it up. Just an observation but I don't think the bird bled out as well because the head was not cleanly removed.
